In our latest band spotlight, we chat to Clayton Worbeck (Revolting Cocks) about his band, Stayte’s new album, ‘Orogenesis’ as well as current inspirations.
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S] Guys, how are you today?
C] Doing well! Thanks for taking the time for this.
S] Good to have you back, what have you been up to?
C] It’s beyond great to have this album out – it took way too long! Outside of completing this record, Joshua [Bradford] has been busy with his charity Project Simple Shelter – http://www.projectsimpleshelter.com and I’ve switched gears to composing for film.
S] What does Stayte mean to you in 2018?
C] Stayte has always been a small family of musicians producing music that makes us happy. Members come and go but it’s more or less the same vibe now as it was when we originally formed in the late 90s.
S] How do you feel about your place in the music industry now?
C] Let’s be real here, a lot of time has lapsed between albums and performances so it’s no surprise that we’re more obscure these days. In fact there were many points along the road to this release where I considered abandoning the project altogether. But in the end, I felt that too much great work had gone into this one to let it die. I can’t say if there will be more performances or albums in the future for Stayte but I do like the chances now that Orogenesis is done and out.
S] On that note, how do you define success?
C] I see success as producing art that is authentic to the artist. If you don’t give it your all, you’re not going to be happy with the results down the road.
S] ‘Ladies And Gentleman’ is a fine opener – what inspired that one? Some killer melodies in there!
C] Distortion. I was inspired to make the most distorted track we’ve done to date and then see what Joshua and Bruce Lamont [Yakuza] could add to it.
S] Loved ‘Dead Do Tell’ as well, can you expand on that track and its inspirations?
C] This was the first track completed in the writing process for the album. Lyrically, Joshua mentioned he was inspired by reading about archaeological excavations in Nation Geographic. Musically, I wanted to have this track take on some of the electronic vibe of the Ministry/Filter remixes I was doing around the time but then have it develop into a heavy guitar-driven song.
S] How was it working on the collaborations for this record? Any highlights?
C] The collaborations were awesome! I feel honoured to have both Richard [Patrick] and Bruce guest on the record and am grateful to have been able to include so many of our past live members on this one. A highlight for me was the session with Richard. Filter has always been a big influence on Stayte so being in the room with Richard and Joshua singing on these Stayte songs was surreal.
S] What have been some career highlights for you at this point?
It’s really hard to pick a just a few! I’ve been very lucky and have had the chance to work with so many of my influences whether in a live performance situation or in the studio. Outside of the collaborations on Orogenesis and all the artists I’ve done remixes for, I’d have to say the 2006 Ministry/Revolting Cocks tour was a standout along with our collaboration with Paul Barker on the Cognitive Dissonance EP.
S] How would you advice any emerging artists coming out at the moment?
There’s so much information available instantly and free of charge nowadays. I would advise any new artist to spend the time to soak up as much of their desired genre/field as possible but also to spend even more time playing, writing and listening to other people’s music.
