Following on from the release of their 2015 EP 'Gallows Humour', Rootwork are back and gearing up for the release of follow-up EP 'Some Of Us May Never Bloom' a little later this year via Ubiquity Project Records.
Rootwork
We caught up with the group to find out a little bit more about their music, inspirations and more!
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
It's rock music first and foremost, although like a complex broth there's various flavours and spices we chuck in to make it our own! Some songs are very fast and heavy, others slow and sludgy; we like to throw in some pop-ier and ambient moments too.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
The main challenge in my view is getting noticed. People have such busy lives and not to mention, if we're being honest, short attention spans and/or a sort of reticence to go beyond what they already know and enjoy. That combined with the fact that the marketplace of bands and artists is hugely saturated right now. It's a blessing and a curse every artist has to fight through this issue and many don't. We're under no illusions regarding this particular area of difficulty within the music industry, but we love what we do and believe that there are people out there who would love what we do as well, so we'll continue to give it our best shot.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
On paper, making a name for yourself is easy… Assuming you've got all the important stuff together. If you write music that you love, try to do something fresh (failing is OK!), be honest, find the right combo of proud and humble, I believe that it just becomes a matter of time. It's all about committing to your uniqueness, and with patience you'll find the right people that will gather around you. Lame as it is, be nice to people at shows, be good at your songs, care about your product, and that's it.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
It's the single most important thing to us. We write the music for ourselves but when other people tap into that and say that they enjoy it, that's amazingly rewarding. We wholeheartedly agree with David Bowie that it's very dangerous for an artist to try to fulfil other people's expectations.
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
For me personally, I mainly get inspired by other great music. When I hear music that really makes me feel something and hits that emotional spot. It could be heavy, beautiful, sad or whatever the case may be. When it hits, it hits and it gets me in the mood to try to achieve that for myself.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
I want to hang out at Rancho de la Luna with Josh Homme, doing a kind of anything goes, loose Desert Sessions kind of improv freak out session in the middle of the desert.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
I think this is starting to become a known fact. Should we ever reach the heady heights of having our own Wikipedia page (not written by us), then this is perfect for it.
We drink an obscene, and I mean obscene amount of Diet Coke. Cans and cans of it. We love it. It surrounds us. Literally. During the Gallows Humour sessions there was a Coke can on every resting surface. We developed a labelling system to know which cans were which, because there were half empty flat cans around, and also we didn't want to share each other's. Some would say we should have just tidied up, but needs must when the devil drives.
Do you have any definitive aims or goals for your career?
We try to take things one step at a time and focus on our aims for the immediate future, but obviously we have a sort of checklist of things we'd love to achieve. Primarily getting our music out to as many people as possible and all the cool experiences that can stem from that. Playing festivals, putting on our own shows and filling the room with people who like our music and want to see us live, getting to play with other bands and artists we admire. Things like that.
Where do you hope to be by this time next year?
Towards the end of 2017, we'd love to have another EP or our debut album release, have played some amazing gigs and hopefully a few festivals to boot. Honestly we just want to keep writing, recording and performing as often as we can.
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
'Some Of Us May Never Bloom' is released on November 18. Before then there'll be a new single with a music video, plus more shows across the South of England to be announced. Exciting times!