rockyourlyricsTell us more about your new EP “I’m a Stranger to Myself”, what was the most difficult moment while preparing it, and the most rewarding one?
For me, the most difficult part would be the writing process.
Anyone who’s ever worked with me musically will tell you how stressed I get trying to get some lyrics together!
The most rewarding one however would have to be once we’d recorded it all and heard the final mixes.
Then when we released the EP and played our EP release show only a couple days after, seeing people know all the words to the songs already – that makes it all worth it!
Are there any ‘crazy’ behind the scenes anecdotes from the album sessions that you can share with us?
When someone was recording their parts, the rest of us would sit in another room in the lounge area of the studio, and on one of the days, I was eating an apple, not really thinking, and I just tucked into it and ate the whole thing, not realising that apples have seeds… not one of my proudest moments, and trust me, the guys have never let me forget it haha!
Is there a link, lyrically speaking, between all its songs?
The general message that flows through the spine of IASTM is that you’re not alone if you’re suffering with depression and you feel like you’re on the outside, that you’re isolated, that there are people around you are going through the same struggles who are there to support you, and also to know that it’s okay to accept you need help.
What inspired the verses of “November”?
The premise of “November” was inspired by house parties I used to go when I was younger.
I was never really all that popular at school, so I would often find myself surrounded by people at these events I either didn’t know or liked.
Lyrics like “Watching the wallpaper in the living room peel away was far more interesting than anything anyone had to say” is a good example of how I wanted the lyrics to make the listener feel like they’re there, watching the events unfold.
And “Harbour”?
Depression and anxiety is something that some of us deal with ourselves and also some people close to us, so ‘Harbour’ was mainly just wrote from those experiences of dealing with it.
What is the best verse you ever wrote?
There’s loads to choose from I’m very proud of, but one that sticks out is from ‘Better Off’ – an acoustic track from our first EP: “I know I can’t compete with the guys you moved onto.
I think about you all the time, it’s not like I want to”. I’m extremely proud of that entire song but I feel like those lyrics sum it all up.
‘Better Off’ is about the first girl I properly fell for. She ended up moving on to guys who were much better looking and buffer than me, and I knew I didn’t stand a chance with her anymore, I was hung up on her for a long time.
And the one of your favourite song (not written by you)?
Maybe Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran or 19 Seventy Sumthin by Neck Deep. I lost my mum suddenly earlier this year, and the emotion and lyrics of both of those songs hit me hard.
How do you usually write the lyrics of your songs?
I will usually wait until we have a basic structure of a song together, then I will play around with it and come up with a melody, and record it on my phone.
Then from there, I will work myself silly to try and get some lyrics down – I’m also quite a perfectionist so it takes me quite a while to come up with anything I actually like!
What is the last song you wrote?
The last song we finished writing for the EP before we hit the studio was ‘November’ so I suppose that!
What does music mean to you?
Music means simply everything to me, I honestly don’t know where I’d be without it. I’ve been singing since I was very small, been playing guitar since I was about 13, and a lot of my family have been in bands so music is in my blood. I’ve never had much of an interest to do anything else!
What makes you happy in life?
Music, my friends, family, and pizza – good ol’ pizza.
Are you planning to tour soon?
Yes, we have plans in 2018 to tour.
Not a whole lot I can say yet, but there are definitely some things in the pipeline to watch out for, so keep an eye out on our social medias. Sadly no plans to tour in the US any time soon, but I hope we can come out to you guys one day!
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