Interviews Jacob Oliver Interviews Jacob Oliver

WORST DOUBT

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on the band—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

Jacob (Guitars) : Hey man, thanks for the interview ! The band started in 2014. We’re from Paris. Hugo (singer) and Emile (drums) used to play together in a beatdown band called Backboned. After the band split up, they created Worst Doubt. Different line up back then but the plan was to play straight up New York Hardcore. Since that time, we released two demos, a LP and an EP. Our style has changed a bit, but we still see ourselves as a glorified NYHC band with metal influences.   

Q2. Who are some of the band’s primary influences?

In the beginning of the bands, we were super into the og NY bands from the late 90’s / early 2000 (Dmize, EGH, Bulldoze, Merauder, Kickback…) but also the more “modern” ones like TUI, King Nine, Soul Search. Since that time, we also add some more metal influences, mostly Death Metal as it’s a genre we dig a lot. Bands like early Suffocation, Dying Fetus and their side projects, Pyrexia, early Gojira. We fuck a lot with the Hardcore bands that mix those two genres, like Irate, Terror Ave, All Out War, etc.  I think you can hear it on Immortal Pain.

Q3. Your EP Immortal Pain was recently released—what was the writing and recording process like, and what can listeners who haven’t heard it yet expect?

Pretty much the same writing process since the start of the band. Hugo, our singer, is the main songwriter in the band. Most of the time when he has ideas, he records pre productions, send it and we discuss what’s to keep / what’s to change until everyone fuck with it. Some of the songs of the ep were already written during the Extinction (our first LP) writing sessions.

Regarding the recording, we worked again with our friends Max (from Rixe) at Chateau Vergogne Studio. He’s a great producer and he knows how we work so it was a no brainer to call him again. We recorded the ep in a weekend and ask Cody from Sanguisugabogg / Volcano to mix / master it. We love his bands and the records he produced and felt like his style was a good choice for the direction we aimed for, which was mostly like “we want this ep to sound like a 90’s Death Metal demo”. Some people hated it but it is what it is haha. We love it, that’s all that matters.

I think it’s a straighter forward record than our LP imo, but if u fuck with that “in your face” type of Mosh Metal, people should give it a spin.

 

Q4. What are some of the themes you explore on the EP?

Theme wise, it’s the logical continuity of the LP lyrics. Personal struggle, social dynamics criticism, poser shaming, you name it. We also have a song with 10+ featuring from a lot of friends from the Paris Scene which is your classical ignorant “my city is better than yours, fuck you” type of song and was super fun to do.

 

Q5. For American listeners, the EP was released via DAZE. How did that relationship come about?

When we were talking with Cody during the mix session, he told us “That’s the kind of shit that Lumpy (from Daze) would fuck with. I just sent him a track, you sould send him the whole EP when it’s done.” Which we did. He actually fucked with it and he was already familiar with the band, he was down to do a co release with BDHW. He’s a great dude and has one of the most exciting roster at the moment imho so we’re super happy to work with him. Plus, he’s one of the few US hardcore labels that actually give a fuck about euro bands.

Q6. Some of your members also play in Headbussa, recently on the road with Knocked Loose and Deafheaven and then out in Asia with Last Wishes. What were those touring experiences like and does Worst Doubt plan to hit the road in the near future?

Yeah 3 of us plays in HB (Hugo, Emile and Baptiste, our guitarist). I was lucky enough to do merch for them on that tour and it was really dope. Awesome conditions, rock star tour bus, sold out big clubs almost every night. And everybody was really nice to us. S/o to Knocked Loose for picking up Headbussa,  S/o Deafheaven for being awesome people. We were sharing the bus with them and we had tons of fun. It was really far from the DIY style type of tour we’re used to, great experience. I wasn’t in Asia but they loved it as well. People there were super welcoming, crazy moshers. SE Asia / Japan have a great scene.

