Sean Ingram Discusses Idle Heirs’ Debut Album, ‘Life Is Violence’

“We were just working, we were just creating with nothing intentional to come of this.”

Sean Ingram joined Loudwire Nights on Friday (April 11) to celebrate the release of Idle Heirs’ unforgettable debut album, Life Is Violence. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

The absence of pressure in creating this new music allowed Ingram to be the most personal he’s ever been in his songs — but it also made him think he’d never share Life Is Violence with the world.

“This record was not intended for anyone to hear but our close friends,” Ingram admitted to host Chuck Armstrong.

“This really is a very personal record. I phrase it like this: This is one of those records that if you don’t like this record, you don’t like me personally. You can’t separate the two. That’s a little bit scary. The world is very brutal.”

Ingram — who is also the frontman for mathcore pioneers Coalesce — said he was worried about how these new songs would be judged by others.

“This record was not written with a thick skin,” he shared.

“It was very vulnerable. It wasn’t until the guys at Relapse [Records] showed so much interest when they found out what I was doing that we softened on that.”

Ingram’s partner in all of this was producer Josh Barber. The two were friends and had wanted to work together, but it wasn’t until Ingram started down the path that would lead to Life Is Violence that they finally collaborated.

“We kind of were starting and stopping and kind of going and then I just felt like we had to do it or we had to not talk about it,” Ingram said.

“[Josh] took it as a challenge, but to me, it was just like, ‘Do something or don’t talk to me about it anymore because I can’t write music. I can only tell stories and do lyrics. You have to do this for me to do my thing.'”

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Almost immediately, Barber took off from Kansas City and headed to the Pacific Northwest. While isolated, he started writing Life Is Violence.

“He was sending me demos and I just immediately fell in love with it. This is exactly what I want to do.”

What Else Did Idle Heirs’ Sean Ingram Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• How his wife prompted him to create new music: “I just kept losing people left and right. It really kind of put me in a dark place and I kind of struggled to get through that … It wasn’t until my wife brought it to my attention and she said, ‘Look, I’ve never seen you happier than when you were making music. I don’t care what you need to do. You need to do that.'”
• Why they recorded Life Is Violence at Ocean Sound recording studio in Norway: “We were just trying to take every opportunity because we didn’t know if we’d ever get the opportunity to write and create again. So Josh was like, ‘Hey, I’ve always wanted to record here, can we just get the credit cards out?'”
• What is on the horizon for Idle Heirs: “There definitely is a future, for sure. No question. What that looks like? I have no idea, but I always say that I’m not chasing anything but I’m also not turning down any opportunities. The opportunities get rarer and rarer in music, so I appreciate those and I take them seriously.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Sean Ingram joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, April 11; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.