Kylda are one
of Belfast's most exciting up and coming young bands, with all members
currently under 18 they aren't letting this deter them in their pursuit of
shows. Born of the amazing and essential Volume Control program ran by the Oh Yeah
Centre, they've already played a number of Old Crows shows as well as
travelling as far as Derry. Something some bands twice their age haven't
accomplished. Driven by a passion and joy for creating music it's inspiring to
see.
They open proceedings
as GazeFest Belfast this Saturday hitting the stage at 2.30. Grab tickets at
the end of the interview.
Lets chat with Klyda.
What bands posters did you have upon
your bedroom wall and what was the first album you ever bought and why?
By some weird coincidence all of us had the Queen's Greatest Hits CD as
our first CD we ever bought. We have all always seen Queen as almost a gateway
into rock music, they really have something for everyone. Half the band are
metalheads or gravitate towards heavier music and we all started off with
queen. For posters, we all have too many to count, hmv has all our money.
Can you tell me what first inspired you
to make music, what made you pick up a guitar, write songs and start a band?
It all started with a bit of messing about, in a garage with our parents
equipment which we didn't know how to use or play. We honestly didn't expect
we'd get further than winning our school talent show. We are heavily inspired
by our teenage experiences. songwriting has always been an integral part of our
life and ever since we formed the band we could bring all of our built up ideas
to life. The transition from purely covers to your own material and lyrics that
matter to you was a real turning point in the history of the band.
Your live shows have a reputation of
being full of energy and a lot of crowd involvement, how important is the live
experience to you?
The live experience really defines us as a band. We've always had the
idea of the best way to be memorable is by our stage presence, especially as we
have no songs out. Crowd interaction has always been very important to us as
we're not just here to play music we're here for a preformace. We also love to
throw in a cover for crowd engagement as we have no music out as of yet its
important to get people to sing along and enjoy the show. We've all been to
gigs where the artists just get on stage and don't move, and the crowd mirror
those actions, if we go crazy the crowd goes crazy.
Your band was born of the Volume
Control program, can you tell us how you came together and how important the
program is to young musicians?
Volume Control is the heart of NI all ages gigging. Being 14 and
sneaking into bars just to see your favourite band is so dangerous, especially
if there's mosh pits. Volume control and the oh yeah centre create such a safe
space for people of all ages and let teenagers experience the live music scene
along with the experience of playing gigs and things like mosh etiquette.
As a young up coming band is there
anything you think that we can do to improve upon the resources we offer young
musicians?
More all ages spaces! It is so difficult for bands our age to get out
there and get gigging and venues do not support the idea of teenagers being
there, even just an all ages open mic night means the world. We also need to
forget the idea that just because we're kids means we don't know what we're
doing. You don't suddenly become a rockstar the day you turn 18, teenagers are
talented!
Can you tell us about your song writing
process and lyrically what your approach is, where do you take inspiration from
or how do you approach lyrics for the tracks.
We have one rule for ourselves when it comes to writing songs; music
first. Being able to feel the music you’re writing and jam with that for a
brief period is essential to know what the song is about and how you want
listeners to feel. Our lyrics are impulsive, the first good thing that comes
out of someone’s mouth ‘write that down!’.
One of our inspirations for lyrics is Phoebe Bridgers, we take influence
from her storytelling aspect in our songs along with the unique melodies of her
vocals. We also draw major inspirations from bands such as My Chemical Romance
and early Radiohead which adds a level of heaviness to our sound.
The scene both north and south seems to
be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?
Susie blue, absolute
legend! She was out mentor throughout the elevate course in the oh yeah centre
and she also got us our first gig opening for her in September of 2022 and it
was valuable experience and a great night. Another great band from up north is
Humanitas, they have a great message and need more recognition!
And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon.
What are your Top 5 favourite records.
There's a bit of a mix of tastes in the band but our favourite albums
are
Three cheers for sweet revenge by My Chemical Romance
Ethan Hollan is a long time Old Crows Promotions allumni, having graced a number of line ups for us over the years. It's been a pleasure to watch him grow and evolve his sound and as an artist. It always feels like Ethan could take any direction with this music and it would make total sense. We were very happy for him to join the line up for GazeFest Belfast.
You can grab tickets at the link at the end of the interview to catch him Aug 26th!
What bands
posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first album you
ever bought and why?
