It's dark, the venue is crowded and 'Last Night Stains' imbues the air, echoes energetically and sets in as a sonorous torrent of sound ... the Grimsby rock outfit is already more than halfway through their set, the energy is high, still, and so is the concert goers' eager expectancy. One that Kismet Ryding pleases, both boldly and brilliantly. Mike's voice comes upon the audience with a thrusting tonal might, resonates in an at times fierce and feisty, in an at times rasping and orotund fashion, his presence on stage features a refreshing ease and confidence, proves his vocation as the band's vocalist right (the occasional air guitar 'gimmicks' are a memento of Mike's erstwhile music ambition, are nonetheless carried out with contagious charisma and enthusiasm). The quartet's impetuous yet firm instrumental formula, their keen and stirring vibe as a whole takes the crowd in and by storm. Kismet Ryding are verily no 'one-man'- show! - it's quite the opposite: each member plays a defining part in the band's balanced, harmonic and passionate live performance, contributes to both their equally incisive as vivacious musical signature and their characteristically sharp and infectious music making. It's music making that thrills and stimulates the listeners' ear canals tremendously: dynamic and piercing riffage mingles with rousing and vigorous drum beats, coalesces with trenchant bass sequences and poignant, deep-toned backing vocals. As the foursome's vibrant and orotund, their avid but controlled live show evolves, it's Mike's (stage) spirit that insistently resonates with the crowd and leaves no room to wonder whether it has been his kismet to fill the role as Kismet Ryding's frontman or not: concert goers hang on his every word (Tom himself concedes great scope and appeal to Mike's lyrics and phrasing), are hooked by his vocal vigor and verve. Eventually, the immense tonal momentum created, is the sum of each ryder though, colouring the band's psychedelic and bluesy music by adding vehement, vibrant and edgy layers of sound - and this strongly shows in Kismet Ryding's live performance.
There have also been two new tracks on Kismet Ryding's setlist, one called 'Release Me'... is the song a tribute to and inspired by Tom?! Find out in the video interview down below...
A fulminant, frantic, briskly pulsating still soulful sound is brewing and set free the moment The Brew unleashes their powerful, poignant and pushing musical spirit on stage. The Grimsby rock trio knows how to keep in suspense and cause a sensation early on, serves the audience with anthemic and dashing, with reflective, perceptive and sensitive compositions as well, thereby provides a thorough (live) music experience. Playing with the audience's expectations, stirring the listeners, the band, especially Jason, enthrals firmly and takes the willing and impassioned crowd by surprise, involves, entertains it and encourages to sing and clap along in a charming but cocky manner. Long non-vocal episodes, ardent guitar and bracing bass soli, a copious drum interlude, expansive instrumental intros and outros convey the impression of a never-ending stream of drastic and dramatic sound, the drums' ponderous peal of thunder soon unveils a lengthy but fervent and haunting crescendo. It's due to their energetic and electrifying presence on stage that The Brew guarantees tense and thrilling amusement even throughout these extensive instrumental periods. A more mellow and museful chord is struck when the psychedelic rock outfit's melancholic yet piercing song 'Rewind' resounds, a strong and staggering muscial heart note engrosses and defines the band's full live show though.
Change of scenery: we're backstage, I'm sitting in Kismet Ryding's room, slightly nervous, but it soon comes to light that there's absolutely no reason to be: the fateful and ambitious group of rocking Ryders is not only an outspoken and witty but also a charming and urbane one.
So, it's your first time here in germany?
What are your impressions thus far, did you like it?
What are your impressions thus far, did you like it?
Mike: Amazing. It's so good. Just everything about it.
Jazz: The food. The culture. Even the long drive down. Believe it or not, due to the scenery.
We then had a brief chat about the difference between the audience the band faces in england and the one they met in germany.
Mike appreciated the enthusiasm of the german gig goers in particular, was grateful for them 'actually watching and listening.'
Tom added that in germany people 'love the music', whilst in the UK those people who attend gigs are equally interested in having a good time, means drinking and partying at live shows.
They didn't want to put any of their audiences first, yet Jazz made clear that whilst one is able to 'hear chatter' during musicians' performances in the UK, in germany one could 'hear a pin drop', which is fascinating and complimentary as 'the music comes first'.
We continued talking about their gig experiences and their upcoming live show on April 5th, also had a conversation about carpe carmina live.
You're accompanying The Brew to Poland, and you probably know them due to being friends with some of the band members, right?
Mike: Yes, we came from the same town.
That's Grimsby, isn't it?
Mike thereupon explained how Grimsby lost its proceeds from fishing, and concluded '... so we kind of went downhill and people started making music instead.' Whilst Tom and Josh explained to what extent The Brew changed the band's performance on stage ...
Tom: They (The Brew) just really changed things up a bit.
Josh: [...] We used to play really fast and felt that was right. [...] we should have slowed it down all along but in england it's just party and drinks (although I don't drink).