Regarding Worst Doubt, we all have been super busy with our different projects but we just did a French run with our friends with Sorcerer (great band, check them out) that was really dope, as it can be tricky to do only French shows for bands. We wanted to play a only French run for some while now and are super happy with how it went. Now, we’re mostly working on some stuff that we can’t talk about yet but cool news should be announced soon for late summer / end of the year, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Q7. Who are some other artists/bands on the scene we should be paying attention to?

They are so many atm but I really fuck with the Glasgow scene (Despize, NBE, Hellbound, DOP…), our friends in Take It In Blood, Sorcerer, Corruption Pact, Citrus, Dig in Wretch, Broken Ankles are also dope and you should check them out.

Q8. Is there anything else on the horizon for the band or any other things you want to tell our readers about?

We working on bringing our asses to places where we never been yet, so that’s the main focus right now. We’ll also probably try to write a new LP next year. Some of us also play in a new band called Severed (Worst Doubt / Headbussa members). We recorded a demo so hopefully it ll be out soon.

Thanks for the interest and all the best with your zine.

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FALSE REALITY

Photo Credit: Andy Baz Haynes

Answered by vocalist Rachel Rigby

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on the band—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

Hi! We’re False Reality and we’re a hardcore band from Essex and London. We started the band just over a year ago, the guys have been in hardcore bands for years and I’ve been putting on hardcore shows for 8/9 years and going to shows for around 15 years - so that’s how we met! When I decided to try out starting a band I knew immediately who I wanted to do this project with.

Q2. Who are some of the band’s primary influences?

Our main influences are very all over the place as we all wanted to bring in our own style to the band which has allowed us to create the sound we have which has a little bit of everything - our most notable influences are Trapped Under Ice, old Sepultura, and old Metallica.

Q3. Your EP Path of Self Destruct recently came out. What can listeners who haven’t heard it yet expect?

A lot of riffs, bouncy two-step rhythms and a lot of guitar solos.

Q4. What was the writing and recording process for the EP like? Were there any themes or sounds you wanted to explore with it?

It was a lot of blood sweat and tears - we’d been writing and working on it for quite some time because we wanted it to reflect us properly. Dave wrote the riffs, we’d go into a practice room and change bits, all put our inputs and styles into it and it just worked. Steve Sears who mixed and mastered our EP was amazing - we would go in with ideas in our heads about how we wanted certain parts to sound and it’s like he’d go into our brain and do it without us having said it yet. It was a really amazing experience writing this EP and it’s made us extremely excited to start working on the next record.

Q5. How did the feature with Speed on “Opposites React” come about?

So one of our first few shows was supporting them when they played in London in 2023 and we became good friends with them from there. They’ve always supported us from the very beginning so when we wrote Opposites React I knew I wanted someone to jump on the song with me, and I just knew I wanted to ask Jem as it just felt right.

Q6. “Pressure” was recently featured on Alyx Holcombe’s BBC Introducing Rock program; that had to have been very exciting! What is the impact this program under her stewardship is having on alternative music in the UK?

Alyx is absolutely smashing it out the park. It’s so important to put a spotlight on upcoming artists as it can sometimes seem like a closed shop - but she’s given so many new bands that boost of excitement which is inspiring.

Q7. Who are some of the great bands on the scene we should be paying attention to?

Words of Intent, Ill Vision, Final Nail and Rated X

Q8. What are some of your touring highlights and/or most memorable shows you’ve been a part of?

Playing with Jesus Piece was so much fun. It was so last minute (I’m talking mere hours) and our bassist was stuck in work so there we were on stage infront of a lot of people playing without bass which was very nerve wracking but we made it work. We also love playing at Boom in Leeds so much - the energy up north is amazing in live music.

Q9. What are your plans for the near future?

We’re so excited to get started on new music - everything that’s happened lately and all the support we’ve received has really inspired us to get back in the studio. Having something you can pour real passion into is the best feeling in the world and we’re extremely grateful to get to do it with our friends.