I didn’t really have many band posters up on my
bedroom walls growing up, but I would collect concert t-shirts from shows I had
been to. The first concert my dad took me to see was MUSE on their “Drones”
tour, and that’s when my “tradition” of collecting concert t- shirts started.
From memory, I think the first album I ever bought
was either “Ritual De Lo Habitual” by Jane’s Addiction or “One Hot Minute” by
Red Hot Chili Peppers. At the time, I was just starting to teach myself guitar
and I had a friend who was beginning to teach himself bass. We would often jam
to these songs either in school or at each other’s house, just making noise and
learning together. I really admired Dave Navarro’s playing style at the time,
and the tracks were extremely fun to play to. I guess you could say the albums
were a great investment towards my guitar playing.
Can you tell
me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar, write
songs and start a band?
The first instrument I learned was the piano. I
started when I was eight and was trained classically through to achieving grade
eight. My piano tutor then, Sharon Forte, was and is still so lovely. Achieving
grades gives you a lot of technical skill, but since so much time and focus was
being poured into the theory and practical exams, it didn’t really give much
headspace for songwriting. Although, Sharon really encouraged any ideas that
I’d make up.
When I joined first year in secondary school, the
music department offered many different instrument lessons. I tried out for the
likes of trumpet, clarinet, but the thing I was most drawn to was guitar.
Picking up the guitar came with it a feeling of new found creative freedom. I
did lessons for a short while with Ian Livingstone before ultimately deciding
to teach myself. I taught myself guitar by sticking on Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Jane’s Addiction, or Metallica CD’s that I had bought with whatever pocket
money I had saved. I stuck on the tracks and just listened to it on repeat,
having my ear out for the guitar parts and making shapes with my fingers on the
fretboard until it sounded right. I still learn this way, although I can play
any song I want now that I have Spotify. I even make up my instrumental parts
this way as well; When a motif or riff idea comes to me and I’m without my
instrument, I record myself humming into my voice memos and return to my guitar
or bass or piano and replace the humming with an actual instrumental part.
For a long while, I only ever pictured myself being
a guitarist. It was very much my main instrument during my teens. I began
making many ideas when I got my first loop pedal. Little guitar ideas layered
on top of each other. I must have over 100 ideas saved onto my computer from
that pedal. I ventured into lyrical writing a few times here and there but
never committed to it. I had a terrible fear of singing in front of people but
I could totally fill a hall with noise from my guitar.
Just before lockdown, I attended a couple local
gigs in Belfast. I saw Sasha Samara and Problem Patterns, to name a couple
artists. Seeing these talented local stars create so much energy on stage
inspired me to make something of my musical ability. It was then I realised
that I wanted to experience the energy on stage as well as inspiring others
just like they did. Lockdown came shortly after which as we all know put a stop
to many things including live music. But having completed my A-levels at the
time, it gave me a whole summer of nothing but song writing. With no routine
and poor sleep schedule, I found myself writing into the night, sometimes until
the birds started singing.
The band is
Ethan Hollan, you are, in fact, Ethan Hollan. Do you feel any additional
pressure given its your name on the masthead? I know you've worked with a
number of musicians live and in studio, in those situations, how collaborative
is it or do you come in with fully formed ideas/demos and they play the parts?
Ethan Hollan is my name. “Hollan” creatively made
by my father, which was derived from the Cantonese name given to me by his
mother. It’s part of my identity, a link to my family in the islands of Hong
Kong, even though I was born in here. I’m proud of this country I was brought
up in, and the country my grandparents migrated from.
The pressure is there for sure, especially when
you’re stuck wondering if people will like you and your music. You never truly
know how people will perceive you when you put yourself out there. But when I
see my name on a gig poster or festival lineup, I’m filled with an immense
sense of pride.
I usually spend some time coming up with parts
myself, not many things are written down - just “stored” in my mind. When it
comes to recording songs, typically, I’d record demos in my bedroom that would
later be used as a reference track for the drummer. I write and perform vocals,
guitars, bass, and keys in my songs. I’ve most recently had the pleasure of
working with James Foy when coming up with the drum parts for my upcoming
single. We had a very easy going collaborative session before the studio time
to iron out the kit.
