EMQ’s With The Aphelion
EMQ’s With The Aphelion
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Progressive Metallers, The Aphelion. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Bassist/ Keyboardist, Evan Haydon-Selkirk, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Evan Haydon-Selkirk, and I’m the vocalist, bassist, and occasional second keyboardist of the Aphelion. We’ve been around in some form or another since 2015 when we were all high schoolers, but we’ve evolved so much in that time that I hesitate to even call it the same band. Tyler, James, and myself have all been friends for ages, and James has been my writing partner in different capacities since 2013! We hit the lottery when we recruited Nate on a local classifieds page in 2016, and we haven’t looked back since. Over the past five years or so, we’ve been preparing a double-concept album, part one is called “Nascence” which comes out this year, and part two, “Senescence”, should hopefully be out in a year or two. The project has been a massive undertaking that we recorded across three different studios over the last year and a half, and we’re so excited to finally have new music to share!
How did you come up with your band name?
I’ve had this habit my whole life of going on late-night Wikipedia binges where I read about one thing, and then go down a rabbit-hole of just about anything on that page that interested me. Often, these binges center around space, philosophy, or history. I don’t remember the specifics, but I stumbled upon the term aphelion, which refers to the point in a celestial body’s orbit where it is furthest from the sun. This resonated with me because it represented one’s darkest point, while also a turning point towards the light, but admittedly it is also just a cool word!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We’re from the great white north of Ottawa, Canada. It’s a tough country to play, which I suspect is why most major artists tend to just play the big cities near the U.S. border. Most of the cities have quite a long drive between them, and this makes it quite tricky to tour viably. That said, there are definitely still some amazing rock and metal scenes across the country! Montreal especially is a pretty incredible city for heavier artists to play, the people there are so passionate and welcoming.
What is your latest release?
We’ve got “Nascence”, the first part of a two-part album, coming August 9th! So far we’ve dropped three singles: ‘Deserter’, ‘Flight’, and ‘Fragility’, and the response so far has been excellent! We’re so very proud of this music and we’re so excited to keep sharing it with the world! ‘Deserter’ especially has received a ton of love, which I think is partially because we produced a really high quality video for it, but it’s also just a very powerful piece of music, and one of my favourites on the record.
Who have been your greatest influences?
I take a lot of influence from Leprous, System of a Down, Sleep Token, and Radiohead, but I’m always trying to find something new, and my tastes vary quite a bit! Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of indie darlings like Ethel Cain and Julia Jacklin, but also a ton of Tigran Hamasayan, Mr Bungle, Deafhaven, and the Ocean Collective.
What first got you into music?
I’ve been singing for as long as I’ve been able to form complete sentences, and have wanted to create music for as long as I can remember. However, when I was around 11 years old, my uncle started getting into bass, and exposed me to classic rock bassists like John Paul Jones and Lemmy who made the instrument seem a little cooler to a very young me. I started learning bass and guitar within that same year and haven’t been able to put music down since.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I’ve always thought Courtney Swain from Bent Knee would be a really cool vocalist to bring on for a song. She’s got such impressive range and there’s so much expressiveness in her voice! Otherwise, I’ve always thought adding vocals to an Animals as Leaders track would be a really interesting experiment, and obviously getting to pick their brains and see what makes them tick as musicians would be incredibly cool!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Bloodstock would be incredible to play, I’ve got some friends out that way and there’s always tons of incredible acts on the stage! They also have some of the best live videos after the fact. That said, I’ve been watching videos of bands playing the Rock AM Ring in Germany since I was super young, so that’s always been a dream of mine as well.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Prog shows tend to be pretty tame, and so generally speaking fans will show their appreciation through words, or gifts you’d expect like free alcohol and special cigarettes I’m not sure I should mention in a UK publication. I did once have someone give me a coupon to their spin studio after a show once! I’d love to say I took a class there after that, but we were on the road and there was no way for me to get back to the studio. Sorry, man!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Above anything else, I want anyone who likes our music or comes to our shows to know that they’re accepted and safe! Metal shows can be intimidating, especially if you don’t fit into the typical archetype of a metal/prog fan, but I have no tolerance for anyone who won’t let you be yourself at a show. We’re all awkward nerds brought together by a collective love of art, and however you choose to express yourself or your love of music should be a decision only you get to make (as long as nobody gets hurt of course).
