Our experiences are what shape us as individuals, and those experiences are then translated into memories. In fact, memories are the very core of our life source and to their credit, I think they often go underappreciated until they begin to slip away from us. Despite how hard some memories may be to relive, we wouldn’t be the people we grow up to be without each and every one, even those we might wish we could forget. This very concept is one that Armor For Sleep delves into in their new album There Is No Memory, out November 7 on Equal Vision Records.
Vocalist and songwriter Ben Jorgensen approached the project with a meaningful irony, using the theme of memory to reconcile certain ugly parts of his past. In that way, he can use them to avoid scenarios where traumatic experiences might have otherwise weighed him down or caused him to fall into a pattern of destructive behavior. “I think the older we all get, the more life we live, the more bad stuff we’ve had to deal with. I was at a crossroads where I thought, unless I can turn around and face a lot of the stuff I’ve been through, I don’t know if I can go to the next part of my life,” recounts Jorgensen.
As the inspiration for the album began taking shape, it came about in the form of a five-song EP which dealt a lot with the stale and lingering feelings leftover from a fractured marriage that was ending at the same time a global pandemic was ensuing. Needless to say, it was a rough year for Jorgensen and it took awhile to be able to get to the point where he was ready to let himself work through such a painful period in a way where he could put it behind him and begin a new chapter with what feels like a fresh start.
“The idea was to have it themed around the idea of how strange it is that memories can really pull the strings in our lives. Sometimes the traumatic things we’ve been through can hold us back and for me, I just wanted to do an EP questioning if I’m just a sum of these messed up things that I’ve been through or is there a real person underneath that still has free will to choose my own happiness as I move forward in life. We recorded it with the producer Sam Guyana and we had such an amazing time thatI was like, “I think I can expand this into an album.”
After the first round of recordings, Jorgensen was truly swept up by a wave of inspiration and once it hit, he tackled the second half of There Is No Memory with a tenacious force and it culminated seamlessly. He has never been the kind of musician to sit back and let people tell him what he should write about or how he should write it. After starting Armor For Sleep as an angsty teenager, Jorgensen and his fellow bandmates have grown up a lot since then and the maturation of their musical content has grown with them. But Jorgensen will always wear his heart on his sleeve and write about the things that really mean something to him, the kind of sincerity that has been connecting to fans for over 20 years.
“A lot of these songs are really personal to me and when I’m writing, I kind of block everything out. I almost forget the fact that anybody is ever going to hear it. I know that I’m most successful at writing songs when I put blinders on and write exactly what I’m feeling, forgetting anyone’s going to listen. A lot of times when people relate to a song like that (‘Breathe Again’), the first thing that I say to them is I’m sorry that you can relate to it but the second part is I’m glad it’s here for you to relate to it, too, because it’s nice to know that other human beings are feeling the same things that we are sometimes.”
Commiseration is an inherent part of our emotional makeup and music is often a catalyst that allows us to tap into those connective feelings. Jorgensen has long been moved by music that can evoke relatability, so it’s always been the kind of music he, in turn, has strived to create. This new album is about loss and love, death and rebirth, and the many ways memories help us learn from the past.
There is No Memory is out on Friday and you can preorder it from Equal Vision Records. Follow Armor for Sleep on Instagram for future updates.
Photo Credit: Senny Mau