When playing live, I have the very funky Dan on
bass, and the very cool Danny on drums. We got together for my first headline
gig at the Nerve Centre back in April and have been playing and hanging out
together since. The first time Dan and myself got together, I played him
through some of my bass parts I had written, swapping his bass guitar back and
forth, and also enjoying some fried rice for dinner. He’s such a quick learner
it was like hearing an echo. Danny came into our first full band practice
knowing all the parts which felt like a huge relief with just days before the
headline. They are an absolute joy to be with on and off stage and they are
just as much “Ethan Hollan” as I am, when we’re on stage making noise together.
You've
released a two of singles this year, 'Love Bite II' and 'Forest', can you tell
us a little about them, the writing process, recording etc.
The original idea for “Love Bite II” was to
have an acoustic version of the original “Love Bite” released in 2021. Then I
had a go at creating a piano arrangement for it since my other songs were so
guitar driven, I wanted to spice it up a bit. My childhood piano teacher,
Sharon, kindly let me use her piano for a morning before I had to go to uni. I
played it each time all the way through and recorded the tracks on my laptop.
I’m no expert in recording so you can hear some noise in the room and even the
sound of my shoes hitting the pedals. To me, it really adds to the rawness and
vulnerability of this version of the song. If you listen to the very end, you
can hear the main riff from the first “Love Bite” this time taken up by the
light piano.
The remaining parts of the song, the vocals,
harmonies, and bass were recorded at Tragic Magic studios. It was a very
relaxing vibe and the studio pretty much let me have free rein around the
place. It was so fun!
The track was then mixed and mastered by my
previously mentioned guitar teacher, Ian Livingstone. He had mixed “Love Bite”
and many other projects I’ve done so it only felt right for him to work on this
one. Each time he has done an amazing job to produce what you hear today.
Forest was one of the songs I had written during
lock down. Overlooking the trees from my bedroom window, the themes of
isolation and longing for nature inspired the lyrics for the song. About a year
onwards, Start Together Studio ran their “Ready to Rule 2021” scheme, funded by
the Arts Council, as an incentive to get people back into creating music. At
the time, I had only recorded a few acoustic demos straight into my voice memos
on my phone. I applied to the scheme with my voice memos, which caught the ear
of producer, and Beauty Sleep’s, Ryan McGroarty. Working with Ryan was
wonderful, and it was the first time I had ever been in a recording studio. If
I could, I would have used everything there. The guitar and bass amps were
blasting in a separate room, which was very different from the dinky little amp
that I had been playing on since I was 13. The track took two days to record.
One day in the main studio above the Oh Yeah Centre, recording all the main
instruments - starting with drums, guitar, bass, main vocals. Then a second day
in the smaller, cosy studio, where we added some final touches and “ear candy”.
I feel like the magical essence from Start Together transformed the very
stripped back demo into what now is a very full indie-pop track with many
layers.
Your sound
seems to pull from a wide range of influences, having seen you live now a
number of times, the shows can go from a crypt like silence to swathes of
ambient soundscapes and everything in between. Can you tell us what influences,
musical or otherwise, influence your song writing and is there a particular
space or feeling you're trying to reach with your songs or during your
performances.
When I first began gigging, just about 2
years ago, I played my first few gigs as a solo act. The performance was pretty
simplistic in nature as it was just myself, my guitar, and my loop pedal. It
wasn’t until I was booked for alternative and punk gigs that I felt like I had
to make much more noise on stage to be at the same level as the other 4 piece
or even 5 piece rock bands sharing the stage the same night.
My initial musical influences would have came from
the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, or even Hayley Williams’ solo
albums. I just love the way these artists use bits of what I like to call “ear
candy”, that help create atmosphere in their music.
I often like to sample my surroundings to feature
in my music just to add depth to allow others to feel connected through
soundscape of the track. In the middle of “Forest” where it’s all instrumentals
and harmonies, you can hear birds chirping throughout this section. This was
recorded right outside my bedroom window, which I often think is a nice touch
with it being so close to home.
When I’m playing live, I guess the centre of havoc
and noise would be my pedal board. I’ve been building upon it for a while now,
and I think my current setup will be the one I’ll keep for a while. I’ve been
listening to a lot of Wolf Alice and anything 90’s grunge lately, and the pedal
board is beginning to reflect that. It’s comprised of one Tube Screamer, a
Fuzz, a variation of modulation pedals, and of course my loop pedal. They’re
mostly pre-loved bits of kit, so it’s cool to be continuing its story by
bringing it out to gigs.
Can you tell
us lyrically what your approach is, where do you take inspiration from or how
do you approach lyrics for the tracks.
