Found the flow – Mesh interviewed

After a long hiatus, Richard Silverthorn and Mark Hockings aka Mesh are back again with new material. It’s been ten years since their last album, so we thought it was time to hear what they’ve been up to, and learn about the new album “The Truth Doesn’t Matter”. Richard got back to us with all the answers.

A new lease of life

First off, what have you been up to these ten years?

- Well, we have not been away, we have still been doing shows and festivals but not releasing new material. As a band we have been writing, recording and touring pretty much non-stop since the beginning. After the “Looking Skyward Tour” in 2016 we took on the “Retrospective” tour. An idea of going out and playing a selection of old material we hadn’t played for many years. That was a lot of work, recreating the old tracks in more up to date arrangements. After that I think we reached a point close to burnout. We just needed time away from all this. Then the dreaded Covid came along and put the world on pause. We didn’t really get back to writing seriously until late 2023 and even then it was a slow tentative start. Last year was when we had full focus on a new album. The writing really started to flow and before we knew what happened we had 16 songs.

How does it feel coming back again?

- In a strange way I think the extended break has given us a new lease of life. The songs and arrangements are better than ever in my opinion. The industry as a whole has changed so much in that time, and I think our approach has too. We are quite excited about everything at the moment.

Did you continuously write material, or is it all new? Which was the first one you wrote for the album?

- We had a few demos we revisited but mostly it was new material. The first recording was “Not Everyone Is Lonely”. We actually played that track live on our short “Legacy” tour we did in early 2024 as a test. We have never really done that before but it was good to try something new in front of a live audience.

The theme of the album seems to be the current political landscape. Can you elaborate on this?

- The overall theme of the album was an observation of how we as society react to news and media posts. An understanding of how we communicate. We have to question some of the things we see and hear especially with the evolution of artificial intelligence. If we don’t question or at least do our own research “The Truth Doesn’t Matter”. So much of what we are fed could be deceptive or algorithm driven. Propaganda has never been so easy.

A sound of their own

Did you have any particular goals for the sound of the new record?

- The aim is always the same for us. The song is the important element. It has to stand up as a good well structured song firstly. The music is the carrier to convey the emotion of the lyrics. Using synthesizers and all the technology is secondary but for me it has to be current sounding. Trying to create something fresh is quite an art. I like to think we have a “sound” of our own and don’t follow trends to fit in.

16 new tracks, that’s basically a double album. Was it ever a consideration to break it up and release an EP with some of the songs? Or is 16 just not that much these days?

- Our aim was 12 songs but we always get asked by the record company for extras for a limited edition version or a B-Side (not sure that’s even a thing these days) so we just kept writing. We really found our flow towards the end and were writing really quickly. So yes 16 tracks is a big album.

Do you have any particular favourite tracks?

- For me “This World” was one that stands out. It was written with a cinematic vision. Something that you could easily hear in a film. Big over the top orchestral arrangement with a poignant lyric. I think we achieved that. Also “Exile”, the first single. It ticked all the boxes and for me just sounds like Mesh, everything people would expect from us.

Your sound should be able to break out into the mainstream (and possibly has in Germany?). Is that something you think about, or even care about?

- Yes it very often is a topic of conversation. We have always felt like we have to possibility of breaking into more mainstream radio. We seem to be stuck in the confines of the “dark” scene which always surprises us. Don’t get me wrong – we love this scene and owe so much to it, but we feel there is so much more to be explored outside of this. We have never really seen ourselves as “goth or EBM or synthpop”, but more of an alternative band like Placebo, IAMX, Garbage or whoever. We are always at the mercy of the people who control radio and festivals. Frustrating really, but what can you do?

I think after “Automation Baby” or “Looking Skyward” you told me that some pretty big names had contacted you to write for them. Did anything happen with that?

- Did I? I can’t remember, haha… Well no. We do from time to time get some interesting offers but never really pursued them. I like the thought of writing for a younger act. With our experience and musical ability it could be quite a cool thing to do and quite interesting. Let’s see.

Can you talk a little bit about working with Olaf Wollschläger? Also, how “finished” are the songs when you bring them to him?

- Olaf is great to work with. He understands what we are trying to achieve. The songs we send him are pretty much release quality songs but he adds another level of production. His attention to detail is crazy. Sometimes we feel he polishes it more than we would like, and we find ourselves reverse engineering it to get it back to sounding slightly rougher again. He is a master of his art and very much in tune with our visions. This will be the fourth album we have done with him.

The new album “The Truth Doesn’t Matter” was released on March 27, 2026 via Dependent Records. Mesh is on tour in April and May.

Top picture by: Chris Ruiz
Other pictures by: Kieran Gallop