Emerging heavy alternative band MCHNZ kicked off the new year with the release of their latest single, In The Dark. Blending melody, atmosphere, and emotional honesty, the track reflects the complexities of life on the road and the push and pull between movement and home. We caught up with MCHNZ to talk about the inspiration behind the song, their evolving sound, and what listeners can expect next.
Interview below
Sound Off Press: Can you share the inspiration behind your new single, In The Dark?
MCHNZ: The song came from thinking about different feelings that happen when on the road and missing someone from home but also feeling out of place sometimes when you’re at home. The chemistry and vibes can almost be addicting like drugs to both sides of the world.
Sound Off Press: What emotions or themes were at the center of writing this song?
MCHNZ: There was a bit of everything that was tossed into this from happiness to some bittersweet and even some sadness that was in this song however, ultimately I like to always try to make things with some type of positive finish.
Sound Off Press: Was there anything about creating In The Dark that felt different from your previous work?
MCHNZ: I always joke about writing and say if something doesn’t stick within about 45 minutes I usually save it as some dumb working title and move onto something else that does catch and similar to gravity and most of the songs off of we are machines this song caught immediately. As I dive into continuing to really build on the pop and melodic metal if you will, this song just happened to pop just perfectly for us.
Sound Off Press: What do you hope listeners connect with most when they hear the song?
MCHNZ: With any of our songs, I try to write them as openly as possible so people can translate them into their own lives. Not everyone is going through what I’ve gone through, but I bet they’ve gone through something similar. All of our songs are for them and a little bit for us.
Sound Off Press: How did this project come together for you as a band?
MCHNZ: Originally this band was called awaiting Eli and was a band that I was brought in in 2014 as a guitarist, main songwriter and backup singer. Through its transformations, people not being able to hack it on the road, personal differences, and sometimes even habits, the band eventually disbanded with the passing of one of my dearest friends and bandmates Bob Brazeal.
After Bobby passed, we brought in Nic from Sidewise in the Leo project in Kansas City as I had been living there at the time, but was originally from Omaha. I remember sitting at the airport with Nic, Los, and Blake, and that is where we change the name from Awaiting Eli to MCHNZ she kind of put Awaiting Eli to rest. The band was going to shoot gravity in New York with Tom Flynnn one of our great friends and the name.
An image always changed right before boarding our flight. Fast forward into getting opportunities to tour with earshot our bass player Carlos had to step away for personal reasons which is always understandable as we all have lives. From there, Casey jumped in to play bass and also take part in mixing some of the newest stuff that you’re hearing.
We did a great record with Chris Dawson who’s another one of our great friends and through learning the process of writing and producing and mixing we decided to do a lot of the work in house for holy water and in the dark. All in all, we have a great group and team that surrounds us from musicians to support system and at any time if somebody can’t go, another one will jump in and fill the spot.
Sound Off Press: When writing music, what usually comes first for you? (lyrics, melody, or atmosphere?)
MCHNZ: I’ve talked about this quite a bit and my old writing technique used to be a click in a guitar. I’d figure it out from there within an hour or so meaning a whole chorus with words and some kind of transition from the verse with the pre- and the chorus. As I have progressed as a writer and a vocalist, I do hear melodies from time to time that I just have to write from those to not ruin how the Melody would be transpired so I do a little bit of both and I like doing that because it makes me work as an artist.
Sound Off Press: How would you describe your sound to someone hearing you for the first time?
MCHNZ: We all have our idols and bands we look up to. I’d say some of our closest similarities would be Bring Me The Horizon, Starset, Nevertel, Sleep Theory, and Bad Omens. Those influences have helped shape the sound you’re hearing now which is MCHNZ and what we’ll continue to sound like moving forward.
Sound Off Press: What’s exciting you most about what’s coming next?
MCHNZ: It’s crazy! you prepare for a release, stress about it, figure out how to make it happen financially, and overall, it can sometimes be a bit bittersweet. For in the dark we decided to go almost completely organic, drop the song in the video on New Year’s Day and just put the sound out there to see how it took off. We took a shot, now we’re here.
We’ve got close to four albums worth of music done all with some type of progression on the sound that you’re hearing to show that we’re bettering our craft and moving forward and what we’re passionate about. I would expect us to scatter drop singles every 6 to 8 weeks for the next 12 months. That accumulation of songs will turn into a record that will be released with some unreleased music, video material, behind-the-scenes material, and unique disk drive format as well as your normal DSP services. We’ve got a lot in the works. We hope to be able to give it to everybody.
In The Dark is available now on all streaming platforms. Follow MCHNZ to stay up to date on new releases and upcoming announcements.
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