A gothic rock lover’s dream- the impressive project MGT has an upcoming release that will make even the darkest of hearts swoon at the beautiful singing of Ashton Nyte and brilliant melodies from the mind of Mark Thwaite. “Gemini Nyte” is a collaborative effort between two musicians that need no introduction, merging their musical experiences together to create this new album. Having played significant roles in other projects such as The Mission, Tricky, Peter Murphy, The Awakening, and so much more- it is clear to hear how years of fostering talent with skill has paid off. Senior Journalist Anabel DFlux had the wondrous opportunity to pick the brains of Mark and Ashton on “Gemini Nyte”.
RockRevolt: Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. How are you?
Mark: Feeling dandy!
Ashton: Suitably splendid, thank you.
RR: Let’s jump right into it and chat about your upcoming release “Gemini Nyte”. How was this album conceptualized? What was the music and lyricism writing progression like?
Mark: It was a fairly organic process, as we had already collaborated on a few songs on the last MGT ‘Volumes’ album in 2015, we just kept on writing and before we knew it we had a whole albums worth of material… songs like ‘The Reaping’ and ‘Jesamine’ on the last album set the template sound for ‘Gemini Nyte’, and I decided to keep the whole album in that broad spectrum of the gothic hard rock genre, of course we branched out a bit here and there..
Ashton: Yes, our initial collaboration on Volumes was a great foundation to build from. We actually wrote so well and so quickly together that the bulk of this album was written and demoed before Volumes was even released.
RR: What about the recording and production process?
Mark: Most of it starts in my home studio in Los Angeles California, I’ll record some guitar riffs and chord progressions and lay down some basic drum programming and bass guitar, maybe some synths and then send a sketch arrangement to Ashton, who then applies his lyrics and vocal melodies, sometimes suggesting arrangement tweaks etc… once I hear the vocal I then flesh out the instrumentation and guitars with more defined parts and sometimes add some lead lines..
RR: Do you each have a song that has the most sentimental value on the upcoming album?
Mark: I used to play along to ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ back in the early to mid-80s, making up my own guitar riffs to the song, which ultimately lead me to recording this bombastic rock version on the new album, so I guess it certainly has sentimental value to myself, taking me back to my youth and to finally see my vision for the song realised over 30 years later..
Ashton: As huge fan of Scott Weiland and STP, I was very moved by his passing. I reached out to Mark to do a version of my favourite STP song, “Atlanta”. Singing that song remains a very special moment for me on the album. Mark’s arrangement allowed us to stay true to the original, whilst bringing our collective spirit to the song. It is an album highlight for me.
RR: Tell me about “Every Little Dream”. Why did you choose to release this song as a single?
Ashton: “Every Little Dream” was actually a song I had written and demoed before meeting Mark. When we were assembling the album, I sent him a few demos and that one stood out for him. Mark re-recorded the guitars and added a new solo, among other things, which made it sit very well on the Gemini Nyte album. I think it ended being a single because both Mark and the label liked the song and it seemed to go down rather well at the shows we did last year.
RR: Can you tell me about the official video? I love the overlaid live footage! Do you feel that your impressive previous musical experiences influenced aspects of this project?
Mark: We played some festivals in Europe last summer, including Wave Gotik Treffen in Germany and Camden Rocks Festival in London, and we hired some camera guys to capture some live footage, I was thinking this would be handy for selling MGT as a live act to promoters and booking agents, but we also found it a source of imagery for the ‘Every Little Dream’ video… we passed all of the footage (including iphone footage) to our dear friend Mont Sherar who did a fantastic job of editing the Reaping video back in 2016, and he once again did an amazing job..
Ashton: Yes, Mont worked miracles on the video, as always. I think the 80’s flavour reflects the 80’s undercurrent of the song itself. What can I say, I’m a child of the 80’s.
RR: What is your fondest musical memory?
Mark: Listening to Pink Floyd on vinyl for the first time at a friend’s house party when I was around 14 or 15.. I recall it was the Animals album, the vinyl would jump at the same point of the same song and to this day I can’t hear that song without hearing the ‘scratch’ or jump in my memory… music is a wonderful thing. If we are talking about performing music… probably the farewell shows by my old band The Mission back in 2008, they were fantastic and magical shows.
Ashton: Hearing “Rock ’n Roll Suicide: by David Bowie for the first time. I knew then that I had my work cut out for me.
RR: What image do you feel that your music conveys?
Ashton: Lyrically I’m coming from a relatively introspective place. I like music to challenge the listener, whilst not being negative or oppressive. I think our songs are ultimately uplifting in the face of adversity and the other awful things life tends to throw at us.
RR: What drew you into the gothic rock genre that you play?
Mark: Funnily enough with my massive goth rock track record, what with playing guitar for everybody from The Mission to Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Spear of Destiny, Theatre of Hate and working with members of Sex Gang Children and Killing Joke, my earliest influences were actually more punk rock and metal of the late 70s, such as The Skids, Generation X, The Pistols, Motorhead, AC/DC etc. But I started branching out into bands such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie in the early 80s and then The Cult and Killing Joke and enjoyed the atmosphere and drama to the music. I definitely find myself leaning more towards melancholic minor key chord sequences.
Ashton: For me it evolved out of my love for Bowie and the more theatrical side of art. My natural voice is rather deep and a tad dramatic and my lyrics tend to meander through the realms of melancholy introspection – not always the best fit for pop music.
RR: I hear you have an upcoming tour in the States with Jyrki69! Can you tell me about it?
Mark: Both Jyrki and MGT are labelmates on Cleopatra, so we were aware of each other of course… also Ville Juurikkakala -the video director I used for my ABBA cover of ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’ with Ville Valo -had also shot videos for Jyrki’s band The 69 Eyes, so it was fate that Cleopatra brought us together for this tour to promote our new albums.. The 69 Eyes are a great band, and Jyrki’s new solo album is fab.
Ashton: Yeah, and Jyrki is a lovely person, which is supremely important when hitting the road with someone for a few weeks.
RR: How would you describe your show visually? What can fans expect?
Mark: Lots of smoke and mirrors…
Ashton: I keep asking Mark to leave those mirrors at home, they do make me self-conscious.
RR: Any music video plans we can be privy to knowing about?
Mark: Not really, that’s up to our label Cleopatra to suggest we shoot a new one! We are releasing another single just before the album comes out in February, it’s a alternate version we recorded of ‘The Assembly Line’ and features original and classic Cure members Lol Tolhurst on keyboards and Pearl (aka Porl) Thompson on guitar… sounds fantastic and I’d love to see a video for it!
RR: How would you define the word “success”?
Mark: Waking up each morning with all my limbs and food in the fridge, and to be with my loved ones around me.
Ashton: Finding joy in everyday life and sharing it with those you love and who love you.
RR: Any words for your fans before we conclude this interview?
Mark: we look forward to everyone hearing the new album and coming to see us on tour! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Ashton: Thank you for caring about what we do, it is certainly a blessing.
RR: Thank you!
CONNECT WITH MGT HERE
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
TWITTER
Be sure to catch MGT on tour in the United States at the below dates:
Mar 9 – Mesa, AZ – Club Red
Mar 10 – Fullerton, CA – Slide Bar
Mar 11 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
Mar 13 – Portland, OR – Analog Lounge
Mar 15 – Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
Mar 17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Liquid Joe’s
Mar 18 – Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar
Mar 21 – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go Go
