
Sometimes a feeling becomes so powerful that it breathes into the realm of psychedelia. With it pulling the possessor of the emotion into an almost dreamlike state, you might catch some of those hallucinatory vibrations yourself if you're in proximity to someone overwhelmed by feeling.
The multifaceted band An Old Friend hails from Long Island with its supreme rock sound that evokes emotion and thought. When singer Cody Kohler feeds into his ability to be a conduit of mighty emotional forces, it's when he sings that he allows himself to be swept away by a torrent of sentiment. Naturally, he expects his music to have the same effect on his listeners.
As we delve into the poetic soundscape of the most recent single to come from An Old Friend, we find ourselves arriving at the intoxicating sonic and visual pairing for "Flower Glass." Fixated upon the amber and cyan color scheme of the visuals that are further enhanced by the mesmerizing color grading, there's a euphoric sense of ease that powerfully protrudes our minds.
We get the pleasure of latching onto imagery of the band performing with grace and impact as members slowly start to disparate into the air amongst themselves. Playing into a metaphor for "Flower Glass," we're exposed to phenomena beyond human understanding; color out of space, in other words.
"Flower Glass" is addressed to a compatriot who remains complacent, taking shelter in nostalgia, slumber, and the methods of the past. With croons that emit an empowering cry for poetic lyrical motifs, the brilliance that unravels is rather riveting in what "Flower Glass" has to offer An Old Friend's audience. Teasing a forthcoming album as they introduce us to the most transcendent version of themselves yet, the versatile and inspired band will have you falling deep into your adventurous emo, atmospheric post-rock, mesmerizing modern prog, and anthemic ballad dreams.
You do an excellent job at transporting us to the emotion you desire in "Flower Glass." With visuals that immerse us in the mystery and natural flow of hardships, what moment or story inspired the lyrical message in this song?
We genuinely appreciate those words. Our job is done if we make you feel something while listening. The inspiration behind "Flower Glass" comes from a compilation of experiences, whether the daily battles we all face or the existential questioning that our intrapersonal conversations hold; essentially, we would say it's all open for interpretation to the listener. However, as long as the listener is taken to a place while listening, it is all that matters.
What were the intentions of An Old Friend when constructing the concept for the visuals for this record?
The intentions were to mess with lighting, try and visually represent a feeling of dreamy nostalgia. We lucked out having Tom Flynn direct this one again, as he always does our music justice. Also, our location was killer. The flower wall was fitting to the song.
Could you please share a glimpse of what it was like on set creating this enticing amber and cyan storyline?
First off, shooting this video was a breeze, probably one of the more cohesive shoots we have done. We lucked out with lighting, this spot had big loft windows that brought in plenty of amber light during golden hour, and director Tom Flynn had an arsenal of lighting that helped accentuate the second half of the shoot at night. It was all fitting for the motions of the song.
With such a broad spectrum of influence playing into your sound, what non-musical inspirations do you allow to speak into the music you craft?
Besides the cliche of saying "life" & "experiences," we are all artistically devoted to something besides music, which may not influence the music per se, but allows us to balance our creativity.
Frank is heavily into glass blowing and has an online shop. He makes a ton of cool pieces and customs for people. ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/jambiart/ )
Cory actually runs and owns a print shop (http://www.redshedprintshop.com ) creating custom merch for restaurants, companies, and bands,
Cody dabbles with photography quite a bit (IG: @efcoast )
And Eddy is an actual scientist, currently studying neuroscience and in a doctorate program.
What's next for you?
Still have a bunch more to release. Hopeful of getting back into playing around to feel that connection again.