Lyrically, I take inspiration from how I’m feeling
at the time. Beginning with “Forest’, I’ve allowed myself to get much more real
with my emotions and putting to pen my personal experiences and thoughts.
There’s a certain headspace I enter when an idea for a song comes to mind.
Often times I begin writing poems that keep flowing, like I’m continually
scattering little ideas on a page, and then picking out the parts that I think
would be best included in a song.
The scene
both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want
to shout out to?
I can’t express enough how much it means to me all
the support that has been shown in the scene both north and south. There’s so
many people I’d like to give a shout out to, because they’ve all been a great
part of my journey so far. The past few months alone has felt like a dream.
I’d like to shout out Martin McGil and everyone on
the Nerve Centre team for first having me play at the Nerve Centre and also
continuing to have me on for Carnival of Colours, and Stendhal Festival 2023.
It was great working with the team again and I am still so happy to have been
asked to play the festival.
Diana Cheung, for having me feature on her
documentary “Northern Chirish” and continuing to show support towards myself
and my music.
I have just played my first official Dublin gig
organised by EXOH Promotions, so I want to thank Alecksyy for putting together
an amazing lineup of Asian artists and helping to bring our community together
through live music.
Dan and Danny who have shown up to each practice
and played with so much energy ever since we got together in April.
Caitlin, who continuously hypes me up and showers
with me genuine love and affection. Always reassuring me no matter the
situation.
My loving parents who have gone to each of my
shows, sporting my merch, and recording every step of my journey.
I’m sure there’s many more that I may have missed,
but I am so grateful and thankful for each and everyone that has supported me
along the way.
Truly, thank you so much.
Whats next
for you, is there more music on the way, any shows?
For new music... I’ve just finished recording my
next single which is now in the final processes of mixing. All thanks to the
help of Ryan McGroarty! For those that have seen me live, it will be the song
that I usually end my set with. Super looking forward to having it out, so keep
an eye out on my socials!
I’ve got a few gigs in August, so depending on when
this interview gets put out, I should have my first gig with Volume Control on
the 17th August coming up, as well as playing Old Crow Promotions’ GAZEFEST on
the 26th. Looking forward to playing at the Oh Yeah Centre for both of those
shows!
For any fans down south... I’m so excited to play
Ireland Music Week 2023 in October as a showcasing artist! It will be my second
time playing in Dublin after the EXOH Promotions “Áise Agus Éire” showcase.
Can’t wait!!
And finally
in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.
Next up in our series of GazeFest interviews is The Drive. Formed in Cork in 2018 by Eoin Murphy and Alex Galligan the band have shifted sounds over the space of their career. More recently adopting a dark more experimental sound that recalls another Old Crows favourite, Just Mustard. I sat down with Eoin and Alex for a chat about all things The Drive.
Catch them at GazeFest Belfast on Aug 26th Oh Yeah Centre - tickets link at the end of the interview
What bands posters
did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first album you ever
bought and why?
E- Sonic youth,
the cure and Jackson pollocks no.5, plaster my walls at home.
First album
would’ve been “AM” , which subsequently was a defect out of the packaging. I
traded it for “whatever people say I am “
A - “Nevermind”
was my first CD, it started my affinity to drums and dave grohl. it’s one of
the main reasons i picked up an instrument and wanted to start a band.
Can you tell me
what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar, write
songs and start a band?
E- I never
really fit in at school. Was terrible at sports so when it came it to
extracurriculars I felt music to be. Good shout. My family is very musical so I
suppose it’s down to genetics too.
Your EP ‘in reverse’
is a tour de force in an exploration of sounds. It’s almost oppressive in parts
but this is balance with cathartic release. Can you talk about the writing
process for the EP, where it was recorded and why you choose that studio.
E- The EP
recording process had used a lot of techniques we had acquired through years of
being in studios and home demoing.
I use a lot of
layers for my guitar and vocal tracks to really make the songs massive.
I also used a
mixture of 2 amps with separate tremolo signals for songs such as Thin Air and
Market price on the lead tones to really encompass the songs
A- I used a lot of separation techniques on the recording of the drums for extra depth and the ability to layer over those really dense tracks. I layered a lot of the drums with different snares and reverse hi hats to create an atmospheric presence.
Given the nature of
the band, is there any particular piece or pieces of gear that are essential to
creating your sound?
