Singled Out: Ego Kill Talent's The Call

Keavin Wiggins | 08-06-2020

Brazilian rockers Ego Kill Talent are gearing up to release their new album "The Dance Between Extremes" later this year and to celebrate we asked frontman Jonathan Dorr to tell us about the first single "The Call". Here is the story:

I remember when my bandmate Theo told me about this new idea of a song that he was working on with Raphael. I joined them in the studio and they showed me the idea, and I got instantly crazy with that riff the moment I heard it. So, I learned the basic chords on the guitar to help me find the melody. We started jamming, just us three. I remember I was blabbering some words on a rough melody when Raphael pointed out: 'Hey that's a good one!' And we stuck to that melody, which became the opening line for the song and also its chorus: 'Oh wake up now...'

We were very excited to show Niper and Jean these new ideas. Back at the studio, the whole band gathered and while we were working on the song, the ideas were coming up and the song was taking shape. Raphael started to play the drums that, to me, sounded really Bonham-ish and I remember everyone loved it. Jean came up with a hook that was the missing part of the song and in my opinion that hook should last forever!

The lyrics came up partially during the writing process of the song and the rest during the recording sessions at Studio 606. I remember Theo and I leaned over the table at 606's kitchen, dropping some words for the song. The first line 'Oh wake up now!' came right after the first rehearsals of the song in Brazil while I was blabbering attempting to find the melody.

With this first line, my feeling about the song was that it should be a wake up call for the listener. Then Theo came up with the line, 'Now you look at the mirror and don't get what you see anymore.' That line was something really special for me because it was like a compass to the song and to me, and it fit like a glove for the moment I was dealing with. My sister Jenniffer was being treated for breast cancer with chemotherapy, and during those days, the only thing I could think about was her. With that line, Theo kinda opened a channel for me to express the pain I was feeling. The song is a wake up call for those who suffer and believe that we're just a physical body. It's an invitation to fall into the abyss of our own mind and soul. It's about the belief that everything is going to be fine: 'Whatever may come I'll be with you...a million suns will rise.'

The euphoria that we felt when we're all together in the studio vibrating at the same frequency while we put our efforts and ideas into the song makes songwriting a very unique thing. And the power of music as a way to expression and to alleviate the pain, the irreducible truth of Being, is something really special. I love this song we made, my sister is fine now...and yes, I saw a million suns rise.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here