Photo Credit: Andy Baz Haynes

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LOCRIAN

Photo Credit: Nick Rosendorf + Elena Volkova

Andre and Terence from Locrian join to talk about the origins and influences of the band, their new record End Terrain, and more!

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DIVINE SENTENCE

Q1. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! For our readers who are not familiar with you, can you talk a little about where you’re from, when you formed, that kind of thing?

We're Divine Sentence, a vegan metalcore band from Zurich, Switzerland. We formed in late 2021 and have been playing shows since the summer of 2022. Our influences come mostly from 90’s Metalcore.

Q2. What got you into heavy music in the first place, and what made you want to start a band and pursue making music in the way that you have?

Franz: Personally, I was introduced to alternative music by my drum teacher, who gave me a burnt Green Day CD when I was 13. I was born into a very musical family, so my parents threw a bunch of instruments at me as a kid and even made me sing in a choir, but I didn't feel at home in their more traditional musical world. The first instrument I really took to was the drum kit, which led to me getting into punk rock and eventually hardcore. I started a bunch of bands before Divine Sentence, starting in 2017, after making some friends in the local hardcore scene.

Basil: I got into hard rock and old punk rock via my parents (I guess), and then from there it was a meandering journey through different guitar driven genres (in the course destroying the family computer with limewire) until I read about The Chariot somewhere and realized that music doesn't really get better than that. I have been playing in bands since I was 15 or 16, when I first saw a local hardcore punk band and learned that it really doesn't take a lot to form a band and write songs. The bands I played in at the time weren't the best probably, but it was a lot of fun and made me learn that I really like playing music with friends.

Sofia: My (back then) best friend kinda got me into this whole thing. She was an emo kid and I wanted to be a supportive friend, you know, check out her interests (I was 13?). Now I realize she wasn’t really that emo, she just liked Black Veil Brides a lot. Well, through Youtube I found my way to 2010’s Metalcore and Deathcore. Suddenly I was going to shows and made connections in the Metal scene. I switched through genres like Beatdown and Djent/Mathcore, but what really stuck was Hardcore. The person that inspired me to even consider being in a band is Jess from Mortality Rate / World of Pleasure. The first time I heard her was on the Judiciary split. She is my inspiration to this day. The sheer power she expresses on stage and her vocals - just blows me away everytime.

So here I am, in a cool band, with cool people, playing cool places and having the time of my life!

 

Q3. What are some of the biggest influences on your sound?

Franz: We all listen to a lot of different music, and thus pull from a wide range of influences. I'm a punk kid at heart, so I try to let that influence shine through in our sound a little. There are definitely some bands that we can all agree on though. Our single biggest influence is probably xRepentancex, which is also a very important band for me personally, as their music is what convinced me to finally go vegan.

Basil: What Franz says, I guess. Personally and in regards to Divine Sentence, I like the chaotic branches of Metalcore a lot and at the same time, the melodic side of Metalcore (or melodic hardcore?) still lights a spark in my heart.

Sofia: I have to agree with Franz and Basil. There’s something very dramatic about this type of Metalcore, so of course it would go well with the message of veganism. It’s what brought us together after all.

 

Q4. The Promo is already getting a ton of traction, which is awesome! What can you tell us about the two songs?

The Promo ‘24 marks a step up, both in songwriting and in production quality. The songs had more time to evolve and we worked with someone outside the band for recording the first time. The two songs are quite different in style, but they span the sound of what we want to pursue musically: metallic riffs, melodies, panic chords, breakdowns.

The song “Flames of Justice'' especially stands out, since it’s our second song that isn’t about veganism, but about a topic that is as important to talk about. It serves as a bold declaration, emphasizing the critical necessity to reshape not only political landscapes but also societal perceptions of women. It challenges ingrained norms, encouraging a transformation in how we view and engage with women in the political sphere, questioning the very foundations upon which our political structures are built.

