There’s more than just passion and musical talent behind the Goodwood Atoms’ self-described “otherworldly soundscapes.”
There’s also quite a lot of fascination with the actual science of sound.
“A lot of us in the band have engineering backgrounds,” explained Francis Hooper, frontman for the Vancouver-based band, which will perform at Howe Sound Inn and Brew Pub on Saturday, Feb. 28.
When not on stage, Hooper has made a career in the studio as a sound engineer for television shows for like Nickelodeon’s animated Ninja Turtles and the H. Jon Benjamin-voiced Bob’s Burgers.
“I worked on the pilot for Bob’s Burgers,” said Hooper. “That was actually the first TV show I worked on.”
With this kind of professional experience with sound, Hooper said the band members have always been particularly focused on both the art and science of creating music.
“We’ve always been a band that’s interested in sound textures and the changes in sound spectrum,” he said. “It’s always about finding the right sound… experimenting with pedals.”
But far from just approaching the music from a technical level, Goodwood Atoms pours a lot of passion into the sounds, delivering a blending of acoustic and modern genres that Hooper described as “spacier, dark folk with electronic.”
In between gigs, the band is currently working on its second EP, with a first single due out sometime in May, followed by a release tour.
“We’re going into the studio with 18 songs, but have to narrow it down to six for the EP,” said Hooper. “We really want to push the boundaries with these songs.”
The audience at the Howe Sound Brew Pub may even get to influence what songs get on that album.
“We’ll be debuting some of the new material,” said Hooper. “Audience reaction to the songs is definitely a factor in deciding what songs we’ll record, or what parts are keepers and what doesn’t work.”
Delve into the band’s latest soundscapes at the Howe Sound Brew Pub on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 p.m; there’s no cover charge.
For more on the band, go to www.goodwoodatoms.com.
