Interview with THIN

Interview by: Scribe Nathaniel

Our very own Scribe Nathaniel--the Sleeping Village's resident reporter of all things abrasive and chaotic--has stopped by once more with an interview of Thin, also known as Brooklyn, New York's finest mathgrind outfit. Their latest effort, dawn, has dropped today, and let me tell you: it's an absolute banger. As intense and frenetic as you can get without absolutely obliterating your synapses, this beastly combo of spastic mathcore and deathy grind has fueled my morning quite splendidly. These guys are the real deal, and so, without further ado, I'll shut up and hand over the reins:

Hello, I am Scribe Nathaniel from the Sleeping Village. First off, I would like to thank Thin for
taking time out of their day to answer these questions. Lets do this!

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Scribe Nathaniel: What got y'all into Mathcore?

Thin: Each of us found heavy music in high school (Fernando and Andrew in NYC, and Trashley in FL), and were influenced by bands like Every Time I Die, Daughters, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Psyopus, Poison The Well, Ed Gein, Cephalic Carnage, Arsonists Get All The Girls, Converge, Into The Moat, etc. At this point, as Thin, we don't specifically aim to play "mathcore," but we've definitely found our wheelhouse somewhere between math and grind. It's a hell of a good time playing fast, aggressive, off-kilter shit.

SN: How do y'all go about writing these beautiful songs?

Thin: Our writing process almost always begins rhythmically. Usually, one of us will have a rhythm and time signature in mind, but no "melody" necessarily. We all kind of work from the rhythm/meter idea and fuck around until we feel the part ("riff") clicking. From there we do our best to make tight transitions, and not belabor any one part. This music is pretty damn abrasive, so we like to get to the point--get in, get out.

SN: I am aware that y'all have an upcoming album and I am fairly excited for it, compared to respite_apology how are y'all changing or improving y'alls sound?

Thin: We've been a band for over a year now, and are really feeling locked-in--just in time for a pandemic and social distancing :( We wrote the respite_apology EP in relatively short timeframe (Oct 2018-Jan 2019), but for dawn, we had a few more months at our disposal to experiment and generate material. We even wrote a couple songs at Backroom Studios while tracking dawn (Oct 2019) that made it on the record. We were trying to embrace the energy of the moment, so to speak.

​SN: What are y'alls biggest inspirations?

Thin: Biggest musical inspirations? Collectively, we are fans of the bands mentioned above, as well as artists like Full of Hell, Pig Destroyer, Discordance Axis, and Cult Leader, Death Grips, The Fall of Troy, Portrayal of Guilt, Napalm Death, Russian Circles, Pyrrhon, Cloud Rat and just too many more to name. If you're asking about inspirations behind playing "mathgrind," the typical anxiety, depression, and feelings of dissociation might be good places to start ;(

​SN: Are their any new inspirations for the new album dawn?

Thin: Ashley's estranged biological father died last summer, and he dedicated much of the lyrical content on dawn to the confusion and pain of coping with that loss. This sets a very different tone than respite_apology. The dawn album art also differs greatly from it's predecessor in color (a bright orange) and content (a photo collage of an imagined New Mexican landscape). As far as instrumentation, we pushed ourselves to write as much as possible at rehearsals, and let ideas flow naturally. We never forced parts to work. The part worked, or it didn't. If there was any ambivalence about a section, we worked at it until it was dialed and we loved it. 

​SN: Are y'all happy with the response that respite_apology has garnered?

Thin: We are very grateful for the awesome little community that has embraced respite_apology, and hope dawn will be heard by even more! Shoutout to Mathcore Index for helping us promote both releases. They are doing god's work, for real. 

​SN: What is the future for THIN?

Thin: Well, whenever the COVID-19 pandemic subsides (when the fuck is that supposed to happen?? 2022???), we hope to play shows again, lol. Seriously, it's going to be an adjustment transitioning back to real life, but we are itching to get out there and play the damn songs we recorded...whenever that can feasibly happen. 

​SN: What would y'all say to aspiring musicians?

Ashley: Embrace mistakes. They are gifts. 
Fernando: Take everything day by day.
Andrew: Stay uncomfortable.

​SN: Any last words before the interview ends?

Thin: Stay safe out there friends, and keep grindin'. PEACE!

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Thin can be found:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram