Introducing | Artbreak

Combining art, funk and indie, Artbreak have crafted an attention-grabbing musical blend.

With singles flowing with quirky relevant lyrics soundtracked to move along to, the band recently teamed up with legendary producer Tony Visconti, famed for his work with acts including none other than David Bowie.

As the South London five-piece gear up for the release of their new single ‘Soda Can‘ on May 18th, we sat down with Artbreak to find out more about their musical journey.

Can you tell us about the formation of Artbreak?

Artbreak came together as Josh, Tom, Benjy and myself had been playing together for a few years; we met Tom through an online ad and our new drummer Harry in a similar way. Gumtree is the catalyst for everything in my life! We’d played a lot of shows together, we know each other very well and we wanted to take some time to write in more depth and writing in different ways. We played 2 shows last year and then worked with Tony Visconti on some new material in February. We’ve got a lot of music to come out!

What is the story behind your name?

It was a bit of a joke; something that didn’t sound so serious but enough so that we could call it that. I was just brainstorming words and ideas with our old drummer Louis on the train back from rehearsals and it came together. I’m glad people seem to like the name, I was just glad to get a name sorted and get on with songs to be honest.

How do you strike a balance between your range of influences when creating music?

That’s a good question, I think we just do it through trial and error, you gotta see what works. I think we have a shared a mindset about how good we want a song to be, but often it’s a very loose creative process and different sounds, as different elements form the backbones of our tunes. There’s no real formula. I listen to a ton of different music, I’m listening to Run The Jewels a lot lately. Tom, Josh, Harry and Benjy all listen to a wide array of stuff and it is on them to bring those elements in as they see fit. They’re very good at it! They’re very creative dudes.

In terms of writing, you’re quick to formulate current topics into catchy tracks, how do you about this process?

Well thank you, I’m not sure – I just write about what I see, what I know. The catchiness thing just comes with practice and letting something breathe. You don’t always know if something’s going to be a hook or catchy, but you gotta have faith in it. I think you just gotta write a lot. I try to write music every day or write lyrics every day. Just keep it going. I feel depressed if I don’t do it.

For those who have not discovered your music, which track would you recommend they start with?

Maybe ‘Will To Survive’, or maybe the new single ‘Soda Can’ when it comes out. I’m excited about that one, it sounds epic!

Your new single ‘Will To Survive’ has gained airplay across the UK, how does it feel for you hearing your single on the radio?

Feels fine. Feels good. I’m not really sure how I feel!

Your new single is due for release on May 18th, what can we expect from the track?

‘Soda Can’ stemmed from a crunchy riff Drop D Josh lay down on Logic one autumn day in 2016, we sat on it for a little while – he had a few other parts for it and the arrangement has shifted over time. Tom, myself and Josh worked through a verse and I just sang what came to mind and what was written down in my phone at the time – which, if you listen to the tune is a neurotic self-portrait. The chorus is a relief both musically and lyrically and that’s why I think the tune works. It’s a squeezing of tension followed by a release.

With festival season fast-approaching, if you could join the line-up of any UK festival this year, what festival would you pick?

I went to Primavera Sound at Parc el Forum in Barcelona last year and that was really cool, though it kinda sucked that Frank Ocean cancelled without any real explanation! Flying Lotus, Solange, King Gizzard and The Lizards, Skepta, Arcade Fire…Barcelona is a beautiful city too – I love it there. So yes Primavera, if you don’t know, now you know.

If you could have one aim for the band in 2018, what would this be?

Keep writing music together, keep getting to know each other in and out of the Music room and keep improving the live show which we have been really enjoying the past four, five months. World domination also…

Keep up-to-date with Artbreak:
Twitter
Facebook
Website

Watch Artbreak’s new video for ‘Soda Can’ below:




%d bloggers like this: