INTERVIEW: River Meets Sea — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

River Meets Sea

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IT has been great...

talking with River Meets Sea about their debut track, Won’t You Stay, and how it came together. I was curious to know if there is more material coming next year and what they have coming up – they recommend some rising artists that we need to have a listen to.

I ask what their favourite memories are and whether they get time to chill away from music; what one Christmas present they would each like and the albums that are important to them – they select a great song to end things on.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

It’s been a great week, thanks! We’ve just released our debut single and video, Won’t You Stay, which we are really excited about! We have put a lot of work into it and it feels great to finally show what we have been up to.

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We are River Meets Sea; a four-piece ambient Indie-Rock band. Joe Osborne is the lead singer and guitarist. Liam Lovegrove also plays the guitar, giving the tracks their atmospheric feel, as well as contributing to backing vocals with Luke Remon, who is the group’s bassist. Jamie Howard is on the drums laying down the beats. All four of us come from different parts of the country with different musical backgrounds, which we like to try and incorporate into the music we do.

Won’t You Stay is your new track. Is there a story behind it?

The song is about living in London and how lonely it can be. It’s about how cold the city can feel but also how freeing too and the tension between those two aspects. It’s about trying to decide whether to leave a situation or to stay put.

Might we see more material next year?

Of course! We already have another couple of tracks lined up ready to be released early next year. We are in the planning stages of a creating music video for our next single, which we hope to release around February/March.

How did River Meets Sea get together? Were you bonded by similar tastes in music?

Joe, Jamie, and Luke all met at university. We met at uni all playing in different-styled bands or solo work. Except Liam…he came out of nowhere. The styles of music we all played differed from each other, but it was the love of music itself that brought us together.

If you were to select influences; which artists would be in the list?

It would be such a big list of influences we all have, ranging from Folk, Hip-Hop; Punk Rock, Indie and Soul. Musically, you can hear a lot of Ben Howard, Tycho; Hammock, This Will Destroy You and Bob Dylan influences in our music.

As Christmas is coming; what one present would you each like if you could have anything?

Joe: Good Question. I’d like a house.

Jamie: I’d never say no to some new speakers. I want to feel that heavy bass.

Luke: I need to get some tattoos covered up. Tattoo fixers, where you at?

Do you already have plans for 2019?

As well as releasing a new single in early-2019, we will be doing shows throughout the year around the U.K. and, hopefully, Europe too. We have also started writing some new material that we are all feeling really strong about. We will be going into the studio to record it.

Have you got a favourite memory from your time in music so far – the one that sticks in the mind?

Joe: Seeing Dylan in 2011.

Jamie: Watching A Tribe Called Quest’s final show was pretty special. Also, performing live on national German T.V. was a pretty crazy experience!

Luke: The first time I saw the Pixies, they ended with Into the White and they filled the venue with white smoke!

Do you have tour dates coming up? Where can we catch you play?

At this moment, the only date we have confirmed is Saturday, 1st December at the Tooting Tram & Social. We are playing a headline show to celebrate the release of our new single Won’t You Stay. We will be announcing more shows in the New Year.

Which one album means the most to each of you would you say (and why)?

Joe: I Forget Where We Were - Ben Howard. It's probably as close to a perfect album as I can think of. Listening to it is therapeutic, uplifting; devastating, never-boring and always thought-provoking, all at the same time. Musically, it's a masterpiece.

Luke: I can think of two; the first one being (A Tribe Called Quest) The Low End Theory. I didn’t really listen to much Hip-Hop before this, but Jamie put it on in his car once and it completely opened my eyes up to the genre.

The other one would by ...And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid. It was the first album I became obsessed with and got me into loads of good Punk-Rock.

If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?

It’s a different genre, but supporting Anderson .Paak seems like it would be a riot.

Our rider would have loads of cheese, grapes; hummus and Tzatziki. Probably, a few bottles of expensive wine from the South of France. We want our backstage feeling like we’re in Monaco.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

Keep it consistent and don't give up. Make sure you have the basics covered and do as much as you can yourself. The music industry is setting itself up with a more D.I.Y. mentality.