Alternative metal band Taken By Tides is gaining momentum with their latest single and music video for "Ghost Vibrations." The Texas-based band is known for their high-intensity sound, deeply expressive lyrics, and dynamic stage presence. When it comes to bleeding all their passion into the music, this song does it all, and is sure to continue reaching many more listeners as they make their mark in the music scene. I recently got the chance to chat with the guys about their newest release and music video; here's what they had to say.
MSM: Hi, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today. Can you please introduce yourselves and tell us what roles you each play in the band.
Omar: I'm Omar. I am the singer and I'll pass it to Jay.
Jay: What's up? I'm Jay and I play drums.
Memo: How's it going? I'm Memo and I play guitar.
Jack: How's it going? I'm Jack. I play bass and attempt vocals.
MSM: Can you share the story or meaning behind "Ghost Vibrations"? What inspired the song?
Omar: Yeah, of course. There are multiple different things about "Ghost Vibrations". So we call it "Ghost Vibrations" because it seemed cooler than a phantom vibration, but it's actually a phantom vibration. I don't know if you ever get that feeling on your phone when it's in your pocket and you think it vibrates. You think you have a message or something, then you check and it's nothing. That's kind of the main theme about it. It's like a theme about loneliness and waiting for things to happen. The song kind of encapsulates that. It's like looking towards the future, wanting to grow up, be remade, and look forward to success. Things like that. It's kind of the main theme to the song.
MSM: How does the song fit into the overall themes or direction of the band's upcoming work?
Omar: Jay, do you want to touch on this one?
Jay: Yeah. I feel for the new music we've been writing, "Ghost Vibrations" is probably the best encapsulation of what you're going to get from our band. At least for this ideation that we're in right now. It's a lot of melody-based stuff. We still have the screaming which is going to be there for sure and the heavy parts. I feel like now, with the past releases, this song is definitely closer to what we think our sound is supposed to be like.
MSM: Do you have any musical influences that help inspire the songwriting process?
Jack: Specifically for this track, we took a lot of pop influences and things from our day-to-day radio player stuff you catch. Specifically, The Weeknd or something, I think we all are kind of collectively into. I think that had a heavy influence when it came to the keys and things. That's prevalent through probably the next couple of releases I think you'll hear. It's pretty interesting. There's a ton of different influences that flow into this, from things like our Mexican heritage to just heavy stuff. I honestly feel like heavy is probably one of the things we incorporate the least. We don't collectively listen to heavy music that often.
Omar: That's me. I'm the heavy part.
Jack: Yeah, he listens to heavy music.
Omar: I'm the one that brings the heavy.
Jack: Yeah, it's an interesting mix.
Omar: A lot of Latin artists too, like Jack mentioned, like Maluma and Bad Bunny. We get some inspiration too from that. A lot of that soft singing type of thing and bringing our love for rock music from artists like My Chemical Romance and Pierce the Veil. Higher-pitched vocals type of thing and blending it all together. Memo, do you have any inspirations when it comes to this band? Not just "Ghost Vibrations", but this record overall?
Memo: Yeah, definitely. I feel like working with the guys and just getting down to the workshop in songwriting... I've been able to explore many of my favorite artists that go across all genres. We all share and admire Spanish Latin, Mexican music, and rock. I personally really love Sade, like an R&B blues singer. Also a lot of soft tones and vocal melodies, things like that as well. I feel it's something I was able to tap into when we were writing this song. Specifically with the chorus as well, with not staying in a realm, but definitely introducing this idea that we can pick fruits from different trees, the trees being different genres. I feel like there's no shortage of inspiration when it comes to us because we have so much to look into and so much to gain from. That's actually one of the things I really admire. We pretty much don't limit ourselves in what we can be inspired by.
Omar: Yeah, definitely. Jay, do you have any influences?
Jay: Yeah, I think more than just musically, but definitely I know this is the case for me and Omar. How we're feeling will kind of sway what's going to come out of us.
Omar: Sad music. Just kidding.
Jay: Yeah, of course. I think with the place that we're at in our lives and the place we were at when we were writing "Ghost Vibrations", it just came out of us. That song was written really, really fast–at least the first demo was. I had made this loop like a year before I even brought it to the guys. We listened to it and dropped it in one night, and we just made the chorus, we made the melody, and we added the riff. That just became the song. We sat on it and we ended up finishing it like another year later. That's how that song became.
Omar: Yeah, I think that first verse, we recorded it and the first thing that came out when I just did like a dummy vocal, I think that's what ended up on the song. It was very similar, so yeah, we did write it pretty fast. It was really fun because it was the first time that the four of us were really dialed in together. Some of us were in separate cities, not too far; it was like 2 hours. It's an easy drive for us now. When we were writing together, we were like, "It's kind of the beginning of a new era." It's just really awesome, and I'm happy about that.
