INTERVIEW: The Blood Choir — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

The Blood Choir

___________

I have enjoyed speaking with The Blood Choir…

about their track, Drake, and the new album, Houses of the Sun, and why they have not released new music in six years. Robin and Joe talk about their development and what they hope to achieve through the rest of the year – I ask whether we can see The Blood Choir on tour at all.

The guys explain the importance of getting back on the stage and how they got together in the first place; if they have favourite memories from their time in music – they choose a rising act we should seek out and explore.

____________

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

We’re good, thanks.

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

There are two of us. Robin sings, plays guitar and keyboard; Joe plays guitar and various other instruments. We’re from Bath, originally, but we’re now based between the U.K. and Denmark. We’ve released two albums so far: No Windows to the Old World in 2012 and Houses of the Sun which came out this June.

How did The Blood Choir get together? When did you meet?

We’ve been friends since we were teenagers. We spent most of our early twenties playing in different bands before we got together as The Blood Choir in 2009.

Drake is your new single. It is from the album, Houses of the Sun. What sort of themes and ideas influenced the music?

Entropy, love; illness, time; death, light; depression, water; paranoia and space.

The record is your first in six years. How come there was such a gap between releases?!

There were many reasons. We left our record label, fell out with our manager; the touring line-up of the band imploded and then Rob had to move to Denmark. We also had a lot of other personal things going on.

What do you hope to achieve before the end of 2018?

Hopefully, get some funding to make another record. It’s already written, so it’s just a question of getting in the studio and recording it. Our plan is to try and get it recorded early next year and get it out soon after that. We also have an E.P. called Dartmoor (which pre-dates our first album No Windows to the Old World) that we’re planning to release in the autumn.

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

Robin: Probably finishing Houses of the Sun.

Joe: I’d say the same thing - it was a great moment when we got it over the line.

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

Robin: Kate Bush, maybe. I saw her last show at the Hammersmith Apollo which was pretty mind-blowing.

Rider-wise; I have no idea...

Joe: Not sure; that’s a tough one. Most of the good ones are dead. If I was pushed, I’d probably say Neil Young.

Do you feel like the music has changed a lot since 2012? How has The Blood Choir evolved?

We’ve just continued writing songs. We haven’t stopped really since finishing the first album, so we now have a lot of material in the bank. Most of the songs we’re working on at the moment are for album no.-four. It’s difficult for us to say how the music has evolved: it’s just been a natural progression.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

We’re not sure we’re in any position to be giving advice to anyone…

Where can we see you play? Do you have any gigs approaching?

We’re doing another U.K. tour this November, the details of which are still being finalised. We’re also hoping to do some shows in Denmark next spring.

Is it important getting on stage and putting your music to the people? What kind of buzz do you get?

Yeah, it is important. The tour we did this May was the first time we had played live together for over five years. Being locked away working on new material for that long can end up making you feel a bit cut off from your audience. It was good to get out there and start connecting with people again.