Project Description
Interview with
CLOUD CYCLE
Interviewer – Dave Bruce
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How did you guys get into music?
I got into music fairly young, I picked up a guitar at 12 years old, ever since then I immersed myself in music. As I got older I played in a lot of metal bands. Then I started listening to more diverse music like electronic which got me into production. I played in an electronic band or a couple of years after school, that was more flume kind of style. My Brother Jeff, picked up music later.
How did Cloud Cycle come to be?
I used to be in a band with my best mate called Blood Brothers, we were electronic, but he sadly passed away 5 years ago. I didn’t want to do this solo but couldn’t imagine replacing him. I remember my brother Jeff had a pretty good voice, so I asked if he wanted to do this with me for a while. I wasn’t expecting much out of it. Flash forward a couple of years we decided to change our style completely and went under the new name Cloud Cycle. We started producing alternative rock which is the style we really always loved. Originally, he sung in Blood Brothers and I did the production. But in Cloud Cycle we both sing, its cool. It wasn’t expected at all.
What kind of music did you grow up on? Which artists influence you?
I grew up on a lot of alternative stuff and new metal like Slipknot, Deaftones and Korn, but also Blink 182 and Offspring when I was really young. I also loved hip hop mainly Eminem and 50 Cent but kept getting into a lot of heavier styles. I was never that into pop music I guess you could say. Parkway Drive was my first influences in terms of hard-core, I went to one of their shows when I was in year nine, and that opened me up to that whole style. Some of the biggest influences would have been the bands that I still like, Deaftones were a big one, Silverchair and Nirvana.
You’ve just released your second single Polarity, can you tell us a bit about the track?
Basically, we just wanted to write a fun energetic song. When we were in the studio we were like ‘what’s something fun that we like doing?’, we decided going to the snow and snowboarding and skiing. Sounds lame but worked out.
How the writing process worked I wrote a rough outline of the instruments, to kind of get the vibe of the song. Then me and Jeff try and jam over it for a while. From the years I was producing music really helped me with this project, because I produce it all in my bedroom studio. I put together my love for the heavier stuff and mixed that together with electronic elements which you can hear in Polarity.
How did you feel releasing your second single after your first one Ahimsa, did so well?
It felt good, I guess after that song, I never like writing the same thing twice. What we wanted out of it was different. Ahimsa was a bit more slow and emotional and we wanted something a bit more upbeat and energetic. I think in the end we achieved that. But this wasn’t the song after that [Ahimsa], if that makes sense, there were a lot of songs in between that I scraped, that’s why it took so long.
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There has been three years between the release of both tracks, what has the band been up to in this time?
Well Jeff travelled a little bit, he has gone overseas twice, and I met him overseas for a couple of weeks. But I’ve just been in the studio writing and honing in my techniques for production. I guess I’m a bit of a perfectionist, I scrapped a lot of songs because they were shit or didn’t like the vibe. In that time, I’ve written the majority of an album, maybe six or seven songs. Originally, we were going to release that all at once but then decided it was probably best to focused on a single. We honned in on the song that was most finished which was Polarity.
Do you have any live gigs coming up?
Nah we don’t actually, we pretty much made a joint decision after our last project. We decided we would rather focus on our sound and make the best sounding album we could. Once we finish that we will start playing shows again. We decided we would focus on writing and building a sound base online.
Does Cloud Cycle have anything in the works after Polarity, possibly an EP or an album?
Early 2020. We plan on dropping two or three singles before the album release.
If you could pick absolutely anyone to bring on tour with you, whom would you pick and why? (Dead or Alive)
Deftones, we would love to tour with them.
What are your major goals or milestones for the future?
Our main focus is the album. We just want to get the album finished and into as many ears as possible and build a nice fan base. We would love to tour the world.
Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVORITE:
Album – Bring me the Horizon, Sempiternal
Artist – Deftones
Place to visit – The Swiss Alps
Venue to play – Wembley Stadium
Food – Acai Bowl
Drink – Fruit Smoothie
Person in History – Nikola Tesla
Tattoo – (if you don’t have one, one you would get?) – My tattoo of Kubo holding a guitar (he’s from the movie Kubo and the Two String)
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Check out CLOUD CYCLE below
Facebook
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BIO
Cloud Cycle are an independent, alternative-rock band from Sydney, Australia, consisting of brothers Johnny and Jeff Boyd.
They combine powerful vocals, energetic guitar riffs and hard hitting drums – delicately fusing complexity with integrity. The duo construct the vocals together and their music is written and self produced by Johnny in his bedroom studio– creating an authentic and organic representation of their sound.
Their debut single ‘Ahimsa’ received critical acclaim appearing in numerous magazines and blogs around the globe such as ROLLING STONE, ROCK SOUND (UK) and TONE DEAF.
“Constructed from contrast — whether that be quick shifts from whispered harmonies to aggressive thrusts or ambient guitar licks lurking around the corners of larger cinematic soundscapes, cloud cycle thunder along on their own terms” – Rolling Stone
The track also appeared on several Spotify playlists including renowned rock label, UNFD’s – “Best of Australian Heavy” playlist. Their debut single garnered a lot of attention in the rock scene and was aired on various radio stations worldwide and even got Triple M’s Jane Gazzo describing it as a “F**king amazing track”, giving it her nod of approval.
Through this exposure CLOUD CYCLE received over 32 000 plays on Spotify and have developed over 12 000 followers on their Instagram page – an impressive feat with only one single released to the public.
CLOUD CYCLE are set to turn heads with their massive follow up single “Polarity”. Having already received a great response from the few private listens – including the deputy editor, Eleanor Goodman of Metal Hammer (2M Facebook Followers) calling it an amazing track and securing a review feature for their upcoming album.
The duo are on an increasingly fast trajectory and are expecting big things from their eagerly waited single. It is a glimpse of what lies ahead for the brothers and their debut album which will be dropped at the end of the 2019!
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