MSM: I absolutely love the visuals in the video for this song. What was the creative process like? Did you have a specific idea or vision in mind?
Omar: So the song is called "Ghost Vibrations", and normally we wanted to get this old creepy-looking house chapel thing. It would have been really cool to do that, but when we were doing some location scouting, like looking at a few Airbnbs and this other app that lets you do filming things, we ended up looking at this other house that was very modern-looking, but at the same time it felt very dystopian. It was like under a grass roof.
Jack: It was a very architectural structure; it was very concrete-based. There was no foundation. It was an interesting place to film. The driveway wrapped around while going down into the place. I don't know. It was again an interesting place to film.
Omar: Yeah, it's like a house under a hill. I don't know, something about that house kind of spoke to me. I was like, "This is kind of a cool place." The video just looked cool here. So we did that, and we had an idea of me driving to nothing. The idea of those types of cool music videos where there's, like, a dude in a car driving. It just looks cool. There's not really much of a story behind it. You're just like, "Where is he going? I don't know. He's driving." I mean, the whole creative process of the video was just trying to get cool visuals in the house. It ended up looking really cool. I think it's our coolest-looking video to date. Shout out to Brian Bradley; he crushed that. Greatest director we've worked with for sure. He took care of us so well.
MSM: How do you feel the video enhances or adds to the meaning of the song?
Omar: Expression mostly. It's a little difficult to express through other instruments, so the best way to express that emotion is obviously through vocals and performances. I'd say that's mostly the way you add emotion to the song with the video, but obviously my guys are jamming out. Memo's spinning, Jack's twirling his hair, and Jay's eating those drums. When the music hits, it's really fun for us. Every time we play it live, when the music drops, I can see people's heads turning, and it's like, "Yes!" There's like an emotion; when the instrumental hits, it just gets me. I always do this thing live where I put my arms up, and Jay always laughs at me for putting my arms up when the music drops. I should do it now to make him laugh. I think the song and video overall are pretty emotional.
Jack: I think the video helped add to the etherealness in the intro, as well as add to giving context or actually a setting, like you mentioned, the car. It's a driving song, driving in more ways than one. Driving in being motivated, that was a big part of the writing process. Also, like you mentioned, looking forward to the future. Driving as far as literally going somewhere. The location added to the coldness, and the color grading added to the coldness of the world that we were feeling. We were talking about that song and the sadness that goes into it, but like you said, we're jamming, we're pushing through, and we're putting a vibe into that coldness. I think that's something you could take away from it visually. That's nice, and it's really well done. Again, shout out to our boy Brian for that. It came across really well, and I'm just happy with the product. I'm also glad that you liked it and the driving.
Omar: Favorite video to date for sure.
Jack: Oh yeah, favorite video.
MSM: What do you hope fans interpret from the video and the song?
Omar: I'm not sure. This is always a thing that I talk about with other friends of mine in bands. I've got a couple of other friends who have released more music than we have. They have 10 years over us, and what they always tell me is when the song's out, it's the world's. I can't really expect them to feel what we felt when we were writing it. I can just kind of hope they get an idea and can interpret it themselves. Also, hope they find something good out of it. Like what I was saying earlier, it's kind of got multiple meanings throughout the song. I hope they at least connect with one of them and relate. That's pretty much it for me. I don't know if anyone has anything to add on that.
Jay: I really don't think we make music for other people. When we're writing and in the studio, it's very much for us. If people like it, that's great. I hope they do, and I hope they feel the same things that we do. I'm never going to ask somebody to feel that same way and I'm not going to expect them to either.
Memo: Yeah, not impose that feeling onto them for sure.
Jack: The feeling that we love to share is also when we get the chance to play the song. Then, when we make the song, that feeling is a lot different. Hearing that song live and having people sing it, that's a lot more positive, and it's something we all get to share. That's one of the best things about a show. That's, I think, the thing we like to impart most. If somebody's going through a time where they relate to what we were going through when we wrote it and they're able to listen to it on their own time, also share that, then that's also beautiful. That's the wonderful thing. Like Omar said, when it goes to the world and it becomes everybody's, then they can take their own relationship with it on any level and on any terms.
Omar: Yeah, and what if someone doesn't have a car, they can't drive and listen to this song. You know, maybe they have a bike. They have to relate somehow.
Jack: What about that guy who skates everywhere?
Omar: Dude, I use to skate everywhere.
Jack: Exactly!
Omar: That's a good one, Jack. Thank you.
