Ella Kaye releases EP with impressive list of collaborators
Mesa Legend
“Comas Collide,” the new album from local metalcore band Ella Kaye features collaborations with 11 artists from nine local and national bands. Blessthefall, The Word Alive, and Volumes are just a few bands featured on the five song EP which is loaded with established and emerging talent.
Justin Chard, Ella Kaye frontman since 2012, said the long lineup of guest artists was not originally intended. “It just kind of happened naturally and almost became a running joke of ‘Let’s see how many people we can get on this thing,’” Chard said. The journey toward the new album began soon after a major change happened within the band’s original lineup.
A little over a year after Chard joined the band, three members quit, leaving Chard and guitarist Michael Martin to decide the fate of Ella Kaye. “We took a ‘hiatus’ and ultimately I decided that I still wanted to create music and with Mike with me, we kept the moniker Ella Kaye and went into the studio to make an EP,” Chard said.
Photo courtesy of Julia Kaselyte
Moving forward, Matt Good, guitarist for From First To Last, was brought on board to produce the album. After confirming Good’s involvement, Tony Pizzuti from The Word Alive, Eric Lambert from Blessthefall, and Aaron Matts from Betraying the Martyrs (among others) soon joined the project. “By the end I had Alexia Rodriguez from Eyes Set To Kill, Michael Barr from Volumes, and Jared Warth from Blessthefall all doing guest vocals, as well as Zack Hansen from The Word Alive doing a solo,” Chard said.
Local talent featured on the EP include: Sean Whiteman from Keep Your Distance, Mark Gray from Apparitions who played drums on the album, and David Sanders from The Attitude. “It still blows my mind that these guys, and girl, had enough faith in this project to agree to be a part of it without having ever heard of my band before,” Chard said. The biggest challenge of the recording process was scheduling. “The other challenge was getting touring musicians into the studio,” Chard said. “I’d usually have to go to their shows and hang out until the end, and then drive them to the studio as they read my lyrics in the car and tried to feel out the part, then rush to get them tracked before their bus call.”
Despite the challenges, the album was finished in about five months. “It was a bit stressful but everyone absolutely killed their parts and were such champs about the whole thing,” Chard said. Ella Kaye will be performing their free EP release show at RockBar in Scottsdale on Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. CDs will be available for purchase during the show.“‘Comas Collide’ will also be released on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon on Feb. 8 as well, but you can pre-order and get advanced songs on Jan 27,” Chard said.
“‘Comas Collide’ will also be released on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon on Feb. 8 as well, but you can pre-order and get advanced songs on Jan 27,” Chard said.
