The Cold Field interview: ‘An Act Of Desperation’
Interview with The Cold Field
The Cold Field is an Australian Dark-Wave/Post-Punk project making waves in the underground music scene. Known for their hauntingly atmospheric soundscapes, driven by classic Shoegaze vibes and ominous lyrics, The Cold Field captures the essence of melancholy while drawing listeners into their unique sonic world. Their newest album, “Alive”, released by Cold Transmission Music, is a standout production that calls to mind the vibrant heyday of the ’80s. I reached out to Ian Messenger, the driving force behind the band, and invite you to dive into their compelling sound without delay. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: How did you two first meet, and what motivated you to start The Cold Field? Reflecting on the early years, how do you feel about what you’ve accomplished together so far?
Ian: Heath Newberry and I met in our early 20s at a friend’s house. I tried to escape the crowd and went upstairs into a pool room and started playing pool by myself. Heath came up and joined me. When I asked him what his name was I thought he was taking the piss. Seriously, who is called Heath? It’s like what you call your cat.
But our friendship developed from there. We never played music together until our mid 30s. We went on to play a bunch of gigs over the next years mostly as a Psych-Jam band three piece with Heath playing bass and our mate Marty ‘Moose’ Bratasuik hitting the skins. Heath and I went through different friends playing with us at different times but as Black Coral we put out a couple EPs.
Then Heath sent me a link to Black Marble and it totally changed my outlook on what I wanted to do with music. Heath and I started The Cold Field in a particularly gloomy winter of 2019 when my work dried up and I had a lot of personal issues. I needed to create an album. This became “Black River”.
The three albums we have put out so far have given us a lot of personal satisfaction. Heath now is stepping back as a part of a duo of The Cold Field as he is simply too busy with his life as a family man, yet as one of my closest friends he will always give a guiding hand production-wise and with musical influences as he has always done. My old mate Bennett Sandhu is playing bass now and I really love his work.
Q: Your music seems deeply rooted in 80s genres like Shoegaze and Dark-Wave. Can you share more about your influences and any specific musical references that guide your songwriting and production?
Ian: Like I said Black Marble opened up my world. Then I discovered Lebanon Hanover. I’ll never forget the time I first listened to Lebanon Hanover’s albums in my studio. Late at night with two bottles of fine McLaren Vale shiraz, resolutely ignoring all family duties.
Q: How did the creation of your new album “Alive” unfold, and what themes or stories does it explore? What were the biggest challenges, frustrations, and proud moments during its production?
Ian: I basically wrote “Alive” like I did for my first two albums –an act of desperation. I feel this is all I have to say on the topic.
Q: Do you have a defined process for collaborating on music? Have you noticed any evolution in how you work together over the years?
Ian: It’s been wonderful with “Alive” to get some old mates to join in here and there. It takes a village to parent an album. Brett Walter on synth was a radical addition, and old mate Marko on the strum, Lisa Gibbs on backups and my true friend Austin Fogarty tapping away on one song.
Q: You’ve released “Alive” with Cold Transmission Records again but what connections do you have with the European music scene? How would you describe the Post-Punk scene in Australia, particularly in Adelaide?
Ian: Our contacts with the Euro scene is really just with our label Cold Transmission Music. We are seriously keen to play Europe in the next year. Where I am from there is little Post-Punk stuff going on. Hardly at all, and certainly not a ‘scene’. We have always felt on our own on what we are doing. But recently I am digging into the Adelaide Goth world, and I like it. But don’t worry, I am not about to buy some eyeliner and paint my moustache purple.
Q: How do you transpose your studio sound to live performances? What are your plans for future live shows, and are there any other exciting projects in the works for this year?
Ian: How we transpose our studio sound into live performance is really a dirty little secret. We do the best we can do. As for playing live in the future, we are looking forward to stomping some floorboards here and there. We are now working on our fourth album and it’s shaping up, and different. Very different. But sama-sama.
Listen to “Love Is Not A Word It’s A Feeling”:
https://thecoldfield.bandcamp.com/album/alive
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