Underwing delivers high-octane progressive finesse in their latest LIVE version of “Paragon (Live from Spirals Tour)” with Interview and More News of New Album.

Progressive grunge band Underwing continues to release new music this fall, while simultaneously writing their debut album. This time around they’re launching a LIVE version of “Paragon”, one of the first songs the band ever wrote and released together back in 2016.

2019 has been a hectic year for Underwing with the release of multiple singles leading up to their latest EP “Spirals”, a summer tour to promote their music to new audiences, and recently they released a cover of TOOL’s famous song “The Pot”.

Now they’re back again with “Paragon (Live from Spirals Tour)” featuring a LIVE video of the band during one of their shows on their aforementioned summer tour!

The band has issued the following statement in regards to the release;

“The second single we released back in 2016, “Paragon” was a shock to the local audience who were curious about Underwing. After putting out a slow and groovy stoner-rock song, “Reaper” on the 1st of July 2016 – We held this gem ready for release on the 15th of July and everyone suddenly started taking us more seriously. Here is a LIVE version of the song, from our latest tour “Spirals Tour” which took place the summer of 2019. This one is for the fans!”

We Interviewed Underwing to get some background on this uprising and energetic group.

IPM: Exactly Who is Underwing?

We started as a four-piece at the beginning of 2016 and spent the spring of that year molding a soundscape that consisted of several different influences from genres such as grunge, prog rock, prog metal and good old fashioned rock and quickly found the sound that is now our sonic signature. We released two singles that summer and our debut EP, “Kaela Upsweep”, followed in the summer of 2017. We got a lot of awesome reviews from both national and international press that motivated us to push the envelope even further.

We spent the beginning of 2018 in the studio, went on our first big tour in the summer of that year and got a brand new member in October of 2018. 2019 has been crazy, so far! We released more new music than ever before and we’ve played more shows than ever and the response has been overwhelming. When meeting new people that have never heard of us or our music, we often tell them to visualise Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains having sex, then nine months later a lovechild is born. The lovechild is then adopted by Soundgarden, who coincidentally have Tool as their next-door neighbour. The lovechild then spends the next 8 x 3 years struggling with identity and drug issues before finally realising that the world is run by reptilian overlords. This lovechild is us. And if you made it through this long-winded, semi-erotic description of our band, then congratulations, you’d be the first. But sure, a lot of people enjoy our music immensly and that’s awesome! 

IPM: What inspired you to write music like you do

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes us write music like we do. We are inspired by a vast array of different bands, personal experiences and various philosophies that guides us to make the choices we make musically. I guess what inspires us to make music in this way is that no one else is writing music exactly the way we do. We’re here to fill that void.

IPM: Tell us about the other members of the band, and of your chemistry.

We have Enyeto Kotori. Underwing is his brainchild and at the very beginning of the band it was him and Joachim from the outset. Enyeto’s ideas have been the catalyst of almost every song we’ve released so far and the thematic and lyrical aspect of Underwing is all a product of what began as his vision, which is now shared by all of us. Then we have Joachim Walle Michalsen. Joachim is our drummer and always manages to come up with some funky, weird, progressive or just downright stupid good drums to make our riffs and basslines even jucier. He’s also our producer and he has in fact produced every release that we’ve unleashed upon the world so far! Next up is Magnus Christiansen, who is our chief marketing officer. When he’s not coming up with riffs or finding awesome ways to enhance exisiting ideas with creative harmonies on guitar, he’s often balls deep in some book about music marketing. Thomas Myhren is responsible for all the solos in Underwing’s songs, and when he’s not complaining to the sound tech about his volume being too low (or generally avoiding responsibilities), he’s often busy bookkeeping our business. Jesper Murphy, who came into the fold last October, is our bass player and also acts as our tour manager when we’re on the road. He’s mild-mannered, a great bass player and he also has a great vocabulary of words that you’d never be able to use in an appropriate manner at a dinner party. We’re all very different individuals, but we’re different in a way that make us thrive. Our chemistry is unique and we think that’s why our musical expression is so unique.

IPM: What are or were some of the challenges for you in producing or performing while keeping true to your vision of your music.

We produce all our music in-house, so we have no issues keeping true to our vision of our music.

IPM: Tell us about some of your recent shows / performances.

We recently visited our bass player’s hometown which is a town on the west coast of Norway named Haugesund. It’s our first show in a while, because we mainly focus on writing and planning new releases these days so THAT kinda made it stand out a bit. Not only that, but we were welcomed by his mom and step father who were really nice people – Just like The Merf himself.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel, as we’ll upload a little tour documentary from our visit in the following weeks. Youtube; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfSdvrBMM5IPqlw0g9ns70A

IPM: Any Albums coming out soon or shows you are looking to share.

We’re currently working on our debut album. We’re very dedicated to making it the best album it can be, so it will take a while. In the meantime, we have plenty of ideas that will probably surface before our debut record. We’re constantly planning months into the future and we have plenty of awesome shows that will be announced in the coming months. Next release is already on the 5^th of November (remember, remember!) and is a toned down version of the title track off our latest EP “Spirals” – You can pre-save the track to your spotify playlist here; https://bit.ly/32FZi03

IPM: Any “strange tales” or things that may have happened during a show that seemed too weird to be true?

Well, there’s always moments when we’re together that possesses a certain magical trait. Mostly synchronized feelings accompanied by a naturally occurring experience that for us, existing in that very moment, might be labeled as unforgettable, unexplainable, unexpected or just plain insanity. To categorize such events as mundane and ordinary is easily achievable, but when the right mindset is present, the purest analysis might come forth, enabling us to witness beyond our normal range of understanding. Not all moments enhance this feeling of union and spiritual awakening related to the human psyche, but like all things considered, there’s something to be learned and appreciated retrospectively in every action.. yeah, nothing crazy here!

IPM: Where do you see your music going, where would you like to be in the near future, goals, dreams and passions?

Our dream is to be able to do this for a living, full time, putting all our time and efforts into making great music. During our soon-to-be four years as a band, there’s one thing we’ve learned. If you put down some good, honest hard work, you will see results. We’re keen on working hard to achieve our dream. Our goal for the future is to make Underwing a household name that people correlate with passion, quality and honesty.

IPM: What would you like our readers to know about you?

If you don’t know us already, invest some of your time to make our acquaintance. We’re equal parts dedicated, crazy and passionate. You’ll either hate us with a passion or you’ll love us. Perhaps you’ll decide that you don’t love us and you don’t hate us, perhaps you don’t think anything particular about us. Either way, check us out and let us know what you think.

IPM: Where can our readers find your music? 

You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Tidal, iTunes and all the places where you usually find funny cat pictures, classical art memes, soft pornography and self-help lessons from overly positive vegans.

www.facebook.com/underwingmusic

www.instagram.com/underwingband

http://open.spotify.com/artist/6PkiZttIvEc28Y0HOxowa7