SCOTTISH band North Atlantic Oscillation released their album The Third Day earlier this month. Matt Westcott speaks to vocalist Sam Healy about the album and how and why some of it was recorded in the North-East.

Matt: You’ve produced the album yourselves, is this because you haven’t been happy enough with previous albums or you just wanted it to be all your own work, so to speak?

Sam: A little of both. I certainly don't blame our previous producers; it's just that being able to translate musical ideas into spoken language, and trust that you've been articulate enough that the other party can translate it back into music again, is a skill distinct from musicianship itself, and not necessarily one I have. Producing yourself removes this potential communication block, at the expense of having a professional set of ears to rely on. It's a rearranging of priorities that I wanted to experiment with this time.

Matt: You reference Abbey Road and the way it’s an album rather than just a collection of songs, is that how you see Third Day?

Sam: Yes, although I think a bit too much has been made of that comparison. We did want to emphasise that the album is just that, an album to be consumed whole as opposed to a collection of independent units. A special kind of immersion happens when an album is interesting enough to hold the listener's attention throughout. It grows beyond the sum of its parts.

Matt: Is the Third Day in any way a religious reference or am I way off the mark?

Sam: You're way off the mark.

Matt: The way the album has been put together must entail huge attention to detail, are you or the band perfectionists?

Sam: Yes, but unfortunately (speaking for myself only), I don't have the talent that makes perfectionism's essential bedfellow. It can be very frustrating when you know exactly what is needed, but can't achieve it because of your own shortcomings.

Matt: I understand you recorded some of the album here in the North-East. Can you tell me why you chose the location and how it is reflected in the recording?

Sam: We recorded the drums at The Grain, James Haselhurst's studio in Hoults Yard in Newcastle. James has been a long-standing friend of the band. His own excellent group Tomahawks For Targets supported us on tour last year, and he is as good a recording engineer as he is a guitarist and songwriter.

The studio was a work in progress when we were there, which in practical terms meant a workday starting at 6pm and ending at 2am due to noise restrictions, sub-zero temperatures and a howling gale blowing through the rafters and adding some subliminal sauce to our recordings.

James did a fantastic job, and now that the studio has been sonically and thermally insulated, I would say that it's one of the best drum tracking studios in the country.

Matt: It is really hard to compare you with other bands out there. Is there a compliment in there somewhere do you think?

Sam: Most definitely, thank you. Innovation and uniqueness are in short supply in music these days. Anything that can be placed confidently in an existing category on first listen is unlikely to end up making a seismic difference to the world. All the interesting stuff happens at the fringes, in the as-yet-uncharted territory. If that's where even a handful of people consider our stuff to be, then it's been worth the effort.