Night Argent self-produced a music video that premiered exclusively through Red Bull on Tuesday, Feb. 3. I recently spoke with frontman Chase Manhattan, the type of musician that finishes a live set even when he is bleeding because a drunk guy kicked a speaker out from under him in the middle of a song (everything is explained later in the article). We discussed the exciting future of Night Argent, the unfortunate end to the Seahawks’ season at the Super Bowl, and much more:
Pat for The Young Folks:
When was the band formed and how did you come up with the name “Night Argent?”
Chase for Night Argent:
We started the five of us about a year and a half ago. And the name comes from our studio on Argent Rd. in Paco, WA. Once we established our sound we wanted to figure out a name that suited us. Since our recording studio is on a street called “Argent” and you can’t find roots any deeper than that, “Night Argent” made sense because it is an integral part of our history.
TYF:
I imagine you guys are Seahawks fans. I’m really sorry about the Super Bowl.
NA:
We were sitting there in shock watching it. To make a drive like that at the end of the game just to fall short definitely sucked.
TYF:
I’d feel the same way, but you have to be excited about other things like the opportunity to work with Red Bull.
NA:
Absolutely. We were trying to figure out how to debut the music video and doing it with Red Bull was an important first act in officially stepping into the music world. Our publicist reached out to their team and they ending up loving the song so they said, “We want to premiere the video.” We were shocked that they were so receptive. It was really cool to work with a brand we admire.
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TYF:
Will “Nothing More Beautiful” be featured on an album?
NA:
It’s a single on its own, but we do have an album worth of songs out there. We’re probably going to include “Nothing More Beautiful” on an EP. We actually won a battle of the bands contest that allowed us to partner with John Feldmann, who recently produced for AVICII and 5 Seconds of Summer. He’s a huge name in the industry and we’re excited that he will be working with us on the next EP we’re doing.
TYF:
What is the title for the upcoming EP?
NA:
We haven’t decided on a name yet but it’s in the works and it will be released sometime in 2015. The songs are all there, and we want to play them live to the point where we’re all happy with how they sound. Once we get to that point we will get them recorded in the studio.
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TYF:
What is your writing process like?
NA:
When we first started playing together, I’d write the songs by myself and then we’d play it live and go back to touch them up. But now we have a process that works way better. I write lyrics and melody on the piano then bring it to the guys with a general direction. Then, we sit with guitars, keys or drums individually and put it together piece by piece. Songs really take shape on the stage, but a big part of our vibe is each individual bringing their flare to a song.
TYF:
Can you describe the band dynamic between the five of you?
NA:
We all have extremely different tastes in music. Our bassist likes metal and EDM, our guitarist is into acoustic stuff like John Mayer, our keyboardist is a fan of Bruno Mars, and our drummer is into Drake. I grew up on classical music so when you combine all of that it makes for an interesting set of ideas as to how we should sound. However, we all have the same goal – to make music and take the skills we’ve found from the artists we enjoy to create something new in the indie pop genre. It took us awhile to get there and there is always push and pull, but it made us strong as a unit and we approach everything together with the band’s best interest in mind.
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TYF:
Do you have a big presence in Washington? How big is your following?
NA:
When we first became a band, we primarily played cover music as we were writing, but we eventually got the opportunity to do a 28 stop/6 week/7 state tour sponsored by Access TV, which is the music channel run by Mark Cuban and Ryan Seacrest. This gave us a chance to cut our teeth in the industry by hitting the road up and down the West Coast playing for high school and college kids, but it was so spread out that it lacked a certain focus. I would have to say the West Coast is home to us and that’s where most of our fans are.
TYF:
Have you had the chance to play any other tours or festivals?
NA:
We played one Warped Tour date in 2014 in Auburn, WA. We’re really pumped because we’re signed up to do 14 dates on Warped Tour this year.
TYF:
Between working with John Feldmann, Red Bull and playing Warped Tour, you guys are making some serious moves. Talk about your mindset as a band when you see all this success starting to come your way.
NA:
Everything that’s happened so far has been amazing and we feel like this our break. At the same time, you can look at any artist or band who has “made it” and they never stop putting forth effort. Our mindset as a band is that all this cool stuff is happening as a result of the path we cut out for ourselves and we must continue working this hard, if not harder.
TYF:
What’s the craziest thing to ever happen at a show?
NA:
Keeping it PG?
TYF:
Whatever you think is best but keep the title of our website in mind.
NA:
We were playing a show and there were drunk people everywhere, like more than normal. At one point, I jumped on a speaker and a guy decided to do some type of kickflip/push-off of the speaker and completely knocked it over. I hit my back pretty hard and started bleeding a little but got back on stage and kept singing. I learned that you have to be careful because you can control what you do but can’t control what other people are going to do at shows. The fact that he was that into the song is a great sign though.
TYF:
Any last thoughts you’d like to share?
NA:
If you’re interested in hearing our music, you can go to nightargent.com. In talking about the music video, it’s important to know that we did all the work ourselves and poured our blood, sweat and tears into it. When you see the video, it’s not someone behind the camera pulling the strings. It’s us, with our vision, and we hope everyone enjoys it as much as we loved creating it.
You can watch the music video for “Nothing More Beautiful” here:
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