Project Description
Interview with
ALEX READE
from
DROWN THIS CITY
Interviewer – Dave Bruce
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How did it all begin for each of you? When did you first start playing and when did the “performance bug” hit you?
I never really got the performance bug I get too nervous before show! I do love being on stage, but writing and travelling between shows just chilling is more my thing, more what hooked me in to doing this. The other guys have all been playing music and playing in bands for years, somehow we found each other at the perfect time and through a series of unfortunate events to end up stuck with each other clearly!
Which artists inspired you early on?
Muse, Alexisonfire, AFI, Parkway Drive and As I Lay Dying.
How did Drown This City come to life?
It started as an electronic side-project with our drummer, old bassist and myself. Sort of pendulum meets Ellie Goulding or something. But we just couldn’t get the heaviness out of our system so we had these heavy screamo electronic songs recorded – next minute we were releasing a song to try and win the Unify Gathering opener comp (ironically we ended up playing but were invited to play by Unify themselves) and it got some traction. So we totally convinced Laurence our guitarist to join us and everything kicked off immediately. We toured with Falling in Reverse and The Brave, played with Lacuna Coil and Unify Gathering and sold out our launch show all within 6 months it was insane. We had some down time… and now we are back!
How exciting is it that you are joining such a major force at UNFD?
It’s amazing to have a home. UNFD is our dream label and now we are side by side with our idol bands on the roster – which we now belong to which is just insane. We’ve been to shows, and probably cried to, bands on tis label, and now it’s our turn to develop and grow with a team we trust. We are still a baby band, so to me this is the beginning.
How does it feel to be releasing your new EP Alpha // Survivor? How is it different from your previous EP False Idols?
I simply like it more. I also like the fact that we now have five members equally invested, and equally important to this group. So I feel like the songs represent all of us, not just my thoughts and lyrics. It’s heavier, broodier, the songs are better. And also we get to release this as a signed band for the first time, we get the opportunity to be represented worldwide and think creatively we have our groove, so we can be really proud of this. I’m ready to start on the next release.
Do you have a favourite track on the EP?
Stay Broken which is the second track. It was written by our new guitarist Josh and our drummer Anthony in pretty much a day. Then I heard a demo, harassed them for it immediately, and wrote the lyrics for it in my head at work literally the next morning. THEN we desperately needed to replace Third Law with a song on the EP as it had already been released, so we managed to get studio time with our legend of a producer Scottie from Alpha Wolf a few days later. This song just fell into place with ease, and it’s my favourite. The lyrics are dark as fuck, although I will never tell the truth about what they are really about.
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What was the creation process like for this EP? What is the best part of creating new music?
We lost our main songwriter a year before the creation of Alpha // Survivor, but we still had a lot of work in progress songs, riffs and ideas. So we worked with a close friend Damon (Gravemind) and also our Producer Scottie Simpson (Alpha Wolf) to re-write the songs instrumentally. We literally did this with a broken band we had no idea if we’d survive, so we locked down with a team and just tried to create something to keep us going. So Josh and Anthony wrote Stay Broken, and then went back into the studio Damon and wrote Love Makes Cowards Of Us All. I usually take months to write songs, but I wrote these vocals within a day each.
And when we finally got to tracking them, it was really collaborative. One of the choruses, we just had three of us writing stupid sentences down on a piece of paper, anything we could think of, and then the vibe started to flow and I could see how amazing it was to create together and flow off collective energy so it was really comforting to trust each other, and the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio.
The best part is starting to track, feeling terrified and doubtful in your ability, then before you know it everyone is sitting around on the couch holding our breath, listening to playback of the final mix – it’s magic .
Is there an album on the drawing board?
Absolutely.
You’ve done some pretty incredible live shows – who would be the number one performer you would love to tour with? And what do you absolutely have to bring on tour with you?
I’d love to tour with Alexisonfire, they are one of my all-time favourite bands. I just think it would be wild and we’d get schooled!
Not gonna lie, if you separate me from my hair straightener there will be hell to pay. And ear plugs. And a huge blanket because I am forever cold and complaining how cold I am. So I’m basically just a big baby.
