Their story begins 10 years ago, when matt brown and anna-lynne williams were teenagers growing up in Southern California, met through mutual friends and began working together to create what would eventually become, with the help of ross simonini and drummer jamie williams, the distinct sound of trespassers william.
trespassers william became a presence in the North American music scene when their second studio album, different stars, was re-released by Nettwerk Music Group worldwide in 2004. Called "Gently mesmerizing…haunting" by NME, different stars hinted at influences of ambient, folk and shoegaze, and established the band as subtle nuanced songwriters.
Since recording different stars in 2003, trespassers william have spent most of their time on side projects, on the road and working on a new record. The band toured internationally with acts like Damien Rice, Stereolab and Morrissey, and anna-lynne williams lent her voice to the Chemical Brothers’ 2004 release Push The Button on the song “Hold Tight London.” Also, music from different stars has been featured in a number of television shows and films, most recently the film Annapolis in theatres now.
The beginning of 2006 finds trespassers william preparing for the release of their new album HAVING, set to hit stores February 28th.
“We worked on having as a band for a long time before going into the studio. We really crafted and cared about each of the songs…their length, order, tempo,” says anna-lynne williams.
When the band felt ready to step into the studio, they took a break from the hectic Los Angeles lifestyle and ventured north to the outskirts of Seattle, where they rented a house together to reinterpret the focus of their sound. They enjoyed their new surroundings so much that they permanently relocated to Seattle upon completion of the record.
“We set up a studio in the house we were renting and did it all ourselves. It was great; we could be really picky if we wanted to be, we could work into the wee hours of the night or whenever inspiration struck…it really freed us up creatively,” matt brown explains.
Once recording was finished, the band traveled to Tarbox Studios (Buffalo, NY) and worked with renowned producer/mixer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Mogwai, Low, etc.). to push their songs toward complex textures and into deeper extremes of quiet and loud. They began to create a more diverse sound through the constant rotation of instruments among band members.
“Working with Dave was great,” Ross Simonini says. “He helped in crafting each song to be very individual.”
This change in style and attitude has also complimented the band’s live performances. Their sets include more powerful shifts in dynamic, live video projection and constant instrument changes. The more electronic tracks on having also tend to utilize more acoustic treatments on stage, making the live show a unique and separate experience from the album.