“We actually formed in London,” Woolright says. “The Kiwis really stick their teeth in and claim us but actually on paper I’m the only Kiwi in the band. Me and Paul formed the band – Paul was born in England.”
British vocalist Ed Martin completes the lineup and I Am Giant continues to be based in London to this day. Conducting business from the northern hemisphere hasn’t negatively impacted on the band’s commercial fortunes in New Zealand. Their second LP Science & Survival dropped earlier this month and debuted at number two on the national albums chart.
“It is a pretty good feeling,” Woolright says, “especially in this day and age with not really that many platforms for [rock music] to get exposure. To be on the actual charts and even in the top five is quite a feat. We’re proud and we’re also really stoked that we’ve got a decent fanbase who are actually supporting us.”
The record itself carries forward the melodic hard rock sound introduced by the band’s 2011 debut, The Horrifying Truth. However, what distinguishes Science & Survival is moments of particularly pounding instrumentation, as well as the widest screen choruses in the band’s catalogue. The even application of these two core elements is essentially I Am Giant’s signature, but Woolright says it wasn’t a fundamental objective at the band’s outset.
“I think why we sound like we are is because there’s a few different individual flavours, from what we listen to and stuff like that. [Paul and I] come from heavier backgrounds. Ed, with such a clean voice, softens the music up. Ed listens to a lot of different music. You’ll catch him listening to something like TV on the Radio, whereas Paul and I will be sitting in the back [of the van] listening to Soundgarden. “I remember The Horrifying Truth, when we wrote it, I thought it was quite heavy. But recorded and with Ed’s singing, it’s actually quite soft alternative rock.”
Hearing the sound develop in this manner might have come as a surprise to Woolright and Matthews, but they didn’t attempt to correct the dynamic contrast. Rather, they quickly realised it could be used to their advantage.
“Straight away we knew it was going to be good. It was something different. It was like, ‘Surely if we can get this to work it’s going to be unique,’ and it is a little bit. We haven’t reinvented the wheel by any means, but it works. It’s great.”
I Am Giant are unmistakably a guitar-centric rock band, so perhaps you’re wondering what the guitarist has to say about these stylistic details. Well, curiously enough, the band’s never had a permanent guitar player. The first record features guitar playing from Aja Timu, while guitar duties on Science & Survival were shared between Matthews and UK guitarist, Michael Triponel. Surely this lack of stability is a major hindrance when it comes to touring. Conversely, Woolright explains that they cope just fine utilising an assortment of axemen.
“At the moment we’re using a guy in New Zealand, we’ve got a guy up in Germany, we’ve got a guy in the UK. I’m sure we’ll settle at some point, but at the moment it’s something we don’t really think too much about.”
Indeed, appointing different players in different regions actually increases the band’s mobility. Far from simply grinding it out week-in, week-out in London, I Am Giant have built a considerable live following in several European countries.
“Our fanbase is more in Europe,” Woolright states. “You know, we’ll play a decent venue in London to 500 people and then we’ll go over to Poland and we’ll play a huge festival to tens of thousands of people.”
Still, there’s nowhere that they’re celebrated quite so much as New Zealand. It’s easy to assume that the widespread adoration coming from their departed homeland would lure them back there, but Woolright says they’re committed to keep working at it in England.
“The UK’s a really hard market. We knew that going up there. It’s one of the biggest territories in the world, so we had to brace ourselves and knew it would take a lot of work. But we’ve had some really cool breaks, like on MTV and Kerrang! TV and we’ve been played on [BBC] Radio 1.”
Yes, no matter where they are in the world, the most important thing is that the members remain dedicated and enthusiastic about the music being made. The Science & Survival world tour kicked off in New Zealand last week and the band comes our way early next month. Woolright speaks eagerly about showcasing the record’s substantial advances to audiences all over the world.
“It comes down to the songs. You write good songs, people are going to find them. We really feel we’ve done something a bit special on this one, so hopefully people will hear that.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
