Unsigned act Violet: We want to play music to people who care
Indie band Violet has released their debut single Feel. They formed late last year and have spent the past year writing, recording and fine tuning their sound.
Having been likened to groups such as Slowdive, The Horrors and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the band comes drenched in big sounds with an indie spark that sees them combining influences drawn from 90s grunge and Britpop.
The Ticket had the chance to have a chat with lead singer and guitarist Luke Brickett Haycock:
Where are you all from?
Most of us are from Lichfield but one of us is from Leamington.
How did you all meet and what’s your story up to this point?
Some of us are related, some were born near to each other and a few of us went to school together at some point – so we met through a mix of circumstances. We’ve been together for just over a year and we’ve been writing tunes and going to the studio to record, also we’ve been preparing a while to release Feel, which was out on September 15 – so go listen to us and see if you like it!
What are your musical inspirations both as individuals and a collective?
We collectively bond over bands such as The Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Elliot Smith and The Verve to name just a few. However, we all have our own personal inspirations, which differ a lot between each of us. Luke’s obsessed with The Beach Boys and I’m really into Mild High Club, while Harry’s really into Queens of the Stone Age.
How has the local area influenced your ability to record and play shows?
We played our first ever show in Lichfield and we’ve always written and practiced here, but we’ve found a lot of our inspiration when we first started going to gigs in Birmingham, there was quite a big scene there for a while.
What are your favourite venues to perform in?
The Sunflower Lounge is like our second home, we’ve played there a few times. We like the intimacy of the small stage and the 100 people capacity. The sound in there always great. Mama Roux’s in Birmingham is also pretty cool, the decor in there is crazy. There’s a venue in London called The Victoria which has a bookshelf that acts as a secret door to the venue, which was magical.
What are your ambitions for Violet?
We just want to be able to make music and play it to people who care that would be pretty special. I guess we’ll see in time.
What artists would you recommend that readers check out?
There are a bunch of cool bands from Brum that are decent . . . Ivory Wave, Spilt Milk Society, and Social Contract are worth listening to.
On September 29 the band headlined The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham with support from previous Unsigned featured band Grim Fiction, and Yung Jimmy’s Big Ideas, bringing their UK wide tour to an end.
We spoke to Luke following the show and he said: “The gig at the Sunflower was so special, it sold out which was totally unexpected and everyone seemed really into it. We cladded the back wall with red velvet, like we used in our video, to make it that little bit more special and it was such an amazing atmosphere throughout the night, it’s so cool to see new faces there too.’
l Violet play Newhampton Arts Centre in Wolverhampton on November 10, and the Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham on December 20. Tickets on sale now.
l You can find Violet at the following:
www.facebook.com/VIOLETTHEBAND/ or www.soundcloud.com/violets-r-blue
Dan Earl