Memo: I wanted to branch off of what Jayden said and what Jack said. Especially the comment that we don't really keep in mind what others are going to think whenever we are writing something. Sometimes I wish there was a camera recording us while we were writing because there are moments when we would write something really cool, and we just pop off and become uncontrollable. We get so freaking excited, and I definitely want to say that excitement translates very well whenever we write something. Whether it's like a great plunge before a really cool breakdown or before something gets heavier within the song, I feel like our songs can definitely act like a mirror to how we were feeling when we were writing them or what we were thinking. Other than that, yeah, again, once a song is out to the world, they're able to see how we were feeling and what was in our minds when we put it out whenever we were making it.
Omar: Yeah, like you said, I wish we could have a camera, which we will. We will have a camera recording everything. We do have a bit of footage, but I want to record everything. Yeah, it's not just a selfish thing, Memo. We write for us not because we're like, "Oh, we're only writing for us." I just think it's what we're going through.
Memo: I also wanted to say it's things that make us excited. It just fires us up. It allows us to anticipate, like, "Oh, I can't wait to play this live, and I can't wait for others to feel this same thrill that we feel." The anticipation is killer for sure.
Omar: I can't wait to show all the new music too, but yeah, excited.
MSM: What can fans expect from you guys next? Is "Ghost Vibrations" part of a larger project or album?
Jay: "Ghost Vibrations" is definitely not going to be a stand-alone thing. I'm not sure we're ready to talk about everything that is to come, but one thing that we can say is that new music is definitely coming, and we're not going to be slowing down anytime soon.
Omar: Yeah, for sure, I agree with that. We've told a couple of people at our shows. So a couple of people know some things. So if you want to know some secrets, come to our shows. For real, yeah, we're super excited. We're going to be in some really cool things soon. There's definitely new music; we've been loading up. Does anyone else want to add anything to that?
Jack: Just general excitement. I can't express my own excitement enough for what we've got down the pipeline. I'm happy you asked that question because we do have some fun stuff ready to do. Without giving away any details or spoiling anything. Like Omar said, come to a show if you want spoilers. It's going to be great, some really fun stuff. If you like this, keep listening and keep checking out what's coming next because it's only going to get better.
Omar: So your answer is yes, there are big things coming soon. You know, the typical band thing.
Memo: I also want to put in like two words here. I'm going to get a little dorky with this, but like in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, there's something called world-building, and that's definitely what this feels like. We're definitely creating something. I definitely like to leave it up to anticipation because it feels so much more fun that way. I feel my adrenaline kicking in as I'm talking about it. I can't wait. I'm so excited.
Omar: I hope people share the same anticipation as we do. We've had it before we even announced the single song.
MSM: If someone is discovering Taken By Tides for the first time through "Ghost Vibrations", what's one thing you'd want them to know about your band?
Omar: Hmm, that is hard. One thing to know about my band. Anyone? I've got to think about that one for a second.
Jack: Hmm.
Memo: I'm looking closely to see what these guys say.
Omar: I've got something to give you guys some ideas. Yeah, one thing I would want people to know about our band is that we're not giving up. If you want to find a good band to support, invest in, buy merch, and go to shows, just know that we're not giving up. We're going to be doing this for the long run, and if you want to stick around for the journey, get a vinyl and get it signed from us, because 10 years down the line you can be one of those fans with a video on their phone and say, "I saw this band before they blew up." That's the one thing I want people to know, is we're not giving up. Anyone else got something to say?
Jack: Yeah, I would just love for people to take away, I guess, the genuineness of how real this is to us and how much every single one of these songs and every bit of this project means to us. Also, how much love, care, time, blood, sweat, and effort went into every single aspect of this. I know that's never going to come across one-to-one, but I want anyone finding out about us to know that we do put our love and care into it. It's made 100% with love, just like Grandma used to make. You can't ask for more than that. At least I wouldn't from a band, and that's what we're trying to do. Like Omar said, if you want to find a band to support, we're the real deal.
Memo: Yeah, I want to say we're hungry; we're definitely hungry. Even in terms of just music and outside of music, we see the lengths that this band can get to, can go, and can reach. I have a vision where we exceed all our own expectations and even already with the single out. I'm just very excited to go through this journey with whoever chooses to accompany us through it, and I feel like it's going to be a very fun journey. I sometimes lose my words when I'm trying to convey this idea that this is just so vast to points where it even feels larger than all of us, or for a lot of the time. That's just a really good indicator that we're so devoted to this project, and there's nothing else I can fill in that gap for me. This project, this band, these guys, and this vision.
Omar: Jay?
Jay: You guys kind of got all of it.
Omar: He's like, "You left no crumbs, dude. I got nothing."
Jay: Yeah, I got nothing. I mean, really, I guess I just hope people know that their support isn't in vain. We're going to do it, and there's nothing that's going to stop us.
Omar: We work hard. We work really hard, and these next couple of songs coming show it.
Jay: Yeah, this band is our whole lives, and that's not going to change.
Omar: Great answer, dude, thank you! Thank you all!
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