Interview: HollowKin (Written)
Exhilarating modern metallers, HollowKin, draw a line in the sand with their colossal debut EP, Confessions & Failures, which is out on Friday 15th November. The unstoppable quintet have also released a blistering new single and video, A Pilgrimage, out now. We spoke to the band and learned a little bit more about them in this interview.
1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.
Hi! We are HollowKin, a new metalcore band from the southwest UK. We got started thanks to the musician wrangling of our guitarist DJ. We had all crossed paths with him in previous projects or just from the local music scene and he had a load of riffs he wanted to get out of his head, so like a heavy metal Ocean’s Eleven HollowKin was formed.
2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?
It’s groove-filled metalcore, with an emphasis on metal. Imagine the riffs of Lamb of God and Machine Head with the melodics of Killswitch Engage. We want people’s first reaction when they hear our music to be a metal gurning smile and a nod of the head.
3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.
We are currently working up to the release of our debut EP Confessions & Failures and we have a tour in October in the UK to go along with it. We’re just concentrating on playing as many shows as we can right now.
4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?
Playing live is always the best part. We’ve only played a few shows so far but we had an encore for our second-ever show, that was pretty damn cool!
5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?
The most challenging part is just trying to keep up with everything! We make our own video content and have to play the bullshit social media game to get our name out there and it’s exhausting!
6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?
It’s hard work! Finding the line of keeping your dignity and self-respect while still having to sell yourself online is really hard to do. We’ve done things that make us cringe but by the standard of modern music promotion, they’re downright aloof! Bands feel forced to be not just musicians, but social media marketers, actors, comedians, video editors and so much more. Social media has managed to simultaneously democratise and homogenise the music scene as everyone tries to push their heads above the noise. The gatekeepers have transformed from the music industry big-wigs to the tech bro run algorithms.
7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?
The worst thing about the music scene in the UK at the moment is the live scene. The disappearance of smaller venues all over the country has choked the opportunities for upcoming bands to hone their craft. There is so little middle ground between the pubs and the larger venues, the kind of places that all the big bands working now were raised within. We need European style government support and arts funding to allow these venues to compete in the current economic state or the UK will lose any opportunities to breed its own creative culture.
8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?
Come to live shows and share our stuff online with your friends. So much of pushing yourself online feels like shouting into the void and getting feedback from people online is so validating and means so much to us, but what would always mean more is seeing your faces at live shows.
9. Outside of the music, what’s do you do to relax?
The usual stuff to be honest, movies, video games and stuff. We all have dogs too so love getting out with them for a walk. It’s all very sedate and un-rock and roll.
10. Where can people find you?
We are on all the socials, so instagram, facebook TikTok and all that, just search HollowKin. That’s the best place you can keep up to date with what we are up to.
Links
LinkTree | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram
