Aphelia

Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)

PD: What type of artist are you?

A: We’re a 5-piece indie pop band.

PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.

A: We met at Hull university where we were all studying. We started out as a 4 piece, under a different name, but when our original bassist left, we added a synth player as well as a new bassist. After we’d changed line up it seemed only right to, we change the name to reflect what was a new group of people.

PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

A: I think we all take inspiration from different artists from metal through indie pop, neo-soul and jazz. As a band we take our influences from artists including the 1975, Bombay Bicycle Club and Foals. I’m a big fan of Popart, I don’t think that massively reflected in the music itself but the artwork for the EP was inspired by Roy Lichtenstein.

PD: What are your dreams and goals?

A: Obviously, there’s the usual fame, fortune and everything that goes with them. But honestly, I think we all just do it because we love it. I think the dream would be to be able to at least make a living off the music that way we could focus on it more and it would enable us to share our music with more and more people. I think that’s what it’s really about, creating is great but you want to be able to see your music connecting and having an impact on other people.

PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?

A: We tend to write the music as a group with the initial idea coming from someone then being built on by the rest of the band. The lyrics are written by Sam (me, the singer), they tend to come from whatever I’m dealing with at the moment. I find that writing music about it tends to help me process any situations I might be struggling with. That’s why often the songs are about breakups or losses.

PD: How do you promote your band and shows?

A: It all is on social media these days. So, it’s sharing different pictures and videos of us playing. We also put up some cover videos over lockdown.

PD: What do you think about downloading music online?

A: There’s a lot to say on this matter I think and over the past few years the issues surround it have definitely shifted. I think the original shift has led to a shift in the consumption of music to a less focused more singles centric market which has been further worsened by the introduction of streaming services. I believe now however that downloading (purchasing) music online is one of the best ways for people to support the artists they enjoy making sure they are paying for what they consume. With digital music tending to have very little overhead for the artists it probably one of the most profitable formats. I would also add that I am a huge fan of vinyl and do myself tend to buy albums of artists I want to support on vinyl.

PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?

A: There are soooo many. I think this changes really depending on what mood I’m in. I think right now I’ll go with “The Heart of Life” by John Mayer. It’s an amazing song, John Mayer has the incredible ability to create songs that seem to reflect whatever emotions you have. If you’re happy the song is a happy song, if I’m sad it seems sad it seems more comforting. I think it also has such a great message about looking for the good in life.

PD: What are some of your pet peeves?

A: People who tell you that you listen to the “wrong music”. I genuinely find that one of the most aggravating things in life. To take something that is so subjective and personal to each person and decide that there are right and wrong forms of music is just wrong. Different music will interact and effect people differently so it’s ridiculous to think that the music that you like is the only music that people should like is infuriating. That and people who just never use apostrophes!!!!!

PD: What is your proudest moment in music?

A: So far that would be playing Humber Street Sesh in 2019. We enjoyed it so much and getting to play at a festival we’d enjoyed so much the years before was really special. Also, it was such nice weather and there was an amazing atmosphere, definitely won’t forget that any time soon.

PD: So what are you working on at the moment?

A: We’ve got a new tracking coming out on March 12th which is a bit different from the songs we’ve released in the past. However, we felt like the melancholier vibe matched the way we’d been feeling the last few months. We’re also working a load of new singles for release over the next few months and working on being ready for when venues reopen again.

PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?

A: We have a few singles available and one EP they are all available on most streaming services and iTunes.