“The Hammer” talks about the necessity of a shift towards veganism in the wider population. While, of course, there needs to be direct action, outreach and "enlightenment" through activism, it is inevitable. In a dialectic sense, a vegan or anti-speciest view of the world will emerge from the struggle between different moral standpoints. Material conditions will make it essential to live like this – and "carnism" will be a relic of the past.

Q5. I read on your Bandcamp it’s the start of something bigger. Obviously I was intrigued. What can you tell us about that, or is it a secret for now?

Well, the release of a promo usually means there's more to come! We're not totally sure yet in what way, shape or form, but we are working on stuff behind the scenes.

 

Q6. Veganism is a major part of the band’s philosophy. What drew you to veganism and why is it so important to you?

Trying to live a vegan life really should be a baseline for every person. Of course living as vegan as possible doesn't automatically make you a good person, but when being able to decide whether to buy/consume animal products or not and still making that decision, you're actively contributing to harm you could really easily avoid contributing to. Obviously there are a lot of other factors at play in our daily life, but in most societies in the 21st Century, there really is no excuse to not at least try. And in opposition to a lot of other discriminatory effects in our world, where individual action doesn't really do a lot (e.g. climate change) partaking in the slaughter of innocent beings really comes down to every single decision.

We know sometimes it's hard to change one's own way of being, but it's never too late to decide to make the switch. It's never too late to go vegan, the future is what matters.

Q7. What’s the heavy music scene like in Switzerland? I know many people who are into this kind of music are likely familiar with Paleface, but are there other bands we should be paying attention to?

Switzerland has a small but dedicated scene. It's cool that Paleface is getting so much attention, proving that bands from our little alpine country can hang with the best and biggest in the world. Even though Switzerland has played a big part in the early development of heavy music (heard of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost?), Swiss bands have rarely gotten the attention they deserve. It looks like this is slowly changing. Some of the best current Swiss bands associated with the scene include Path of Resurgence (RIP), Fever Dreams, Deconvolution, Cage, Cancel, Barock Rain & Glaascats.

Q8. Is there anything else on the horizon for the band or any other things you want to tell our readers about?

We have a lot of cool shows lined up till summer and maybe there will be some touring in fall, who knows. You'll hear from us!

If you want to book us, just reach out via dm on Instagram or email.

Go vegan or go fuck yourself.

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WITH SAILS AHEAD 2.0

Sierra from With Sails Ahead returns to talk about the band’s upcoming release Infinite Void, their tour in support of the record, streaming, record labels, and more!

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HELL CAN WAIT

An Interview with Luke from HELL CAN WAIT

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on the band—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

A1. Hey, I’m Luke Hell Can Wait’s vocalist, graphic designer, booking agent, videographer extraordinaire… We’re a melodic hardcore band from the UK, based somewhere between London and Brighton. We formed during the COVID pandemic, playing our first show in September 2021. Most of us have been in bands on and off for the last 15 years - a few of us took some years out to start families and felt we now had something worth writing about.

Q2. Who are some of the band’s primary influences?

A2. Our influences are very varied, musically we take inspiration from everything we listen to - Comeback Kid, Stick To Your Guns, Killswitch Engage (Alive or Just Breathing era) to Defeater, More Than Life, Landscapes etc. Our drummer Jordan has a guilty pleasure for classical music. In terms of themes and why we do this band we all struggle with various mental health issues and find music such a positive outlet and a release you can’t quite get anywhere else, we write a lot about these aspects in our songs and hope someone’s finds some common ground and something relatable so they can know they’re not alone feeling the way they do.

Q3. What got you into hardcore?

A3. I fell in love with the early 2000s era of melodic hardcore - Verse, Killing The Dream, The Carrier, Modern Life Is War, American Nightmare, The Hope Conspiracy, Carpathian etc. I’d been in a few metalcore band over the years but Hell Can Wait was the first time I’d found a group of musicians wanting to pursue the melodic hardcore genre.

