Photo by Anthony Vito.
Breaking through into the music industry is a difficult task, and that journey is something any artist of any size is familiar with. It takes perseverance, unstoppable passion, and a drive to be better and better with each new release. New Jersey-based alternative rock band Wave Break is no stranger to this task, but they aren’t backing down. In fact, it’s only made them stronger.
Their latest single, “Out Of Breath,” explores this idea, along with the feeling of desperation and a desire to keep going. Such raw, human emotions always make for wonderful inspiration, and we were lucky enough to be able to go a bit deeper into this with Wave Break, to discuss the story behind “Out Of Breath”
“Out Of Breath” has some really personal lyrics. Can you tell us a bit about what inspired this track?
“This track was inspired by the struggles we’ve gone through with lineup changes over the last 1.5 years or so. Especially as a new band trying to gain traction, frequent lineup changes can seriously hinder your progress and we were really starting to feel that impact around the time we wrote this song. It was written out of a feeling of desperation and wanting to find a way back to the career path we were on.”
Determination and adversity seem to be two themes that appear in your music. What made you want to tackle these topics?
“These themes started to occur naturally in our music because being a very new and small band, we’ve always been underdogs in the music industry. Making music a career is something that we’ve always felt we need to fight as hard as we can for.
Wanting to overcome adversity is also something very human that a lot of people can relate to on some level. Everyone has personal issues in their lives that they work through every single day; giving up just isn’t something that someone will decide to do without even trying first. Fighting through hardship or fighting to make your dreams a reality is just part of every person’s personal journey in life, and we want to help people along the way.”
What was the writing and recording process like for “Out Of Breath”?
“Almost the entire instrumental to the song came before the lyrics and melody, short of lead guitar. Then we wrote the lyrics and moved onto demoing and then recording the full song. We started recording the official track within about a month of the last lineup change, so it felt very appropriate to have this song be the very next that we recorded. The whole track came together fairly easily thanks to our producer Ryan Weil helping us come up with some drum and lead guitar parts. The only challenge we really had was how long it took to get everything together; the song, the music video, and the planning for the release. We wanted to spend the time to make sure our return was as strong as it could be.”
If you could have your fans take one message from listening to “Out Of Breath,” what would you want it to be and why?
“Don’t rely on other people to make your dreams a reality for you. Nine times out of ten, if you rely on other people you’re going to be disappointed. If you want something done right, you’re probably going to have to just go out and do it yourself. But don’t let any of that discourage you — you’re completely capable of doing that if that’s what it comes down to.”
Do you have any particular artists or things that inspire you to create?
“Not particularly! Music in general inspires us; we’re always listening to a large variety of music, and whenever we hear something cool, we’re inspired to create something new. We’re inspired both by newer artists as well as older artists that we grew up listening to. Other than that, we’re pretty much inspired by our lives and feel compelled to write about them in a way that others can relate to.”
Is there a dream collab or tour you’d like to be part of?
“There are so many! But right now, we’d love to one day collab with Jenna McDougall or even Mark Rose from Spitalfield. As for a dream tour, touring with Jimmy Eat World or My Chemical Romance would both be a dream come true.”
What can we expect next from you guys in the future?
“We’re going to be recording a new EP pretty soon so expect more new music to come soon! Also, we’re going to be planning more shows; hopefully hitting some new cities as well as some that we’ve hit in the past. Stay tuned for shows and weekenders/tours as well!”
You can stream “Out Of Breath” below.
