Animals As Leaders just released their first new album in six years Parrhesia. In an interview with Premiere Guitar, Animals As Leaders guitarist and songwriter Tosin Abasi said he's been working through some blues lessons from Oz Noy, Josh Smith, Ariel Posen, and Alex Jung throughout the pandemic and has been "flirting with" the idea of potentially doing a blues record.
"Bro, I'm bending on the album a little! On the next one, I think you will! I've flirted with the idea of doing a blues album—which sounds funny to say—but I would put a twist on it. It's kind of a novelty to me, but the constraint is fun to work with and to see where I can get creative within that box is an interesting idea."
Abasi also dove into working with Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor on Parrhesia, who Animals As Leaders has worked with before.
"Misha seamlessly integrates into what we're doing. I did the first album with him before I had a band and I find that as a producer there's not a single riff that I write that Misha doesn't instantly comprehend. He's got a great musical mind, especially for rhythm, but for harmony, too. I think Misha undersells himself there, and I've been impressed many times with his chord voicings and chord progressions. As a producer, he's very quick and that's super valuable because you're unimpeded in your songwriting when he's building a track.
"This is the third body of work of ours that Misha's been heavily involved in, so our process is well-defined, and he's a friend. Sometimes if you get a producer and you don't know them personally, you might feel nervous throwing an idea out or voicing an opinion. I don't know if people always consider the human relationship element of the creative process, but it's super important to just vibe with the person you're working with."
