Vivre is the third release from Those Who Ride With Giants, and it’s out June 22 via Ostereo. The six-track EP is the brainchild of Sydney, Australia-based illustrator/animator/musician MJ Callaghan, and although he may already be sick of the comparison, the instrumental soundscapes he creates exist in the same airy atmosphere as Explosions In The Sky. (Good on ya, mate.) So it’s no wonder that Callaghan’s dynamic, dramatic dirges have already scored films and commercials.
“The Walk Of Thunder” is both the first single off Vivre as well as its opener, and, says Callaghan, “as the main theme of the EP is ‘to live, to be alive and to conquer the darkness,’ ‘The Walk Of Thunder’ is the ideal introduction of what’s to come.” We couldn’t agree more, and the track definitely grabs your attention immediately and leaves you wanting more.
Vivre showcases a harder side of Those Who Ride With Giants, possibly because Callaghan was listening to music by the likes of Deftones, the Contortionist and Tesseract while he was writing these songs as well as building a new studio to work in. But this heavier result wasn’t one that was completely intentional, especially given Callaghan’s struggle with “The Walk Of Thunder.”
“This is probably the longest I’ve ever worked on a song,” he says. “Originally I wrote the guitar parts to be delicate and pretty, but continually fell short when it came to how I wanted the direction of the track to go. In an attempt to salvage it, I tried something different with a big bass line and a solid drum beat, but I was ready to drop the track entirely, when a very close friend heard it by chance, encouraging me to continue, to finish the song. Instead of the original desire to have a soft-and-elegant piece, it became this powerful opener that Those Who Ride With Giants hasn’t done before.”
We’re proud to premiere “The Walk Of Thunder” today on magnetmagazine.com. Check it out now, and look for the full-band version of Those Who Ride With Giants to tour after Vivre’s release.