Q4. Melodic hardcore was emerging as one of the dominant types of hardcore when I first was getting into it in the mid- to late-2000s, but it does appear to have been overshadowed by some other styles in the last fifteen years or so. In your experience, is Hell Can Wait more of an outlier in playing this kind of hardcore?

A4. 100%. We wanted to play the music we loved, that nobody seemed to really be doing anymore, the UK scene lost More Than Life, Landscapes and Dead Swans. We wanted to honour that 2000s melodic hardcore scene, pulling on the heartstrings of nostalgia while breathing a modern breath of air into it. We find a lot of people come up to us at shows saying they’ve been waiting years for a band to bring melodic hardcore back into the spotlight and the revival of melodic hardcore has been our mission statement from the beginning.

Q5. What are some of your touring highlights and/or most memorable shows you’ve been a part of?

A5. For a young band we’re incredibly grateful to have had so many cool opportunities to support bands we love in our short career including playing our second ever show supporting Devil Sold His Soul and Landscapes, a couple dates supporting Your Demise, we had the absolute pleasure of playing Leperfest 2022 in Belgium alongside Stick To Your Guns, Knocked Loose, One Step Closer, supporting Atreyu and The Hurt Process in Brighton, Polar and most recently Don’t Try (CAN) and Ignite (US) in London. All in all we’ve played 50+ other shows across the UK since the end of 2021 - we like to keep busy!

Q6. Is there one song you would point to that would be “quintessential Hell Can Wait”?

A6. I’d say it would be a song off our yet to be released debut full length as we’ve really found and settled into our own sound writing the new record but if I had to pick one song that people could check out now that would sum up Hell Can Wait - I’d pick Drowning In You, it’s an absolute freight train from start to finish and really captures the relentlessness we strive to portray in our music.

Q7. What’s been the most gratifying and/or exciting part of being in a band?

A7. We love touring, travelling to new places every day, meeting new people, experiencing new things and playing great shows. If we could do this every single day, we would. Everything we do is done in house, we book our own shows and tours currently, we design all our own merch, manage our own socials, film our own videos etc so it’s hugely gratifying when someone comes up to us and shows some recognition for the hard work we put in behind the scenes.

Q8. What does the band have for plans on the horizon—touring, new music, etc.?

A8. So we’re out on a run with DOWNPOUR (ex Lock & Key, We Struck Gold) in a few weeks, they’re a great new band for fans of Stick To Your Guns and The Ghost Inside if we’re playing local to you, come down!

10.04 - The Bread Shed, Manchester

11.04 - Corporation, Sheffield

12.04 - Subside, Birmingham

13.04 - The Fighting Cocks, Kingston

14.04 - Daltons, Brighton

We’ve also recently finished working on our debut full length, the masters are back in and we have a couple videos filmed already - more news on the release soon!

Thanks so much for having me in for a chat - remember hardcore is a community and our community is a safe space - we welcome everyone who shares that ethos and hopefully we can all grow together. If you, like us miss early 2000s melodic hardcore let’s all work together to put it back on the map in the UK scene!

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HELLBOUND

Q1. For readers who might not be familiar with you, would you please provide some background on the band—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

Hey I’m Jonnie I sing in Hellbound a hardcore band hailing from sunny Glasgow, Scotland and we are part of the Northern Unrest team.

We started this band during the lockdowns somewhere in 2021 I think, I’m kinda the wee bro in the group having age gaps of 3-9 years with the guys and the vibe when this started out was definitely “let’s make your first band” and “let’s do whatever you want” so that’s what we did (sorta).

Q2. Who are some of the band’s primary influences?

Starting out it was a lot of me sending h8000 and 90s eurocore riffs to Owen who was writing old ny style for Despize and I like to think we landed somewhere in the middle on that first demo. After that we kinda cracked our heads together and found common ground on bands like the almighty Integrity, Liar, Ringworm, In Cold Blood, Lesprite du Clan, Ascension, Cold as Life, Before Christ, Counterweight, Indecision.

