Basement: The Culture Creature Interview (Listen Now)

Photo by Mitchell Wojcik

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Today on the Culture Creature podcast, hear an interview with Andrew Fisher and Alex Henery of Basement. Listen to the complete Basement interview in your podcast provider of choice or via the audio player above.

Basement’s new album Beside Myself is due on October 12th (preorder here). Vocalist Andrew Fisher and guitarist Alex Henery talked to Culture Creature host Dan Redding about their new album, English lore (including the Woolpit Green Children and Black Shuck), ‘Dad insults’ like “wazzock,” and much more.

Basement Interview Highlights

Andrew Fisher on the value of music: “I get so much from music myself – both the music that I make, and the music that I listen to. It’s the first thing I would do if I wanna get lifted up. Or if I wanna wallow in my lowness, I wanna put something really dark on. So I totally understand that. It’s just hard accepting that you’re that person that can do that for someone else.”

Alex Henery on religious themes in Basement lyrics: “As someone who is religious – I’m a Christian – I always find it fascinating. [Andrew and I] have had pretty in-depth discussions about faith and religion and life. It’s cool, I feel like I can take away stuff from Andrew’s lyrics as someone who’s a believer, and he might not even be aware of it. I know I’m reading it different than what he’s writing about, but it’s still meaningful to me. I think that’s kind of cool. We’ve talked about how that happens in a lot of bands’ lyrical content or themes. Where bands are writing about something where you may think it’s about one thing, but it’s actually completely about maybe the opposite thing. Does that really matter at the end of the day? I don’t think it really does.”

Alex Henery on living in America: “There’s something about America that’s so freeing. It’s like, ‘if you come here with a work ethic and some clothes, you can figure it out and you can make something of yourself.’ I guess that’s what happened to my family. My family fled Russia in the Bolshevik Revolution and came to America. My mom talks about how our family had the largest barn in the county in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Maybe that’s been built inside of me, of just who I am. When I come to America, it just feels like less rules, less regulatory stuff I have to abide by. Maybe it’s because I grew up in England – I’m maybe less aware of all the stuff that goes on here. There’s something that makes me just not worry. I don’t know what it is. I feel like I can just get by. Life just feels so much easier out here.”

Culture Creature is the podcast where music and pop culture are shared languages that bring us together. Listen to the Basement interview now. You may also enjoy our interviews with members of Joyce Manor, Title Fight, Tigers Jaw.