Define your genre in five words or less:
Epic operatic rock.
Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like?
The most obvious influences are Queen and Muse, but I think people would also say there are some traces of Pink Floyd, Sparks, Radiohead, and even My Morning Jacket in there as well.
How long have you been gigging and writing?
Chris and I have been writing music together and gigging since 2005, so it’s coming up to ten years. We spent a long time writing and refining the sound and getting the music to sound the way we heard it in our heads. Dan and Riggs (guitar and bass) joined the band about a year ago, so we’re actually a relatively new band, despite Chris and I having played together for so long.
What inspires or has influenced your music the most?
Apart from our musical influences, which are really varied amongst the four of us, visual art is actually one of our major sources of inspiration. We’ve often collaborated with artists, or written songs inspired by particular art works. In fact, our latest single is inspired by a Ricky Swallow piece called Killing Time. It’s an amazingly detailed woodcarving; it really affected us.
If you could go on tour with any musician or band, who would it be?
This is a tough one, but I’d have to say Outkast in their prime. Apparently they had two tour buses, one was Big Boi’s and it was non-stop partying. The other bus was Andre 3000’s and it was all vegan and clean living. I’d love to tour with that set-up: spend a few days with Big Boi, then detox with Andre 3000, and repeat.
What part of making music excites you the most?
The whole songwriting process is bloody exciting. Being a part of the progression from some nice chords to a song with meaning and a musical journey is what music is all about. I actually love the recording process too, working hard in the studio is one of the great pay offs in music, then after sitting in a hot, intense room with the same people for ages listening to the same songs over and over, getting out on stage never feels so fun.
ARTIST PROOF launch their single Transformed at The Kelvin Club on Friday May 16.
