Guitarist Nath, vocalist Dermott and drummer Dean trace back the origins of the band ahead of their all-ages show at The Tote for Leaps and Bounds festival.
It is evident that friendship is at the core of this Horsepower. It’s mates having fun together exploring the sounds of hardcore in their own way. They were friends long before they ever started the band together, and it’s clear their camaraderie is at the very core of what they do and how they operate.
“It was during COVID – me, Dean and Nath – we lived together,” Dermott says. “It was kind of reaching the end of their band that they were in previously. I wanted to start a heavier band and wanted to sing in it, in particular, and we just started jamming at our house. We had a garage.”
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He says the demo that resulted was the first time they’d ever tried writing anything hardcore, or even just heavy for that matter.
“We didn’t have an idea of what we wanted it to sound like. It was whatever came out and that probably is exactly what it sounds like – a couple of different styles in there, but it was a pretty accurate representation of where we were at at the time.”
Although Horsepower isn’t the first time the boys have played together. “We all played in the same band at one stage [previously],” Dean shares.
Dermott continues, “I played in a weird mathy soft rock band before, where I was doing clean singing and playing guitar. It’s a vast contrast, but I think it kind of works in our favour as well in that it broadens the spectrum of what we’re able to do within the genre. It’s good to have those previous influences and experiences to formulate what we do now.”
Dean describes himself as “a blues rock drummer that had been placed in a hardcore band”.
“Hardcore as a whole was like a completely new thing to me,” he says. “When we first started, I didn’t even really know that it existed, that very niche genre.”
For Horsepower, there’s a sense of freedom without constraints of the rigid nature of what hardcore should sound like that many bands can fall into.
When the conversation moves to what drives them, Dermott jumps in. “The purpose is pretty much just to have fun and play music. We’ve grown up together, known each other for years and years, and just playing together is like, the funnest thing you can do,” he tells me.
“The fact that we get to write what we enjoy, and just do it for ourselves, and if other people enjoy it – which luckily, some people have – that’s awesome. People get to come to shows, have fun, dance around, hang out with us. That’s pretty much all it is, we’re just trying to have fun and do the style in our scope.”
Dean adds, “I think it sounds maybe a bit corny and cliche that it’s all about having fun and being with your mates, but it really is.”
He then goes on to describe a typical Saturday for the band, which involves getting a coffee together and then band practice all day. Nath chimes in, “We’d feel completely lost if we didn’t have it”. Laughter ensues. “We’d all be so sad – we pretty much play in this band so we’re not sad.”
Feeling part of a community is a big part of what hardcore provides for Horsepower. “Everyone in the scene is so lovely. We’ve made a lot of good friends,” says Dean. Dermott adds, “Yeah we have great friends in the scene, a lot of great relationships, and it’s so DIY, which is perfect because the people that you can look up to could be your friends the following week. It’s very open in that sense.
“It’s an interesting thing. It’s a niche interest. And when you meet people that have this interest also, you kind of automatically click and have a bit of connection because it’s something that you feel so passionately about,” he says.
“It’s not just those people in the bands. The community is the broader spectrum of the people that always come to these shows. It’s very open and everyone’s there to have a chat and just just be friendly. It’s always a good time, it’s not super cliquey or very closed off. Everyone’s just there to have fun, enjoy each other’s company and enjoy the music.”
It’s this sense of community that motivated the band to make their show at Leaps and Bounds an afternoon show and open to all ages.
“It’s always super important to involve the younger generation coming up because without shows that bring them in, you can’t foster the next generation of bands or the next generation of showgoers,” Dermott says.
“I think it’s important to play the shows that show up for the younger crowd and get everyone involved. Because the more you do that, just the better it’s going to be, the more beneficial it is for everyone.”
HORSEPOWER are performing with J.O.Y, Mindrace and Tarnished at The Tote for Leaps and Bounds Festival on Saturday, 27 July at 1pm. Tickets are on sale now.