Production wise we all really align with that dark sound that you find on old school metallic records like the Slayer demos and the countless 90s Euro bands that tried to replicate that style.

Q3. What got you into hardcore?

My big brother played in a few bands starting in 2015 I think and being that I already liked heavy music and was an angry wee guy I fitted right in.

The first few bands my brother put me on to were the metallic classics like Congress, Kickback and Merauder, locally speaking Revolve and Splitknuckle’s Reduced to Ash EP and Ignorance Breeds were constantly being rinsed topped to bottom and got me hooked on metallic hardcore in particular.

Q4. Do you feel like Scottish hardcore, or maybe UK hardcore more generally, is being slept on by the world at large? From here on the other side of the Atlantic in the US, it does seem that way.

I don’t agree at all to be honest, you’ve got so many bands from the UK doing cool stuff such as Mourning and Last Wishes seeming to be away in a different continent every other month and all my boys just got back from Asia.

The UK conglomerate has such good ties to the whole world it seems right now and I think it’s at an all time high, so if your radar isn’t going off I’d say it needs some calibrating hahah.

Q5. Who are some of the great bands on the scene we should be paying attention to?

For the island I’ll just rattle of a list of some of the cool hc going ons:

Impunity

Splitknuckle

Mourning

Ts Warspite 

Fate 

Last Wishes

Dominate

Dynamite

Malignant Methods

Stiff Meds

Bodyweb [editor’s note: see the hyperlink for my interview with Louis from the band]

Sheffield hardcore 

Brighton hardcore 

Quality Control

Locally speaking we got:

Test of Patience 

Bleaks

Warnin’ Shot

Nothin’ but Enemies 

Demonstration of Power

Despize

And lastly but not least Gehazi who I wanna give an intro to just because; they’re a current Glasgow hardcore band formed of old ghc members that I think give a good reflection as to what our scene is sonically/historically 

Q6. What are some of your touring highlights and/or most memorable shows you’ve been a part of?

Our record release was a Raw Brigade headline sold out show with a secret Story So Far set which was jokes, we played Concrete Culture in London and the vibes were so good that it made the two weeks written off work after cuz I got so ill on the bus back worth it hahah.

Q7. Is there one song you would point to that would be “quintessential Hellbound”?

If I could mash "Victory Eternal" and "False Glory" into one it would be that but I’ll just go for those two together.

Q8. What does the band have for plans on the horizon—touring, new music, etc.?

We’ve got a Alive and Well Fest in Stockholm next month then we get back and do a short run with the legendary Whispers of BK Thailand who are a personal favourite of mine, then Northern Unfest Round 2 which I’m still scratching my head at that I’m gonna get to see Division of Mind a 20 minute walk from my house, then a short Euro run with the NU team then Outbreak.

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MORGOTH BEATZ

Morgoth Beatz—producer for artists like JuiceWRLD and MGK, guitarist for Winds of Plague and Shav—joins Jacob for this interview on his musical background and what directions he sees music headed.

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DEFOCUS

Q1. For readers for whom this is their introduction to Defocus, would you be so kind as to fill them in on your background—where you’re from, when you formed, etc.?

Hey Guys, we are Defocus and we’re from Stuttgart, Germany. Defocus was formed in 2019 but we are making music together for about almost 10 years. The Band consists of 4 Members: Simon (Vocals), Jeff (Guitars), Jonas (Drums), Bambam (Bass). Fun fact, Simon and I (Jeff) first met while I was working in a music store. -Jeff

 

Q2. Your second album There Is a Place for Me on Earth just dropped and it is sick! I’d like to talk about that for a bit. What was your mindset going in to album number two?

