Niels Kinsella (GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT): A voyage intro astronauts' world

Niels: Torsten and I started playing music back in the early 90’s, our first album The End of the Beginning in 2002 was intended as a farewell to the music business, we wanted to release something we were proud of after 10 years of playing in various bands. Lloyd joined the band on drums in 2004 just before we released All is Violent, All is Bright in 2005. Jamie joined the band on keyboards in 2010 and finally Gazz joined us in 2012 on guitar. We have released 7 albums in 11 years.

 

Niels: I started playing bass when I was 11 years old which was way back in the 80’s. My influences were Cliff Burton from Metallica and my Dad who was also a bass player; he taught me how to play. I swapped onto the guitar for a few years in the 90’s but came back to the bass for God Is An Astronaut.

 

Niels: We got the idea for the name from Clive Barker’s film/novel Nightbreed. We just liked the sound of the name and it gave us the freedom to make the music we wanted without restriction. There is no religious significance to the name.

 

Niels: We never really thought about music genres when writing for God Is An Astronaut. The first album definitely had its roots in trip-hop and electronica. The post-rock tag was a welcome tag back in 2002 as we were still classified as a dance act here in Ireland. I think there is a wide range on musical influences everything from electronica, trip hop, metal, rock, jazz and ambient styles. 

 

Niels: We recorded the album with limited equipment; I think all we had was an xp80 keyboard sequencer, an Akai S3000 and a Yamaha mixing desk. The equipment was more suited to writing and recording dance/electronic music. Since then we have really built and expanded our recording studio. The process is still very similar in that we still are involved in every aspect of God Is An Astronaut from the writing/recording to the final CD and touring etc… it is still very independent.

 

Niels: The End of the Beginning album was largely ignored by the critics but started to build an underground/internet fan base. Interestingly we actual got quite a bit of night time airplay in Ireland which was ironic.

 

Niels: All is Violent, All is Bright definitely was our breakthrough album, a lot of people were introduced to our music through this album. It still remains are most popular album to date. Looking back I think the self titled would be my personal favourite along with the new album but we are very proud of all our albums.

 

Niels: This was the first record Jamie Dean has worked on with us, he co-wrote Strange Steps and Gazz Carr (Butterfly Explosion) also got involved and he wrote and performed the vocals on Reverse World. The sound live now is colossal; I think the band is the best it has ever been. 
 

 

Niels: We wanted to expand our sound on this record and vocals/lyrics seemed an obvious thing to push along with experimental guitar sounds and other instruments like brass and acoustic guitar. We also changed our writing technique on this record, on previous albums we would write the songs on a piano, acoustic guitar or electric guitar and then add the other worldly textures after, but this time we began with them. We created interesting noises, riffs and soundscapes and turned these into compositions, it felt more like sculpturing.

 

Niels: We knew some of the fans and critics would not like the changes but it was never a concern, we write the music the way we want it to sound, it is always a very natural process. It is the same with every new release some will love it, some will hate it.

 

Niels: Yes there have been a lot of good reviews for Origins but we don’t think why “did it happen?” Either way we are very happy with the new album, getting good reviews from both fans and critics is always a bonus.

 

Niels: We loved playing in Romania; the fans are amazing, full of energy and enthusiasm. Definitely some memorable shows in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca.

 

Niels: Yes we will be there in April for 1 or 2 shows; we are looking forward to bringing the new songs to our fans live.

 

Niels: Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to listen to much music as my wife and I have been busy with our son who was 1 year last month.

 

Niels: No, but I have been listening to them as I write this, love it.

 

Niels: We will be touring the album over the next 2 years or so. There are also plans to release a new E.P. at some point next year.

 

Niels: See you in April!