Naraick

Switching things up with Naraick



By Jonathan Tuason





Versatility in mind



Naraick is a one-man project based in Chesterfield, Derybshire. Stephen Treece, a singer-songwriter whose diverse tastes become apparent in his music. On the whole, his style might be considered alternative rock. Take the collaborative effort, “Opression”, the lyrics of which describe the heavy toll brought upon civilians caught in the crossfire of war – its solemnity accentuated by an accompaniment driven by a steady bassline. “Feeding frenzy time has come / Unarmed citizens try to run / Mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons / can’t out bullets from army guns.” However, his versatility becomes apparent when he moves from “Oppression” to “Pulsation,” a poppy dance arrangement. “There is only you and me left here to try / Let your soul dance to the beat / We are the only ones to ever feel this heat.”



Referring to his many styles he comments, “I have always had a leaning to rock guitars and synths and basically try to find ways to blend the two. I don’t easily fit into any genre of music, and as a result I like to experiment and blend elements of different genres. I don’t limit myself in terms of thinking that a particular style doesn’t really suit me.” He continues, “If a song sounds right, I will make it, even if it is a dance style track like “Pulsation”, a ballad, or an indie rock track. I haven’t yet done a rap track though I will never rule anything out if it feels right at the time.”



Explaining his creative process – and perhaps root of his versatility – he says, “I usually start with a vague idea and start playing with different sounds until I find something I like and then develop that into music, then the lyrics, then play with the vocals until it becomes a song.” He continues, “Lyrics on the whole can come from anywhere and at any time so I always have some means to write or record them just in case. It would not be the first time that I have had to stop the car, whip out my phone and record a phrase or sentence that occurred to me as I was driving so I didn’t forget it.” Treece maintains a clear experimental streak, and as he explains, “There are times when I don’t know how a song will sound until it is finished.” And it doesn’t hurt that as an independent musician he doesn’t feel constrained by labeling himself. “One advantage of being an unsigned artist is that I have no one else’s expectations to fulfill and therefore, I am not afraid to experiment.”



His open-ended method permits tracks like “Horror Show”, an up-tempo, synth and guitar driven bit concerning personal demons with horror motif, to appear alongside “A Million Miles”, a minimalist, percussion-driven track about cutting ties. Treece is considering featuring these two tracks in his upcoming album, View from a Dark Window, and considering his continued growth, it is sure to deliver.





Collaborative efforts



Treece comments, “My influences tend to be the more “off the wall” style of artists such as Pink Floyd, Bowie, Bill Nelson, Steve Harley and more up to date ones would include Muse, The Killers and Coldplay, generally artists that are prepared to experiment with music and sound and are more progressive.” In the same vein, Treece enjoys collaborating with other musicians. He explains, “I like the exchange of ideas and working with different styles of music. Patrick Guertz [with whom Treece collaborated for “Opression”] is a young, Dutch producer doing mainly dance and house music,” he explains. “And the Future Regression Project with Chris Jones is a very rock-orientated album, so it was interesting to write and sing lyrics for tracks that I may not have otherwise been involved with and write tracks I may not otherwise have been inspired to write.”





Future sounds



Despite producing music under the Naraick moniker for only three years, he has a solid discography of two albums – one solo, one collaborative. “I still consider myself to be a newcomer onto the musical scene, though having written some 60 songs in the last year,” he explains. He is planning on releasing another album, View from a Dark Window in early September, which is expected to be darker than his first release, Induction. However, he also mentions, “I would like a break from writing and am looking to do some live gigs, but locally there are very few places to play live so I am open to offers from anywhere as long as I can use backing tracks.”

Still, Treece remains undeterred. “I think that I make music that I like for the pure enjoyment of making it,” he offers. “Listening to music has played a very important part in my life and I hope that my music touches the lives of others in the same way and brings people pleasure.” - Wax Wire