Thank you! At first we didn’t really know what to do on our next project because everyone had different visions for us as a band. After brainstorming for a while we really wanted to push every aspect of our music to the next level and embrace the diverse creative influences. We thought that it wouldn’t be fair if someone is holding back just because it may be something that doesn’t fit into our sound, so we really tried to commit to all ideas and be open minded. -Jeff

 

Q3. How did the album take shape in terms of writing it? What was the recording process like?

I mean we already had a lot of demos laying around, “crooked mind” for example was first written after we shot the music video for “diverge” from our first record. We really wanted to try a few things out and be more creative with this record, so we just wrote a lot of songs and then decided which ones have potential for our second album. And after that we just made them as perfect as they can be and made them fit together on the album. Regarding the recording process, we really did everything ourselves from home. It’s funny because during the recording process, we were never together in one room, usually it was just one or maybe two of us. For that we have our own discord where we can send all the files to each other. -Jeff

 

Q4. For people who haven’t heard it yet, what can they expect?

A very heavy album with very emotional lyrics. -Simon

Yes, it’s very heavy with a few twists and surprises here and there. You can expect fast and aggressive songs, and maybe some electronic and hip hop influences. -Jeff

 

Q5. Are there any tracks you’d identify as highlights or ones you are particularly proud of?

I would say since we experimented a lot, basically all of them are pretty unique but as we all have our own favorites I’d go with “don't let it hurt me”, “watch me bleed” and “hybrid anthem”. -Simon

It changes all the time for me, but right now I’d say “consumed by you” because I love all the production we did on that song and the riff is so much fun to play. -Jeff

 

Q6. Do you have any plans to tour in support of the record?

We are currently working on that in the background and right now we're focusing on playing a lot of festivals this spring and summer which we are super excited for. -Simon

 

Q7. Both of your albums have been released through Arising Empire. How did that relationship form?

We’ve known the guys for a very long time to be honest, long before the label even existed. I think we first met them a few years ago when we were playing a show in Stuttgart. We talked a little and instantly knew that we have the same interests. Since then we met up every time there was a local band playing in our Area. After they founded “arising empire” and saw that they had super cool bands on their label, we knew that we had to become part of that. Since then we worked hard to achieve that and the rest is history I guess. -Jeff

 

Q8. Who are some current artists we should be paying attention to? Who are some past or present who have influenced or shaped your sound?

Definitely go check out Fromjoy, Moodring and Avralize! It's probably hard to tell which bands really had their influences on the defocus sound but those are definitely bands we are obsessed with right now. -Simon

 

Q9. Any last messages for readers or anything else on the horizon you want to tell us about?

Thank you all for listening to our new record, we are so thankful for the amazing feedback we received so far and hope to see lots of you people very soon! -Simon

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nightlife

Q1. For our readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you please provide some background on the band: where you’re from, when and how you formed, etc.

for sure! we’re from baltimore, relatively new as this band (2 years) but we’ve been playing together in different contexts for much longer. hansel wanted to make a band that could hang with the other “heavy pop” bands growing in the scene, then him & julian linked up to work on the songs that’d become the first EP. the mission & vision are always shifting, but we’re still here to bring groove & the funk to the genres of alt & heavy music we love so much.

Q2. Who are some of your primary influences?

it’s hard to narrow down, each member has different sides they bring to the table at different times. for hansel, it’s a lot of r&b and music with experimental production mixed with the heaviest shit you’ve ever heard. julian brings a more eclectic background in reggae, funk, soul, and so much more with him, in addition to also digging tech-djent and other progressive stuff. isaiah’s a drumhead through & through, and fucks with a lot of instrumental/experimental hiphop and jazz fusion stuff with killer rhythms on top of deathcore & the more progressive sides of metal.

all of us can kinda come back from whatever tangents we’ve gone on musically and center around heavy, groovy guitar stuff as a group pretty naturally.