What are your goals going ahead? What does the future hold for Drown This City?
I just want us to play lots of shows, tour and travel together. Go overseas and wake up together in new countries each week.
European festivals, big shows – the lot. We’ve had a stop start run as a band due to many personal things we’ve kept under wraps, so now is our chase to carry and build our momentum. I want people to see we really do have something great to offer.
Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVORITE:
Album – Crisis – Alexisonfire
Artist – Muse/Pink Floyd
Movie – Lord of The RingsxDonnie Darko mashup
Place to visit – Tibet
Venue to play – Max Watts, Melbourne (formerly Hi-Fi) it’s just lit and the sound is insane!
Food – Thai noodles – come at me everyday
Drink – Coffee, coffee and coffee.
Person in History – David Bowie
Tattoo – I’ve got a huge fox tattoo on my forearm from Melbourne Artist – Tim Tavaria, it is incredible!
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TRACKLIST:
1. ‘Don’t Forget To’
2. ‘Stay Broken’
3. ‘In Your Image’
4. ‘Null’
5. ‘Love Makes Cowards Of Us All’
6. ‘Void’
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DROWN THIS CITY
SIGN TO UNFD
ANNOUNCE NEW EP
‘ALPHA // SURVIVOR’ OUT JULY 5
REVEAL LEAD SINGLE ‘IN YOUR IMAGE’
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Freshly signed to UNFD and armed with their colossal new EP Alpha // Survivor, Melbourne post-hardcore band Drown This City are marking a definitive new era. With lead single ‘In Your Image’ at the helm, the six-track EP marks a triumphant statement of resurgence for the group, who amid personal demons threatening their existence, bunkered down to refocus, reenergise and prepare for their ascension into this very moment. Alpha // Survivor is out Friday July 5 via UNFD.
It’s been a while since we last had a taste of music from Drown This City, and in the silence the band have been fervently rebuilding both as individuals and as a group. Lead vocalist Alex Reade explains that the five-piece have resurfaced a more solidified group than ever, and Alpha // Survivor harnesses all of their pain and triumph in a fierce six-track package.
“We’ve been through heart ache, break downs, low moments and the highest of highs and together have only gotten stronger,” she explains. “We’ve supported each other to be powerful as well as vulnerable, and through this connection we’ve come out of dark times and rebuilt Drown This City, ready to be released in its new form.”
Amid her own personal turmoil Reade was fascinated by the idea of both a powerful survivor and a broken victim residing in herself. Alpha // Survivor captures this heartache, but also harnesses a powerful message on the choice we all have to rise above our pain in power. ‘Stay Broken’ encapsulates this perfectly – its lyrics crying “Alpha, realise your power,” while lead single ‘In Your Image’ captures the mighty shift of the song’s protagonist, Reade, from a broken victim into a powerful hero.
“You can be the most powerful creator in one moment, and the weakest broken soul in the next, it’s just a choice, and the battle is only ever within yourself and with your thoughts,” Reade explains. All of these songs are about that message and how they relate in love and life and an ongoing quest for self-discovery and empowerment.
“Don’t be afraid of your own power, your own ability to heal and be strong and be above everyone else. Even if it’s lonely up there – it’s where you belong.”
Reade adds that the band are beyond excited to be stepping into the UNFD family. “Although we are beside ourselves with energy, there’s such a sense of calm now that we have a home, and more of a future than ever before in this band,” she says. “We’ve all sacrificed blood, sweat and sanity, and to know we have support to show the world who we are is genuinely a dream come true.”
Drown This City will celebrate the EP with a run of east coast shows in July and August. Alpha // Survivor is out Friday July 5 via UNFD.
DROWN THIS CITY IS
Alex Reade – Vocals
Matthew Bean – Vocals/Bass
Josh Renjen – Guitar
Laurence Appleby – Guitar
Anthony Pallas – Drums
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DROWN THIS CITY
TOUR DATES
TICKETS
Friday July 19 – Colonial Hotel, Melbourne
Saturday July 27 – Burdekin Hotel, Sydney
Saturday August 3 – Crowbar, Brisbane
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Check out DROWN THIS CITY below
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