WRKHOUSE have released their new single ‘Snow’.
‘Snow’ is the first taster of the band’s debut EP ‘Out of the Blue’.
Speaking of the single, the band said: “‘Snow’, like ‘Getaway,’ and much of the EP discusses themes of growth in its various forms, and lack thereof, whether that’s within complex relationships, or within yourself. The protagonist in ‘Snow’ seems to have always known deep down that their relationship was flawed, and is trying to convince the other to let go of what they once had.”
To celebrate the release, WRKHOUSE share with us 5 tracks that influenced ‘Snow’.
Gaz Coombes – Oxygen Mask
Iestyn (drummer) put me on to ‘World’s Strongest Man’ by Gaz Coombes in 2019 soon after the album came out, and it very quickly became the only thing I would listen to for a good while. I never was that into Supergrass, but there was something about the production style and intricacy of the songwriting across this solo project in particular that I loved. One of the main attractions to the album for me are his vocal layering and choral parts. There’s a lot of choir going on on ‘Snow’ and the rest of our debut EP – this is where we got it from. I really admire the level of restraint you can hear in ‘Oxygen Mask’, with its dynamic and intimate arrangement, and it’s something I wanted to bring over to the band’s music.
Sŵnami – Mabeso
Sŵnami, also from Dolgellau in North Wales, were definitely one of the bands that made it feel cool to listen to Welsh-language music back when we were teenagers. We supported them in April 2023 on a mini-tour of Cardiff and London to celebrate the release of their long-awaited second album – that was definitely a full circle moment for us. ‘Mabeso’ is an underrated track of theirs. I’m a big fan of songs that bring back a key element for a climactic ending or section, and I find the re-entry of the lead guitar motif – which had been grounding the entire song up until that point – for that final emotional outpour, so satisfying. It’s one of my favourite welsh-language tracks, and I don’t hear enough people talking about it. That, and the guys don’t play it enough live, IMO.
Foals – The Forked Road (B-side)
I went through a big Foals B-sides phase a few years ago when I thought I was digging up some hidden gems from the depths of youtube. Turns out they were all on Spotify, everybody knew about them, and my instagram stories just looked pretentious. I’m not just picking this to look cool though. I’ve always appreciated the attention to detail Foals have with their atmospherics, and it shines through especially in their ‘Total Life Forever’ tracks. I respect bands and artists who put effort into adding movement to the space below the main body of the song. ‘The Forked Road’ is a great example of this; it’s big, wide, dramatic, more of a jam than anything else, but the crunchy groove and glassy textures have left a lasting impression, and have definitely squeezed themselves into ‘Snow’ one way or another.
Beabadoobee – Charlie Brown
‘Snow’ takes a pretty heavy turn towards the end; the guitar tone was inspired by ‘Fake It Flowers’ era Beabadoobee. I wanted something raw-sounding and dynamic – anything else would make it metal – and it took a while for us to get the part right let alone the sound. Myself and Ed (producer) ended up cracking it on one of the last recording days. The baritone tuning gave the ending the depth it was missing.
Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders, London Symphony Orchestra – Movement 7
Sam Shepherd has a way of combining both natural and otherworldly sounds like no other. The entire ‘Promises’ album has definitely influenced the world in which we’ve placed the songs on our debut EP across the tracklist, especially ‘Snow’. I enjoy the ambiguity; not being able to tell what’s real and what’s not, and the occasional moment of security where you hear a familiar sound. When we were working on our acute case of ‘demo-itis’, the subtle gliding of the string harmonics at the beginning definitely gave us a good kick of inspiration for getting the tone of the synth during the pre (“in due time, you’ll be fine…”) right. When I asked Geth for a couple of voice memos of him playing that ‘Snow’ arp on his grandmother’s piano (I got 20 minutes worth of noodling), the ‘Promises’ motif you hear at the start of each movement was part of the brief.
Listen to the 5 tracks that influenced WRKHOUSE ‘Snow’ via Spotify below:
Stream WRKHOUSE ‘Snow’ via Spotify: