Din Of Celestial Birds: Takeoffs And Landings
Instrumental post-rock outfit DIN OF CELESTIAL BIRDS have managed to exceed their own expectations in their career to date. Having already achieved some goals which were on their long-term bucket lists. Their debut album The Night Is For Dreamers was received with rapturous applause and the impending follow-up Takeoffs & Landings is looking poised to do the same.
“We’ve become a lot more sure of ourselves,” confirms bassist/keyboardist Matt Benatan. “With the first album we didn’t really know how it was going to be received but we’re feeling pretty confident with how this release has turned out. We’ve had a lot of really interesting experiences since our debut and where we are now. We have played ArcTanGent, Damnation Festival, played in China and we were just absolutely blown away by the amount of people we’ve been able to play in front of. It’s crazy. It’s been a real privilege and we will never forget what we’ve accomplished. It’s certainly had an impact on us all individually. We know, that as a musician, that you’re not going to make money from it but there is a point where you just have embrace it and the fact that people really love our music is wonderful and that’s why we’re here. Just a bunch of friends who love playing music together and we plan to do this for a very long time. We feel like we’ve assembled something that we can all be really proud of and that people are going to enjoy.”
Takeoffs & Landings is a particularly personal affair, especially for key songwriter Andie Gill, who tragically lost his partner Roisin last year. Whilst it may sound cliche, some of the greatest art is forged in the face of adversity. “This album is all about the adventures we all experience in life. It’s a reflection of all the physical or mental journeys we go through and we really wanted to emphasise that with this album,” explains Matt. “Andie writes a lot of the material and I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. We all get involved in some shape or form and contribute our ideas. Just because our songs don’t have words doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same strong melodies and I feel like this is an element of our sound that Tom has been instrumental in teaching me and helping me to grow as a musician.”
The underground rock and metal scenes have never looked healthier in the UK, with a host of bands, organisers and promoters all uplifting and supporting each other every step of the way. This is a particular aspect of the industry that Matt is incredibly thankful for. “I love the way that the scene is heading these days. It feels a lot more inclusive and supportive. When we first started the band it felt very competitive and like you were battling against each other whereas these days everyone just wants to see you succeed, including the festival organisers. They just want to give you a leg up and it’s such a tight-knit community. It’s great to see and feels much healthier. I got to a point when I just stopped playing music and being in bands for years as it just wasn’t any fun and now I can’t imagine my life without being a part of this scene.”
Constructing instrumental based music takes that extra level of consideration to ensure the song flows and can draw the listener in. This is something Matt is acutely aware of. Guitarist Tom also quite enjoys this part of the process, even if only to wind up Matt! “One of my favourite things about our live shows is when people sing the melodies and I know Matt absolutely hates it when people sing along to instrumental songs,” chuckles Tom. “So my goal is usually to see what I can create that people will sing along to and annoy him.”
Having already achieved some of their dreams, DIN OF CELESTIAL BIRDS are now looking forward to the possibilities which may present themselves in the future. For Matt, there is no ceiling too high. “I always tell people I’d love to play Glastonbury but I’m not entirely sure how realistic that ambition is! It’s the biggest festival in the world, why not aim high. We want to be able to Europe properly and get to America which would be amazing. Our initial goal was to play ArcTanGent and then we could happily call it a day and now we’re due to perform there for the third time. We’re really fortunate to be able to do what we do and we’re very much a DIY band. We’ve put on our own shows, ran our own tours and it’s a lot of work and can be quite frustrating. Anything that you can think of that we can do ourselves, we have probably done it. So I think being able to get on some bigger tours would be great. I just want to be able to keep doing what we’re doing as it’s such a privilege.”
Takeoffs & Landings is out now via Big Scary Monsters. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS131 here.
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