 

Q3. What made you want to pursue making music?

it’s different for all of us, but we’re all connected by a desire to see more shit like what happens in our minds out there in the music we love. that’ll always start with us making stuff to begin with, but hopefully it’ll end with a bunch of different bands & artists pushing the boundaries of guitar music to its groovy ends.

Q4. How did your addition to some dates for the Issues farewell tour come about and what’s the experience been like? Tell us about the world’s first RnB mosh pit!

honestly it was kinda a few years coming! back in 2020 hansel posted a video of him singing an issues song that got some traction on twitter, including from issues themselves. we’ve communicated back & forth over the years since for this or that, be it to write together or to talk about their music with others or whatever. they’ve always been super supportive of what we’re doing and we’ve always tried to be as open as we could about their influence, legacy, & importance. eventually they hit us to see if we were around and while it still blew our minds, it also made sense & we were so grateful they saw that.

playing the shows was kinda crazy. it was our first experience with a lot of things, including even basic logistics of getting to & from the shows, let alone being backstage & navigating the show days themselves. it all kinda flew by once it was time for the shows, but it was completely surreal the whole time. WAY more people knew about us & our music than we expected, and the crowds were so supportive both times. honestly, it goes to show the kind of community issues was building with their music for the past decade plus that they were able to pull this whole thing off so gracefully, our part included.

the rnb pits were absolutely crazy to watch. we’re sure they weren’t actually the “first” of their kind, but looking in even just for a second you could tell the vibes were a little different than your normal moshpit. everyone was still bumping & throwing limbs, but there was clearly an emphasis on everyone having a good time – the same vibe that was in the crowd the whole night, tbh.

Q5. Tell us about your most recent single “face2face.”

it’s been a long time coming! we spent a lot of 2023 talking with industry folks and seeing what we could make come of it. that meant trying a bunch of different things and languishing over demos for way too long…kinda like we’re doing now, except we weren’t sure what we wanted to make as a next move. the industry stuff fizzled out, & we ended up staring ourselves in the face again & wondering what the goal here was.

“face2face” kinda came to be finished first out of these new songs, and it definitely captures a lot of the ideas we’ve been trying to work through – the exploit of repackaged nostalgia, updating old ideas & continuing things others started, that kinda thing. we want to do more than just say “hey remember when” when we throw it back, and already face2face itself has started showing the connections between what we do now, what r&b groups like TLC or Boyz II Men used to do, and what other artists around the music world are doing – k-pop already had its y2k era, for example. we love music so much & it’s fun to make these connections in realtime & learn more about it as we go.

 

Q6. If you were to highlight one song as “quintessential Nightlife,” what would it be and why?

probably new low! we had our whole lives to write that song, you know? there’s so much context & energy that went into making that one song that it only gets better with time to us. it shows more of us to us every year & feels like it’ll be one of those songs that might just last forever, be that in our scene or whatever.

 

Q7. Dream lineup: what artists would you most want to share the stage with that you have not had the opportunity to?

oh man. in the heavy world, we’ve fucked with & respected bring me the horizon for years individually so that would be a dream. other bands that are killing it with their own unique sounds also inspire us so that’d be sick – bands like bad omens, sleep token, static dress, the home team, they’d all be sick to play with.

getting more creative, groovy mfs like anderson .paak or thundercat are def at the top of the list. artists who push the envelope like charli xcx or rina sawayama would be so cool too, & k-pop groups like stray kids or (g)i-dle would go crazy.

dreaming completely, give it d’angelo, miss lauryn hill, or the roots too.

 

Q8. What’s on the horizon for Nightlife?

more music! if a single bigger body of work shows itself to us while we’re making these songs we’ll work toward it for sure, but for now we just want to keep experimenting & seeing how many sounds we can fuck with that we wanna. so singles on singles on singles, if we can keep our shit on!

we’re also going on our first full US tour in june, so that’ll be a gamechanger for the band for sure. hopefully it’ll mark the start of a bunch of playing out for us.

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