Having a widely successful first album is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Releasing a powerful first album does wonders for a group, but it also brings with it a set of new challenges and obstacles.
Fan expectations are now set to an almost unreachable level and often times, new groups don’t know how to measure up to the hype of a second album. Imagine Dragons has done themselves the favor of not getting caught up in all of the noise, and has simply continued making music as they always have.
Night Visions was the debut album that put Imagine Dragons on the map and it originally launched back in 2013. The highly anticipated second album has been out for a few months and it is called Smoke + Mirrors. With several hit tracks, like “Gold” and “I Bet My Life,” being released prior to the record’s full release, fans have had the chance to take a firm dive into the new album.
In an exclusive interview with Examiner.com, Imagine Dragons‘ Drummer Daniel Platzman talked about whether or not pressure was among the things on their minds when creating Smoke + Mirrors. “We probably should’ve put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but luckily, we didn’t get a chance to. While we were touring for Night Visions, we began making demos on the road, hotels and on the bus. Wherever we were, we kept making music.
“By the time we finished the tour, we had so many demos in our pocket, ready to go, we had the album written. Doing this allowed us to basically keep the same system in place where we took the demos into the studio and completely tore them down, then rebuilt them over and over again until them became an Imagine Dragons song,” Platzman said.
It’s quite an intriguing fashion in which to create your next album, but that’s perhaps the only way Imagine Dragons could’ve made Smoke + Mirrors without any outside influences seeping into the music. There’s something amazingly valuable about remaining immersed in your music, and what better way to do that than by creating while touring.
How many artists have we seen who have gone from their debut album, whose music millions adored, to their second album, where people felt they drastically changed up the music? It’s such a difficult task these days: progressing and evolving while remaining true to the music that made you so popular in the first place.
“There weren’t any conscious evolutions or conscious changes, it was all very natural. Some of the songs were written in Scandinavia when it was cold, and there’s a certain vibe to those. Other songs were written during summer festivals when everyone was super happy, so I feel like [Smoke + Mirrors] is a natural progression. The only thing that really changed was now we had our own home studio,” Platzman said.
Personally, Smoke + Mirrors is a tremendous extension and progression of what they created in Night Visions. If you couldn’t tell from the headline, the tracks “Dream,” “Friction” and “Gold” are a few of the songs that stuck out to me the most in Smoke + Mirrors. The second album furthered a lot of the unique sounds and tones that people found so alluring in their debut record.
It’s funny sometimes how much weather, temperature and climate can influence our moods, subconsciously or consciously. The same can be said for musicians and the type of music they are creating. Platzman admitted there is something to this theory of temperature affecting tempo.
“Totally. Winter versus summer, seasonal changes, that all played a part. When it’s overcast and you’re not seeing the sun as much, I feel like it’s easy to get a little gloomy. But I’ve had plenty of great times in the snow, I went to school in Boston. I’ve had sad times in summer and awesome times in winter,” Platzman said.
It’s a dynamic and phenomena we all can’t help but succumb to, no matter how hard we try to fight it. While tempo alteration due to temperature is up in the air, the desire to create music that is enjoyable to play live is something Imagine Dragons did consciously think about.
Platzman talked about the feedback they would come away with when a live show was over. “While touring on Night Visions, we had the fortunate opportunity to play some awesome shows, like festivals in Germany. This festival in Bavaria was in front of a [lively] crowd and playing for those crowds just makes you imagine the kind of songs you want to play there next time, if you’re lucky enough to get back there,” Platzman said.
Plenty of groups work hard to make sure the tracks they create translate well into a live environment. With such an emphasis that is placed on a band’s live show these days, it’s almost more essential to create a track that fits well live than one that fits well for an album.
Of all the tracks that can be found in Imagine Dragons’ newest album, Smoke + Mirrors, “Friction” has got to be one of the more intriguing tracks. Platzman talked about how the idea for “Friction” came about and the sleepless night that led to its creation.
“‘Friction’, for example, was written with Rock am Ring in mind. After Rock am Ring, we kind of talked about the type of song we wanted to play if we got back there. Dan came up with a demo on the bus and then on a bus ride in England – I remember because I had the bottom bunk next to the little lounge room – the guys were working on adding some cords and some big cannon drums.
“They were working on it really late, and it was so badass that I didn’t want to complain because it was so productive. I definitely remember that one vividly (laughs). I contributed by doing nothing during that specific moment (laughs),” Platzman said.
This is a perfect example of a live setting that helped inspire a new song, which translates well to the live environment. “Friction” is one of those tracks the band enjoys performing in front of a live crowd.
“Dream” is another track that has an interesting tone and feel behind it. Imagine Dragons certainly have their own sound and pace, and “Dream” embodies that sentiment. Platzman discussed the instruments that were involved in the song’s conjuring and what each member contributed to it.
“My favorite thing about ‘Dream’ is we actually recorded a string quintet in house because Ben plays upright bass, Wayne plays cello, I play viola and violin. Between the three of us, we actually managed to lay down a string quintet arrangement on the whole thing, and really play with some string arrangement chops there.
“That’s a track we worked on with Alex, there’s some awesome, awesome production things he did in there. Dan really gets soulful and I feel like that chorus really hits hard in the gut. I like ‘Dream’ a lot,” Platzman said.
With a brand-new album comes a new tour, and Imagine Dragons is preparing to commencing a massive North American tour, starting on May 29 in Napa Valley, CA. The group will tour across most of North America through the beginning of August when the tour finishes up on Aug. 15 in Boise, ID.
“We just finished up the South America/Latin America tour, which was way too much fun. I’m very much looking forward to bringing Smoke + Mirrors to all my friends around the states and Canada. We have definitely upped the bar with our live show. The rehearsals are getting me all giddy,” Platzman said.
It’ll be interesting to see what type of show Imagine Dragons has in-store once they commence their North American route in a week or so. Smoke + Mirrors has been a fitting sequel to the band’s first album and it should blend well with Night Visions.
Many artists look to uncover insights and lessons from each live show they perform. The same can be said about Imagine Dragons, and Platzman said they try to look at each show as a professional sports team would any game.
“I try to treat them like a sports team would, we take our live show very seriously. We try to always listen back to the show to see what we can improve. We’re still trying to fine-tune little, tiny details to make the best possible show we can, but we’re definitely approaching the point where the show is locked in,” Platzman said.
When you tour as much as Imagine Dragons has over the past few years, there are a lot of memories that remain. From touring in Europe, to South America, to North America, the band has plenty of memories to cherish. Platzman recalled a few memories that stick out to him, even to this day.
“I remember Lollapalooza Brazil, for example, was technically our last show on the Night Visions tour. That was the biggest live crowd we’ve ever played for, I think there was 90,000 or 100,000 people. They speak Portuguese, but they’re singing all of our lyrics perfectly and that was amazing. I also remember the first time we played our own show in Lisbon, Portugal in a theater and the place was bouncing. That was the first time we had cars chasing us to the venue (laughs), but yeah that crowd was great,” Platzman said.
Smoke + Mirrors is still a new album and many will continue to discover it over the course of the coming months, but as many always wonder about artists such as Imagine Dragons, what does the future hold? Platzman provided some thoughts as to how the group is looking into the future.
“I think it would be premature for me to start talking about album three because I have no idea [where we’ll go next]. We’re still focused on Smoke + Mirrors, but at the same time we’ve started on plenty of new material since the album came out. I feel like we’re not consciously trying to make any departures from anything, we’re just trying to make the best possible music we can,” Platzman said. [Examiner]
