INTERVIEW: COVE — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

COVE

_________

PETE from COVE has been chatting…

about the band's latest track, All I Believe. I discover the background to the song and their upcoming E.P., A Conscious Motion. Pete tells me how they got together and what gigs they have approaching; whether the band get time to chill away from the stage – and some new artists worth a watch.

He provides some useful advice for new artists; a favourite memory from music; important influences and idols – finishing the interview by selecting a cracking song.

_________

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

Hey! We're good, thanks. Just enjoying some time being back at home and starting the creative process again!

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

It's hard to describe the band’s sound in a concise way; but, we think of ourselves as primarily a heavy band, with influences from all over. A lot of the music we listen to that we take influence from is some of the earlier Post-Hardcore/Metalcore bands such as Underoath, Norma Jean and The Bled. We fit into that world of music, with other influences creeping in.

All I Believe is your current single. What is the tale behind the song?

All I Believe is a song about losing everything; not only physically and externally, but, also internally...losing everything you thought you once were - losing yourself. It deals with the idea of that feeling of emptiness and loneliness when in that kind of situation - but trying to get out of it. It's a deeply personal song to, not only our vocalist Ben, but all of us in the band.

We don't like to give too much about songs away so that we don't taint what a listener may interpret it as. But; we feel the message in this song is something everyone can at least relate to in a way or have their own take on what it means to them, which, we think, is awesome.

It is from your upcoming E.P., A Conscious Motion. Are there specific themes that inspire the songs on the E.P.?

The E.P. deals with a variety of themes from losing yourself, loved ones; inner-turmoil - a lot of the themes are quite dark. Something we've always tried to do with the band, though, is spread positivity, even though the themes are quite dark. If you look into the lyrics, a lot of them are to do with coming out of a dark time.

We don't like being negative for the sake of being negative: we just use our music as a tool to express some of the hardships we've been through that other people may listen to and be like: ‘Hey, I've been through that too, I totally understand how you feel’ – and, so, people also know they are not alone.

You worked with Oz Craggs on the E.P. Do you think your latest work is the most explorative and ambitious? What changes have come into the band?

Working with Oz at Hidden Track Studios is great.

He's been a friend of the band pretty much since the get-go: recorded our first E.P. with us and really understands where we wanted to go, sonically. We worked really closely with Oz this time and he definitely went above and beyond. We're all super-happy with how it sounds. I believe this is our most explorative and ambitious work to date. We really looked at the parts in songs we had written before that we liked and tried to mould those into the new songs; taking elements we liked and trying to expand on them.

We really thought about post-production on this record, too. That’s something that’s, actually, really exciting that we hadn't done much previously in the band. Laying down the main track and then experimenting with sounds over the top to enhance it with crazy pedals or effects; it's really fun and creative. I think for me, personally, that’s my favourite part of recording - and something we will definitely push even further in future with new material.

How did Cove get together? When did you realise you had a band on your hands?

The band formed at the end of 2015 - but didn't really become anything too serious until the cycle began for the first E.P. (which was released at the end of 2016). We knew what we wanted to achieve at the beginning and took our time trying to get it right. I feel like, with everything in life, a band is a learning curve: every time you do a cycle, you learn what works well and what, potentially, doesn't.

What sort of music did you all grow up around? When did you decide music is what you wanted to do?

I think, for all of us; we grew up on Grunge and Punk/Pop-Punk before getting into heavy music. A few of us were proper Metal kids whilst some of the others weren't really…but we all grew up loving bands like Underoath, Taking Back Sunday; Nirvana, Finch; Architects - those bands are the bands that made us want to do music.

I think, for all of us, it's not really something you ever ‘decide’ to do: you just do it. It's like an itch you can never quite scratch. You just have the overwhelming desire to create and perform.

It is addictive.

Can we see you tour soon? What gigs do you have coming up?

Of course! You can see us on the following dates, with Parting Gift, in April!

15th: Bournemouth – Anvil

16th: Guildford – Boileroom

17th: Nottingham - Red Rooms

18th: Manchester - Satans Hollow

19th: Huddersfield – Parish

20th: Glasgow - Garage Attic

21st: Edinburgh – Opium

22nd: Sheffield – Corporation

24th: Birmingham – Flapper

25th: Oxford – Cella

26th: Tunbridge Wells - Forum Basement

27th: Bristol - Mothers Ruin

28th: Bridgend – Hobos

30th: London - Thousand Island.

Do you all love being on the road? Is there any mischief when you are touring together?

Playing shows is the most rewarding thing: there is literally nothing better than when you finish the last note of a song and you get a great reaction from the crowd. Seeing people know the words or mosh or head-bang - it’s just a great feeling.

We're not too bad on tour. We try and keep ourselves together and don't get too silly with booze - we just want to be on form as much as possible. We have the standard banter, though, you'd expect from five people crowded into a van.

IN THIS PHOTO: Sad Cops

Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?

Not a heavy band, but there's this band called Sad Cops from the States. I think they're wicked. They're still teenagers from what I can make out - but their music is super-mature. Check out their album, Liam Murphy Holt.

What do you all hope to achieve, personally, in 2018?

Play a lot of shows, meet a lot of people; have a lot of fun and write some great music!

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

I think, for us all, the first time we played The Underworld; people knew the words to some of the songs that haven't been out long. It was a great feeling. We had a great reaction at that show.

It's very reaffirming.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

Don't worry if you don't get it right first time: we're all learning as we go. Be relentless.

Do you get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?

Not really! When we're back from tours, we're all working our jobs and then, when we come home in the evening, we're often writing music; sorting out merch. designs etc. It's just a lifestyle you live!

Finally, and for being good sports; you can choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).

It's got to be our boys in Bad Sign! Bad Sign - Square One