Scottish rockers The Violet Kind aren’t content with sticking within the usual boundaries of genre, and so hope to break down all of the pre-assigned walls that forge their way around them with the release of their new concept EP ‘OXTR’ in March.
The Violet Kind are set to drop their new EP in March
We got the opportunity to put some questions to the group all about their ambitions, influences, and the challenging world of being an artist. Find out what they had to say below…
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
Our music is pretty with a punch! We have strong melodies supported by a really creative rhythm section and we like to be captivatingly clever! We are subtle in our use of irregular time signatures and enjoy crafting songs with interesting song structures and honest lyrics.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
At the moment I think one of the problems is the expectations of some promotion companies; sometimes you’re asked not to play four weeks either side of a show and fees are often a minimal amount per ticket. When you’re trying to get your name out there, that can be pretty difficult because you can end up losing more gig opportunities, and it is so important to play as much as possible! You also have to be careful not to fall into the pay-to-play cycle.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
I wouldn’t say it’s difficult; I think to make a name for yourself, you have to do what you love and write music you’re proud of and then share it with people! Music gives you an incredible opportunity to talk about what matters to you, to write about human experience and share that emotion with strangers. I think as long as you write honestly, there will be people who connect with it, and as long as you continue to work hard, find opportunities and keep developing your craft, people will listen to you!
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
It’s super important to have creative control over our music! It’s your voice; what you want to say and how you want to say it!
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
In terms of musical influences, I’ve taken a lot of influence from the likes of Paramore, Death Cab for Cutie and Now, Now. I love the creativity of bands like Alt J and Foals and really enjoy writing interesting melodies over unusual structures. For our upcoming concept EP, ‘OXTR’, I enjoyed using theme and variation and was inspired by the film music of John Williams; using ascending and descending motifs to represent villains and heroes – the concept fit well with the theme of our concept EP, which is as a poignant reminder of the reality of rape culture and acts as a means of catharsis for the survivor of sexual violence. I also really love the poetry of Rupi Kaur and connected with how honest and raw her writing is.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
I think it would be great to record with Chris Walla. I loved the creativity he brought to Death Cab for Cutie and have enjoyed the records he’s made with the likes of Now, Now and Tegan and Sara. It’s awesome to work with people who are passionate about what they do and I really get that from what I’ve seen of his work. It would be really fun to see what he would do with our sound.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
Katya and Liam are captured in a photograph at original member Kyle’s birthday party; they went paintballing together before they even knew who each other were!
Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?
We absolutely do! It is so important to continually reflect on where you are and what you want in life because if you have goals, you’re going to work towards them! More often than not, you are presented with opportunities that you would never have even dreamed of. With that in mind, there are definitely venues we’d love to play, bands we’d love to play with and countries we’d love to play in.
Where do you hope to be this time next year?
We’d love to be on tour this time next year! Maybe somewhere a little warmer than Scotland!
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
We have a shiny new music video out next month, so you can look out for that! We’ll also be filming a video of a live session set in an old converted church and recording even more music after our release of ‘OXTR’! Check us out on social media for news of tour dates!
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The Violet Kind’s concept EP ‘OXTR’ is released on March 16, 2018 via Kindness Records.