Mike resumed that listening to the songs, hearing one's music during a live set, helps to 'hit more notes' and him to 'actually sing and breathe', prevents the whole band to 'get drunk and fall over' (like Tom did in Hamburg, like a roadie did (he fell off stage), which is why Kismet Ryding (wittily) dedicated 'Look.See.Don't.Trip.' to him)
I was already wondering if there was anything interesting to tell about your recent gigs...
Jazz: Yeah, Tom jumped in the air and just went back there.
Tom: [...] Something feelt really odd, and then I realized, I'm lying on the floor. Get up, get up, get up again and let's go.
Kismet Ryding considered their concert in Hamburg, given the town's history, a cherished gig memory, stated it was 'mental' and admitted that they 'got emotional a little bit'.
At that time the interview's first interruption occured. Kurtis from The Brew entered the room and engaged the whole band in a conversation about oranges and beer, 'complaining' about the hard life on the road and about taking every chance to benefit from the venues' provision of snacks and drinks, whilst having to 'watch the weight of the van'.
Mike put it straight:
Tom: For the record, we have just been interrupted by the drummer of The Brew.
Kurtis: I'm really sorry for interrupting you.
You might want to contribute something though. Tell me, what do you think of Kismet Ryding's sound? How would you describe it?
Kurtis: They're f**** awesome. It seems as if only cool bands come out of Grimsby. It's psychedelic-brit-pop-rock'n'roll sound. Rocking out. Lots of energy. It's a pleasure to have them with us on the tour.
Kurtis' statement was followed up by an excursus about another interview, a 'completely ridiculous chat', Kismet Ryding had once in their van, which went completey off topic - 'as usual', according to Tom.
It was Mike afterwards who was eager to share the band's history, Kismet Ryding's 'come-together', whilst the other three joined in ...
Mike: [...] me and Tom were at uni. And those two are brothers ...
Yeah, that's something I figured out too.
Mike: [...] and then it all just happened by fate.
Tom: [...] our paths all were leading this way and it's something we said from the very beginning – that's where the name comes from – [...] we never had it under control. At Grimsby University we were just drunk. And then we never looked back. Yeah, we jammed with these guys, and...
Jazz: Yeah, it was strange, their band had band practice in this little kitchen ....
Tom: You two (Josh and Jazz) went out after practice, to book a gig and we haven't even spoken about being a band.
And you did perform?
Mike: Yeah, their band played as well...
Jazz: And then we swapped and came back on stage.
Mike: There was never a feel into this (Jazz' and Josh' band). Is was a smooth transition.
Tom: My life went downhill from there.
Jazz: Something definitely happened that night.
Tom and Mike recalled the year they have spent at uni, jamming and finding themselves, talked about how they jammed with Josh and Jazz 'for about 4 hours, until 4 o'clock in the morning' after Kismet Ryding's 'first gig'.
We arrived at the point, when the interview was interrupted for a second time, this time though by Jason, The Brew's vocalist and guitarist.
Tom: For the record, it's Jason.
Jazz: You gotta say something. She has to ask you a question.
(I still had not come up with questions for The Brew, so here's to impromptu round two)
(I still had not come up with questions for The Brew, so here's to impromptu round two)
You're actually pretty lucky to have Kismet Ryding accompanying you on your tour. But if you had to choose one band, one independent band from the UK to play with you on your next tour, who would it be?
Jason: That's very difficult, because Grimsby is where we come from...
(and here comes interruption number three...)
Jason: ... in the town we don't really have many bands that would ...
Jason: I don't know many other bands who would come away with us that suit the same genre. And that's why we decided on Kismet, because we're obviously close friends. It's not a bias thing as well. The music styles are pretty similiar, the genre is the same in both bands, so we work really well together. So that's why we chose these guys. [---] After this tour I'm sort of thinking like 'Oh shit, what we're gonna do?' We really had a good time so far.
Mike: We're just halfway through now (yeah, with the tour, not with the interview - more exciting questions and answers to come ...)
Jason: It's been awesome, man. Yeah, we hit Poland after this.
Tom and Jason then indulged in reminiscences, relived their tour experiences...
Mike: As you can see on that light, Tom is the roadie from The Brew, so there's the connection. And we all have been into music since.. He has been 12 (Josh). How old was you?
Tom: When I was born ...
Jazz: When I was about 9, I had a few drum lessons [...] About 13, I had a few more, stopped again and wanted to join a band when I was like about 15 [...] I played drums because I liked to do it, even though I could barely play it [...].
Mike's former band and both Jazz and Josh have been 'partners in crime', jamming together a few times, as Tom stated ...
