Alt-rockers Halo Tora have rocked their way into 2015 with a lot to offer towards the Scottish music scene.
Kick-starting the year with a headline show at King Tuts as part of the venue’s renowned New Year’s Revolution gigs, the band already has a jam-packed schedule pencilled in for 2015.
Following their latest single release, ‘Age of Terror’, we caught up with the Glasgow chaps to find out their plans for 2015.
For those who haven’t stumbled across your music, which track would you recommend to kick things off?
Our new single ‘Age Of Terror’ is actually a good place to start as it has a bit of everything in there with the split dual vocals. However, our track ‘Under The Surface’ is always a favourite when we play it live.
How would you describe your new release?
It’s always hard to analyse your own work, but I’d say this track is one of our more straight to the point tracks lyrically. Musically though we tried to make the verses build up to the big sing-along chorus. We have the meaty riff at the end too which is fun to play! A few people have said it puts them in mind of the likes of Karnivool and Oceansize which is always a nice complement.
How different is a live Halo Tora set to your recorded releases?
There are elements that we keep the same and others which are very different. We’ve taken to playing on special occasions in theatres where everyone is seated, which makes for a challenge and a very different atmosphere from when we play in clubs and traditional rock venues. One thing we try to keep though is the atmospherics and I really like to keep the show rolling by running tracks into one another.
Out of all the shows that you’ve performed, are there any in particular that are memorable?
There have been quite a few actually. We played in London recently at the Camden barfly and its was just one of those sweaty shows that just clicked! The Cottiers Theatre in Glasgow was excellent and we played with the film Koyaanisqatsi playing on a huge screen behind us which looked great!
Which venue in Scotland would you most like to headline?
The Barrowlands in Glasgow and the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh as we’ve seen so many great bands play in them.
What can we expect from you guys for the rest of the year?
We are off on a run of shows from April and into summer where we are looking at playing some of the festivals. After that we will be gearing up to release the full album which we are immensely excited about!
Anything else you wish to add?
Our tour dates are available from www.halotora.com.