Interview: Electron (Written)
Electron are a provocative, sinister alternative nu/metalcore band hailing from London, UK. Their latest album, ‘Defiance’ was released in September 2023, and they have plenty in the works for 2024.
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.
Hello. Thanks a lot for having us! The way we got together can be a bit confusing to someone who’s getting to know us for the first time, so I’ll try to be as brief as possible. We all met 6 years ago when we went to study at Bimm London. Since then, we have been playing together in different projects, some of them created for some of the subjects at college, as marketing, live performance, etc. We played together in acts such as Louzada, Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders… We’ve been long time friends, and we decided to take the next step and create our own band, our own way. We believe in the music we make, since it’s a direct reflection of everyone’s personalities, beliefs, and of the things we’ve been going through with our lives. We have a story to tell, and we have loads of music waiting to be released.
2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?
We don’t like to catalogue ourselves within a specific genre, as it can be too reductive of all the sounds we create and mash together. We’re super heavy, yet melodic, our music is provocative and a bit gory, and we fit into the categories of numetal, metalcore, hard rock, industrial and alternative metal. We don’t want to be one of those bands that just keep repeating the same song with different lyrics, release after release. We strive to make a difference and an impact on the world we live in. Music has the power to bring together one big family of people with different backgrounds and cultures, and we aim to spread positive messages, make our fans forget whatever problems they’re going through, and create a good time for everyone. But at the same time, we’re very inspired by artists who dare to provoke you and annoy the system. So, there’s a big element of rebellion reflected in the music we make. We’re angry, and we’re coming for you.
3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.
We’re about to release a new single “Burning Inside”, we have an EP coming soon, “Hollow”, and we just announced a UK Tour for the end of June and July. 2024 is going to be a busy year for us, and we worked tirelessly to make these tracks as big and heavy as they could possibly be. Come to our single release party on Feb 10th, at the Blackheart. It’s going to be an incredible show, with an amazing lineup.
4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?
The fact that people resonated with our message, with the things that we say in the music we make, is surreal. I can’t even describe that feeling. We’re very happy for all the love of our die-hard fans, of people who are just getting into us and of the press that’s receiving us so well. Thank you!
5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?
One of the aspects that I consider to be one that really gives our music some personality, can turn against us at the same time. Which is okay… As I said before, we’re very angry against the world, society, the way we feel treated… I mean, this world is a complex ecosystem of corruption, greed, anger, war and stupidity. Just take a look at the wars that are happening, the ones that happened, the ones that are still going on… What’s the point? And it’s not all that, it’s all the scandals, all these twats with a podcast with a bad influence on young people like Andrew Tate, the “shoot first ask questions later” intake by the public opinion, that lead to the ridiculous cancel culture… You get the picture, this world is a stupid place, and we sing about that.
Unfortunately, and very fortunately, that can annoy some people with power. And that happened in the beginning of this project. We were being shelved by some industry people, we recorded an album that never got to be released, we had to wait one year to release our debut single. It was a fight to gain our independence and to exist. But we did it, and I’m glad we’re putting music out, playing through the UK. All these things we went through made us stronger and more resilient than ever – and that’s why you’re gonna keep hearing about Electron on the next decades, and I firmly believe that those experiences are going to be what helps to succeed in this industry. Because we will, it’s a just a matter of time, and not a long one…
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?
We’re fine with it, it’s just how the game is played. Social media, a lot of people try to make it look bad, but it actually allows you to be closer to your audience than ever before. You can actually talk with your fans, and we really value that, because at the end of the day, it’s the fans who will fuel your band and elevate your profile. They’re the most important part of making a band succeed. Of course, you can’t only measure someone’s worth by likes, follows, etc, because there’s other factors as making great music, performing great shows. But at the same time, you can check on social media the growth of your fanbase, where they are, and that’s extremely important.
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 list is too long, so I’ll focus on one thing: tribute bands. They’re taking up places on festival lineups, promoters lists, everything where original music should be, there’s these trib act bands that are too afraid to write their own music, some of them because they can’t, making a living of other people’s songs, and living fantasies that are not of their own. It’s pathetic, and it’s becoming a problem. People should be able to find new music, not to hear a not so good version AC/DC. They already exist, and are great / if you love them, go watch the real thing. Don’t spend your money on stuff that’s not the future, and that’s actually causing a big problem in the industry.
8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?
Stream it, download it, and SHARE IT. Come to our shows, and SHARE THEM. If you share, more people become aware. Plus, at the end of every show, we talk individually with every single person, whether it’s 50, 100 or 1000.
9. Outside of the music, what’s do you do to relax?
We do a lot of gym, trips, and we listen to music and go to concerts as fans too.
10. Where can people find you?
All of the major streaming and social media platforms. Here’s a link with everything:
https://linktr.ee/electronband