Tom: And then at the same time, interesting fact about Jazz and his drumming, I remember when these guys were in their first band and I come back from roading with The Brew and it was Josh and Kurt back in the living room, and Jazz got wind of the fact that, Kurt was in the living room, and he was like 'Oh my god, Kurt from The Brew is in the living room. Can I go meet him? Can I go meet him?' and Jazz came in saying 'Oh, it's so amazing to meet you'… and he bounced ...
Jazz: The Brew, they are a big influence for us, in general and individually, and Kurt is an absolutely brilliant drummer, I still watch him now and he's still an inspiration for me.
It came up then that Mike has originally been no singer, but played the guitar. Fate though decided differently ...
Mike: .. I only played guitar a bit [...] My mate was meant to be the singer for this little band we were jamming in, he just didn't sing 'cause he was nervous, shy, [...], f***, I'll sing then. I put the guitar down, I have played still, but since then I was a singer.
Do you have some kind of pre-show rituals? What's the first thing you do when you go off stage and what's the last thing you do before you go on the stage?
Tom: One of the things is, looking at each other, before we go on, and understanding where we're at.
Jazz: With big shows like that, we need to get ready for it. Take a deep breath, calm down, chill, getting pumped.
Josh: As soon as the adrenaline fully kicked in, we play fast, and if the whole gig starts fast, then the whole thing will actually be fast, so we have to get out of this.
Jazz: Yeah, we still give full power, but it's like a controlled, beautiful power.
More tamed?
Tom: Just more precise.
The coversation hereafter focused on watching themselves perform on tape, dealt with the 'tragedy' of never being able to see themselves live, whilst Tom concluded that jamming is probably the closest they will 'ever come to listen to Kismet Ryding' as the band hears a performance at that very moment for the first time, which comes close to a real live experience.
Speaking of hearing a song for the first time, how does songwriting and composing come about in the band? Is there someone who puts an idea forth and then you all come together....
Tom: We usually go the practice room, which we haven't got, ...
Jazz: Yeah, we haven't got any.
Tom: .. but we just start, maybe Josh puts out a riff, and then we just start playing, and we all join in. We just go for it. We have a general kind of structure, we got a riff, Mike coming up with some vocals ....
Mike: For this tour we was jamming in a few different places before [...] when we were releasing 'Release Me', we wrote it just four days before we came. And then we just go on it while we were playing ...
Jazz: For the first night we didn't know what was gonna happen and then we sort of found the structure...
Mike: Well, it felt good, you know, if I sing something and that touches a nerve, I'm gonna stick. And I'll remember, if you do something wrong, you remember ...
Yeah, it just builds and grows …
Tom: It's a very fast turn of songs, because Josh plays guitar, I play bass, Jazz plays drums and Mike sings, we just do it. It's just that we already know where the other people are gonna go because we played with each other for that amount of time that when it comes to the part where there has to be a bridge or a chorus, we just know it. It couldn't possibly go anywhere else...
Mike: If one band member, you know, died or something we couldn't carry on...
Tom: The thing is if you put any person out of the practise or out of the band, it sounds completely different, immediately. It's a whole different sound.
The topic from that point on has been each band member's different taste in music, Kismet Ryding's tendency to play various genres during practise, since they take 'inspiration and interest' in everyone they travel with.
Mike: By the way, we gotta go ...
This was when we were asked to leave the venue since it was about to be closed. Having left a few more questions unanswered, Kismet Ryding invited my twin sister and me to sit in their van Vivian (apparently musicians don't only name their instruments) and continue the interview.
Now, meet Kismet Ryding: Josh, guitarist, organizer and perfectionist, Tom, bassist, wordy and poetic visionary, witch doctor (.. song inspirer full of hope?!), Jazz, drummer, 'media guy' and 'cool kid', Mike, frontman, speaker and lyricist (... Tom's translator?!) , ... and let's not forget about Vivian 'who', according to Mike, contributes the most to the band....
- Learn about what it has been like for the band to meet Pharrell Williams' potential twin Will Ferrell (or Will Pharrell?!) ...
- Find out what Kassabian, The Who, Kings of Leon and Kismet Ryding have in common ...
- Hear how an itinerary, a belgian pub (as per Jazz 'the ultimate sitcom') and a van make for new songs ...
- Find out what every band member would possibly do with a blank piece of paper [hint: one would probably smoke it ;)] ...
- Come to know why Kismet Ryding still haven't officially released a full - length album yet have already recorded one in a kitchen ...
- See how Mike imitates The Darlingtons' energetic presence and manners on stage ...
- Learn what has been one of the highlights of Mike's life and what comes next for the band ...
(the contagious and sonorous laugh you hear quite often, well, that's my twin sister ...)
This interview has been without any doubt an interesting ride (and I mean interesting in a good way, Jazz, as exciting, insightful and funny). With their electrifying, spirited and glowing performances, the right amount of character, of cockiness and charm on stage, both bands - Kismet Ryding and The Brew - left the engine running and heated up for a promising and dashing music journey, so, until next time, RYDE ON!
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