E- I like to
travel light, so its essential to be able to recreate studio tones on the go. I
swear by my Moose Electronics Cosmic Tremolo and my EHX Holy Grail Max. I use a
Boss Blues Driver 2 to crush all that live.
A- I love
experimenting with my drums and looking at things in an unorthodox way.
I stack my
cymbals with hats and vice verses to get sounds otherwise unattainable live.
Can you tell us
lyrically what your approach is, where do you take inspiration from or how do
you approach lyrics for the tracks.
E- I take
inspiration from everything g and anything to write lyrics. Its great to step
out of your comfort zone in songwriting sessions and really push ideas that you
wouldn’t normally do.A song like
sundown essentially is derived by my love of horror movies with title being a
reference to Wes Cravens classic, “The Town that dreaded Sundown” . Lyrically I
was heavily inspired by breaking bad of all things.
It helps to be
able to look at songs lyrically from all aspects, whether that be what the song
makes you feel personally, or the feelings a song invokes.
A- I love being
able to take songs apart and structure them, i’m not always in the corner doing
a 4/4, it’s a collaborative process on all aspects of our music
The scene both north
and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout
out to?
E- Gurriers,
Pretty happy, Clay Pigeon Shooting and Enola Gay are some bands that are
dominating and will continue to dominate the Irish music scene in my opinion.
What’s next for
you, is there more music on the way, any shows?
E- We have our
next few singles pretty much ready to record, well plan some shows accordingly.
And finally in the
vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.
Next up in our GazeFest interview series is Blue Slate. Sometimes the internet is a hive for the wretched, the vapid and the hate filled. Other times, it presents you with exciting new music, this was the case with Blue Slate. Having been presented with their profile as one I might be interested (posting a lot of posts #shoegaze will likely help the algorithm steer all things gaze your way). I checked out their Decay EP, a mix of grunge, gaze and indie influences spilled out of my headphones. In a strange twist of fate they happened to be playing Belfast, so I got to go check them out and watch them fill the American Bar will fuzz and feedback. It was a visceral show and I was hooked.
Since then the band released a stand alone single 'Wipers' that seemed to take large steps forward in songwriting, production and sound. They were a must for the GazeFest line up.
Meet Blue Slate..
Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar, write songs and join a band?
All of us have been raised to have a passion for music and art in general , listening to
the bands that influenced us from youth until adulthood gave us the inspiration to
create a sound of our own.
You released your debut EP ‘Decay’ last year, that seemed to draw on a really wide range of influences, grunge, shoegaze, indie and even some metal in there. Can you tell me about how the EP came together, song writing process, where it was recorded and mixed and any particular influences you might have had for the record.
The inspiration for the EP happened during the early stages of the bands creation , it sprung from an urge to get the songs we had been working on during the early days out into the world , we worked with Clodagh Bergin in Sun Studios over a couple of days and the results were Decay . In terms of influences for the project , we really were trying to find our sound as a band and incorporated the work of some of our favourite bands such as Bad Brains , Manic Street Preachers and Diiv to name a few.
Can you tell us lyrically what your approach is, where do you take inspiration from or how do you approach lyrics for the tracks.
Lyrically, it comes from a love for poetry and songwriting, drawing from the work of
Emily Dickinson, Richie Edwards and Anton Newcombe.
Your newest single ‘Wipers’ came out in March and seem to take massive strides towards a more expansive shoegaze sound as opposed to the EP, especially in the vocals. Is this indicative of a new approach to the Blue Slate sound akin to Narrowhead or Nothing? Can you tell us about the production and subject matter of the single?
Wipers was produced by our lead guitarist Pierce Devine , in terms of our direction ,
we wanted to create a song that paid homage to our influence and love of shoegaze ,
however we are keen to not be labelled into one genre as we take influence from all
art and work to create a unique and refreshing collaboration of a wide range of
genres.
The scene both north and south seems to be stronger than ever, is there anyone you’d want to shout out to?
We love the work of our friends Wifeswap, Ten Hail Marys, Fulvetta and Stratford
Rise along with many others. Overall we think the Irish music scene has so much to
offer and people don't pay enough attention to it .
And finally in the vein of Rob Gordon. What are your Top 5 favourite records.
Our top 5 favourite records have to be:
The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers
Deceiver - Diiv
Turn on the bright lights - Interpol
Thank god for mental illness -
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
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