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Well I don’t know if I’d call him a “rockstar”, but of any musician, I’ve always been curious where Jaco Pastorius would’ve gone with his playing if he’d been able to keep going. He only made it to 35. Even then he wasn’t consistently playing, and he still managed to develop this incredible and unique style of bass playing that I feel really pushed the boundaries of the instrument. It’s such a shame that his life went the way it did.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The thing I enjoy the most is of course the music itself! Crafting art together with three of your best friends is already an incredible experience, but to also get to perform what you’ve created together is really special to me. Any time I’m interacting with art I’m in the best place possible. My least favourite part of being a musician is how expensive it can be! The gear alone can get expensive very quickly, but then you factor in paying for studios, traveling, rehearsal spaces, printing merch, and so on. I don’t think people realize how much goes into being in and maintaining a band.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Kinda tying into my last answer, it’s very disheartening to find out your favourite band works at Wendy’s when they’re not on the road, so I guess I wish there was more support out there for bands to be able to afford to make art full-time. On tour a lot of smaller bands take a loss going out to share their music, but we’ll do it anyway because we love performing and regardless of the money there’s a pull to get out there and just do as much as you can. I wish it were easier to get out there while still being able to afford to live after, and so I guess if there’s anything I would change, I would want to try and find more ways to more fairly compensate artists for their work, as well as create more opportunities for artists to tour with less financial risk.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
I have a hard time picking favourites, but I think the Power and the Glory by Gentle Giant is an incredible record from cover to cover. A lot of my weirder inclinations as a writer came from Gentle Giant, and I feel like they’re often overlooked for how incredibly unique their sound is. Without Gentle Giant we wouldn’t have Haken, and I think that alone is a pretty big deal.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Digital music has been amazing for the consumer, and it’s never been easier to find new music as a result, but I don’t think it’ll ever hold a candle to how special it is to crack open a new record with the big artwork and the liner notes, maybe a cool gatefold if it’s a double LP. There’s also something special about the experience of spinning records that I don’t find is there even with CD’s or tapes, because you’re engaged and involved in the process of flipping it half or even a quarter of the way through. I personally feel that this process allows you to immerse yourself a little more in the music, and makes the experience special in a way that pressing play on an album on streaming can’t touch.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We’ve been lucky enough to open up for quite a few really cool artists, with lots of great experiences to choose from. However, I’d have to say the highlight so far has been opening up for Protest the Hero last year at the Bronson Center! We all love Protest the Hero, and playing to nearly 1000 people is by far the biggest show this band has ever been a part of. The energy between a band and an audience is electric and indescribable, and that’s true whether it’s an audience of 10 people or 1000, but having that feeling multiplied over that big of a crowd was really special and something I hope we’ll someday get to experience regularly!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Quite honestly I’m not sure! Music is such an important and all-encompassing part of my life that the absence of it would leave quite a sizable amount of time to fill! I really love hiking, baking, and video games, so probably a fair share of that, but after music my next biggest passion seems to be coffee, so maybe I’d be a master roaster or lead barista somewhere cool! It really is hard to say though, I’m pretty much always rehearsing for something, practicing alone, writing, or going to shows.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
I feel like dinner parties are very stuffy and not my vibe, so I feel like I’d need a bunch of weirdos to keep me entertained. Eric Andre was the first person to come to mind, I’m a big fan of his work, and supposedly he’s really chill and interesting to talk to! He’s also an upright bassist, and anyone who plays bass is good in my books. From there, maybe Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, Eric’s a foodie so you know he’d bring something tasty. I don’t want all of these to just be Adult Swim comedy legends so maybe for my last two I’ll go a little left field and say Victor Wooten because he just seems so interesting to talk to, and maybe Devin Townsend for the vibes and to bring it all back to prog!
What’s next for the band?
Well, we’ve got “Nascence” coming in just two months at this point, so we’ll be gigging and talking about it as much as possible to promote that! The second half of the record, Senescence, is already recorded, so I’ll also be editing and mixing that over the next few months to hopefully get that out in the next year or two. From there, it’s anyone’s guess! We’d love to be touring more, and especially getting out of North America and into some European markets. We’re also always writing new material, so hopefully people respond to this project, and we’ll be able to keep making records and furthering our reach!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Yeah! You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, buy our stuff on Bandcamp, and check out our website as well! We’ve also got our music up on Spotify, Apple Music, and pretty much anywhere else you might stream music!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAphelionOfficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaphelionband/?hl=en
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theaphelionband
Bandcamp: https://theaphelionofficial.bandcamp.com/
Official Website: www.theaphelionband.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOoGrkeNLj85R4T1pBlJHsA
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xkGkoAt6foINgBbDcZ83N
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/the-aphelion/1401093487
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct
name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
My pal Lewis is from Burnley and I think he’d kill me if I got it wrong, but I’m fairly certain the answer is a roll! If I’m wrong I’ll have to buy him a pint to make up for it.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you so much for having me! Have your pets spayed or neutered, don’t forget to call your grandma back, and don’t forget to check out “Nascence” when it comes out August 9th as well as our new single ‘Fragility’!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
