Interview with BingeNinja & The First Seed + New EP New Age End Times

BingeNinja & The First Seed have recently released their second collaborative EP, New Age End of Times and we had the opportunity to ask them a few questions about the new music, the current times, the music video for Fall Hard, what they’ve got coming up next and more. The duo’s last album “Selfish Gestures” took 8 years to complete, and they took a completely different approach to New Age End of Times after making a pact to deliberately make an EP of the most spontaneous, off-the-floor, insane songs they’ve ever done to inject some much needed joy and camaraderie into their musical AND personal relationship. 

“We are pushing new sounds and scoffing at the status quo. The new age is expressing ourselves without fear of shame or critique. We have come to the end of the times where we hold back any idea that may be diluted by outside influence.” – Shane Burrow

Click below to listen to New Age End of Times and to read our interview with BingeNinja & The First Seed about their authentic new release!

Interview with BingeNinja & The First Seed: New Age End of Times

It’s spring of 2022 and Canada’s music scene is starting to get back into the full swing of things. How has your year been so far and how are you feeling about the state of the local music scene currently?

Shane: we wrote a full length record and a 4-song EP. After performing some local Toronto shows and some St. Catherine’s house party’s we’re feeling really good about promoting out material in a real in-person sense and connecting with audiences face to face. How do we feel about the local music scene? FANTASTIC.

Adam: This year so far has been pretty productive, excited about exploring new creative directions and connecting with people in the real world through loud sounds on big speakers.

You’ve recently released your latest EP, “NEW AGE END TIMES”. I love the title, it provokes your thoughts before you even hit play, what do the new age end of times look like and what does that title mean to you?

Shane: our material is indicative of what we experience in real time, so the songs certainly express what we were feeling during the pandemic. When writing/recording the songs we were in a very dark and creative place. It is a moment in time that I feel many creatives can relate to, but that being said, looking at the record in hindsight I believe our pessimism holds weight in terms of the general state of popular music. Our music has always poked fun at bands that refuse to step outside genre/sonic norms. Upon recent introspection, I believe “New Age End Times” refers most closely to separating ourselves from any discernible category most artists are happy to box themselves into. We are pushing new sounds and scoffing at the status quo. The new age is expressing ourselves without fear of shame or critique. We have come to the end of the times where we hold back any idea that may be diluted by outside influence.

Adam: The NEW AGE END TIMES look like right now. They always will look like the present or near future. Every era feels like they’re the end of times to some group, and there is always someone there to profit from a fresh angle on an old trope.

How have the two of you evolved as collaborators since your last release, “Selfish Gestures”, and is there anything that you learned from that release that you applied to “New Age End of Times?”

Shane: lol. Well… SG took 8 years to complete. We were constantly at odds with mixes and how we wanted each song to convey a specific literal and metaphoric message. We bickered, we fought. We made up. It was a record that forced us to destroy ourselves and build each other back together again. Personally, I love Selfish Gestures, but IT WAS NOT FUN. During the mixing of that record, Adam and I made a pact that we would deliberately make an EP of the most spontaneous, off-the-floor, insane songs we have ever done to inject some much needed joy and camaraderie into our musical AND personal relationship. Long story short, we did just that. We intentionally induced ourselves into a psychedelic state where we wrote whatever came to mind and recorded material on site in the span of a weekend. Furthermore, we were adamant that First Seed engineer and master the record himself, which turned out to be the most rewarding decision we have ever made, as the EP is unabashedly us. We learned that it’s ok to let go of any preconceived notions of what we wanna do as artists, and just allowed ourselves to have fun with something and not overthink it. Basically, our evolution was dependant on the need to devolve.

Adam: We always move forward whenever we’re together.  When we’re writing we incorporate all the experiences and influences we’ve digested since we last created and apply it into what I feel are becoming more focused expressions with every release. Selfish Gestures felt like a hefty endeavour by the time we dropped it and we both knew it was necessary to find the carefree spark that inspired our early works to revitalize and reattain the raw energy of absolute in the moment inspiration. We we’re able to connect over a couple of evenings during the course of 2021 and let everything out and it felt great.

From Selfish Gestures I definitely learned to not be so precious with infinitesimal details and I think Binge only told me to turn the vocals up 10 times when we were mixing so I may be making some progress there…

The four song EP starts with the hard hitting and in your face track “Fall Hard”. What was the inspiration behind the song?

Shane: First Seed may have a different opinion on this, but it was the first song we wrote after SG and I believe it was the two of us facing off like, “you wanna do this? You wanna spew every bit of anger and off-the-cuff insanity?” And then we watched planet earth videos and fell in love with each other all over again.

Adam: “Fall Hard” was basically an explosion of pent up madness from the pandemic on top of everything else, we hadn’t written together in a while and I think we both had a cathartic experience while tracking it.

What influenced you to make this the opening track for the EP as well as giving it the music video treatment?

Shane: quite simply, we both loved the track and I envisioned the video immediately after hearing the playback.

Can you tell us about the symbolism in the music video for “Fall Hard”?

Shane: I had a set number of shots that I wanted to film, and the environment guided everything else afterwards. I want to shout out Steven Sandhu and Zmuda Filma because it never would have come to fruition without his genious.

How did you conceptualize the video, and how was the experience of filming it?

Shane: a horror video without a plot. We hung out, smoked weed and drank beers and behaved extremely professionally. We always wanna have fun, but we NEVER sacrifice our willingness to make a piece of art. I love everyone involved, and I can’t express how great full I am for our little clique seeing the vision to fruition.

The second track Bigger incorporates a lot of psychedelic effects into it’s hardcore sound. How did you guys produce this track, and what kind of feelings were you hoping to evoke with the sound of this one?

Shane: freestyle recording at its finest, but I’ll leave it to First Seed for the recording/mastering side of things, because he fucking killed it on that side.

Adam: For me its mostly about getting the sound out of me. I try not to think about how other people will perceive what I’m creating and just make what needs to come out. The psychedelic effects were produced by taking psychedelics ;P

“That Laugh”, the third track off the EP talks about love, “a thing that we love and condone and erase”. Can you tell us about the emotions that went into creating this song?

Shane: I want love. And I hate love. And my life is dictated by love. First Seed?

Adam: I love a lot, its heartbreaking, amazing, and never easy.

What can you tell us about the final track “Carry Me Under”?

Shane: best, weirdest song on the record. This song, as well as the EP can be construed as very negative, but this song, as well as the record, were bred of introspection, joy and tongue-in-cheek playfulness. First Seed?

Adam: Carry me under was the last song written and probably my favourite. A celebration of indulgence and extremism for no purpose other than excess.

Have you guys been out to any local shows lately? What was one of your favourite moments if so, and how does it feel to be able to back out watching music again?

Shane: I saw HORMOANS in Toronto, and they blew me away. Fuckin HORMAONS.

Adam: HORMOANS did kill it when I saw them. first live band I’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic and they were FUCKING AWESOME! I also saw THE MIDWIFECRISIS online and it was sweet AF

Do you have upcoming shows?

Shane: May 21st @ T.O. Lounge in Toronto

Adam: I might try give some people acid flashbacks at some open mic

What can fans expect from the two of you in the rest of 2022?

Adam: I’ve got a bunch of really wild noisy electronic experimental speedcore type shreds coming out on some net labels and at thefirstseed.bandcamp.com in the coming months..

Shane: Heavy Make-Outs.

Adam: Fuck that cute shit we’re going XXX

Do you have any last words for our readers?

Shane: buy our merch. It’s dope as fuck.