Electron

Electron have announced their second album Is This Worth Living For? will be released on October 2^nd 2026.

 

Who is in Electron, how did you meet and what do you play?

(Joanna) Electron is a modern metal band, made up by Jason Payne and me, Joanna Hyde. We met in university some 9 years ago when Jason was playing with his first band. Eventually I started playing with his solo project and that eventually led to me being more involved, which is when we became what we are now, Electron.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

(Joanna) My earliest musical memory is when my parents got me and my siblings a toy radio recorder, and we used to play around, sing and record songs with the microphone. We would also go on lots of road trips, and my parents kept a nice collection of CDs in the car in one of those CD wallets. They kept all the classics from the 70s and 80s, so we had a lot of fun going CD by CD.

 

When did you begin songwriting?

(Jason) I believe I wrote my first song when I was 13. I started to play electric guitar (up until then, I only played classical guitar) and exploring different chords and shapes… After that I felt in love with the amazing feeling that a finished song gives me, and I’ve been writing ever since. It became my favourite tongue, my catharsis, and a way of honestly expressing my feelings and my thoughts.

 

You have your new album ‘Is This Worth Living For?’ released on 2nd October 2026. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

(Jason) After recording ‘Hollow’, we gravitated towards the concept of this record, and started writing songs with that in mind. We wanted to make a conceptual record, and to push ourselves as musicians and as songwriters, and challenging ourselves to do something we have never attempted yet was the best way we could. Books, life experiences, other art forms such as paints, nature… Everything inspired us to write this record. The main theme is existentialism and metaphysics, do we live life’s worth of living, where are we, where are we going to, is all of this real?

Life and death are entwined, and we made sure to capture it visually, and sonically.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

(Joanna) We recorded the album in 2024 in Cardiff, Wales, at Longwave Studios. It was produced and mastered by Romesh Dodangoda. 6 – Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

(Joanna) I always have a blast in all the recording sessions, and all the crew were so nice and fun while we recorded this album. I do get really nervous when I’m just about to record, and I can get really distracted for a bit or even disassociate a little bit. When it was my turn, I was getting ready and changing the strings on my bass, getting it tuned, and suddenly the last one popped. This made me get out of my distracted head to realise that had taken it too far, I was just lucky I didn’t need that string. We even took a picture of my temporary 3 string bass. After that I was locked in and the recordings went really well.

 

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

(Jason) Well I used my Knaggs guitars for all leads and solos, as it’s my signature tone. We used around 5/6 amps on this record for guitar tones, I believe 3 for bass, and mic wise, very simple, just an SM7-B. We try to keep it simple and not using too much stuff, so that we can play the songs live like we performed on the studio.

 

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

(Joanna) At my happiest I listen to “Taken”, at my angriest I listen to “Trap” and at my most reflective I listen to “Tether” or “Echoes of a Dying World”.

 

Was it a difficult album to write?

(Jason) Because we attempted for the first time to have a concept and write towards it, yes it was a bit challenging, but totally worth it. I believe it helped us evolve and become more skilled.

 

Who designed the album artwork?

(Joanna) The album’s artwork was designed my Snakehead.

 

One of the tracks is the single ‘Toxic’ which is out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

(Jason) “Toxic” talks about the negative impact social media can have on us, how addicted we can become to it, how it can control us, influence us and mislead us.

 

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

(Joanna) My hometown’s name is called Guimarães, and it’s a small town in the north of Portugal. If I could choose 5 words to describe it I’d choose: pride, beauty, historic, cultural, authentic.

 

How do you look after your voices?

(Jason) 15min warm up before singing, loads of water, honey and lemon tea, ginger and lemon tea…

 

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026/2027?

(Jason) Yes, and we’ll be heading to Germany for the very first time, in April. Stay tuned for further announcements.

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

(Joanna) When I leave the stage, I always want to have these two feelings: a sense of a job well done by both me and the band as a whole, and that the public enjoyed our performance and had fun.

 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

(Jason) After many years of carrying massive pedalboards and multiple amps, I’ve decided to simply my rig to a Kemper Powerhead, with captures of my tone. I do play with a real cab, so I get the air and the same feel, but in a lighter way. My live mic is a V7 from SE Electronics, cause it just intersects better with my range and vocal tone.

 

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

(Joanna) This is almost an impossible question for me to be honest, as there are many books I love. But I’ll choose my most recent read “The Life Impossible”, a lovely book about using our powers for good, enjoying our life while we can, cherishing our loved ones and not dwelling too much on our past, as well as not letting it control our present.

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

(Joanna) My main influence since I was little is Avril Lavigne and Evanescence, but as I’ve grown its evolved more. Right now I’d say my main influences are Spiritbox, House of Protection, Rammstein, Bad Omens, and many others.

 

What makes Electron happy and what makes you unhappy?

(Jason) Electron is happy to be able to exist, write, release music and tour. That’s all we need. If we can’t make any of those, that would make Electron unhappy.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Rob Blackham/Blackham Images

Electron will release their second album Is This Worth Living For?  on Friday 2nd October 2026.

Pre-Order Here: https://arsontheory.vyd.co/IsThisWorthLivingFor

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