After spending the last few months cultivating and developing their sound, Leeds-based outfit Slowride have now delivered their terrific debut single ‘I Feel Like You’.
Following in the footsteps of acts like Portugal. The Man and Foster The People, ‘I Feel Like You’ makes for an incredibly captivating introduction to their direction. Filled with bouncing hooks, killer grooves, and an instantly memorable chorus, this looks like it could be the first of a very long line of bangers to come from them in the months ahead.
So with the new single out and about, we sat down with them to find out more about their latest effort and what they planned for us in the future.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Chris) Hi guys, how are you today?
Slowride) Hi! All good over here. Just got off a zoom with our team planning the next few months out.
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
Someone suggested Indietronica as our genre the other day and I really like that. I guess a clearer description would be alternative pop rock filled with synth lines and social commentary. Influences range drastically depending on whom you speak to in the band but as you got me today we’ll go with Beck, Awolnation and Spoon. After spending years touring in punk rock bands I guess hearing anything authentic with variety and great songwriting turns me on.
You are also from Leeds, can you tell us how the music scene there has influenced your sound?
Actually only one of us lives in Leeds. Ali lives in London and Tom is in Hull. Al and myself grew up together around Leeds and played in a bunch of bands around the city so it holds a special place in our collective hearts. Alongside the ‘rock’ scene I’ve also been pretty active in the hip hop scene. There’s so much variety and talent flowing through that city it’s almost impossible to avoid soaking it all up. Not being restricted sonically has allowed us to really explore our sound and tap into something that’s been inside us for years.
You have just released your debut single ‘I Feel Like You’. Can you tell us how that track came about? What is the story behind it?
‘I Feel Like You’ is about feeling powerless by control. In the context of a relationship, an addiction or the censorship of free speech… It’s about awareness of one’s situation and learning to take the power back. No matter what we’re all individually going through, there’s certainly a collective connection between humanity right now.
Do you have plans for an EP or even an album in the months to come?
Our second single is out March 12th and we head back into the studio around the same time. We’re hoping to release a couple more tracks this year with an EP release due for late 2021 to tie them all together.
The pandemic has obviously affected so much recently, but what have you got in store for the year ahead?
Recording, writing, releasing. We’ve some videos lined up to film and, fingers crossed, some live shows later on. We formed at the beginning of lockdown and haven’t even had chance to rehearse properly! Personally, I can’t wait to get into the rehearsal rooms and play these tracks LOUD.
And finally, what advice do you have for other artists who are looking to release their first song soon?
Get a solid team behind you and do a lot of planning. It’s such an exciting time to release music with so many avenues to explore sometimes you can get overwhelmed so having any kind of plan in place can get you back on track quickly. Also, read lots of articles and watch lots of videos to help you get your head around releasing music in 2021. There’s loads of valuable information freely available, which has really helped us. And stay hydrated.
This review was created via Musosoup #sustainablecurator