Project Description

Interview with

THE TRUSTED

Interviewer – Vicky Hebbs

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The Trusted are a Southend-on-Sea indie pop rock four-piecemade up of brothers Tom Cunningham (Vocals, Guitar) and Finlay Cunningham (Bass, Vocals), drummer Dave Batchelor and guitarist Dale Holt-Mead. The Trusted formed in mid-2016, but their relationship dates back to their early days at secondary school. The initial spark that formed the band was the bond over music that lead singer Tom and guitarist Dale made through their mutual appreciation of creating edgy atmospheric pop with strong melodies. The Trusted focuses on casting a dynamic range of emotions, whether it comes from a happyor sad place, the band want the listeners to feel the raw emotions radiating from their music.

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When did you meet and how did you decide to form The Trusted?
We came together around mid 2016. Dale and I met when were about 12 and had been writing and performing for a few years prior to our formation in various bands. We decided to form our own band so picked up my brother Fin (bass) and in 2016 we met Dave (drums).
When the four of us got in a room together for the first time, it felt special; it felt like we had found something. We named our new special thing ‘the trusted’ and we’ve been building it ever since!

Which music did you grow up listening to? How has it influenced your current style?
Growing up, I was kind of exposed to everything, I was never tied down by a particular genre or sound When I was little kid, I had a real fondness for Staxx music, artists like ‘Sam And Dave’, ‘Otis Redding’ etc. That raw rough-edged soul sound. But yeah, over the years, I found myself getting hooked on bands and artists such as The Who, Elbow, U2, Peter Gabriel, Jack White, Talking Heads, Bowie, St Vincent, Springsteen and Elvis Costello. Whenever we are constructing a new song, all these various artists are flying through my head. They have definitely had an influence how I approach our music.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people do/will resonate with your music?
I guess if you pinned us down, I would say our ‘sound’ falls into that ‘indie/alternative rock’ landscape. However, we’ve never really tried to define our sound. Our new single Wild Love kind of has that ‘pop rock’ vibe but we’ve got other tunes that takes cues from garage rock, punk, experimental rock and dance music. A good song is a good song, we don’t think about sound or style when writing, we just play what feels good/ what feels right. We make music we want to hear ourselves, music that we can connect with. I guess It’s not about being cool, we don’t want to be cool, we want to be honest and real. Hopefully that’s going to resonate with people J x

You are about to release your new single, ‘Wild Love’ on the November 8! Can you share the inspiration or origins behind the single?
It took us about a year to write. We had a verse and no chorus so we just left it for about eight months and then all of sudden, it kind of wrote itself. Lyrically it’s kind of inspired by the some of the ideas Springsteen puts forward in ‘Born To Run.’ That whole notion of just running away/getting out. I took this concept and wrote about a character who’s grown tired of pain and dreams of running away to find something better. At some point, I guess we’ve thought about doing this. ‘Wild Love’ is kind of a reflection of my own frustrations.

What has life been like since the release of your first single, No Real Control, last year?
It’s been really good. We’ve really enjoyed seeing and hearing about people connect with our music.

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How do you see your sound evolving as you grow your back catalogue of music?
Well I guess its changing all the time. It’s going to be interesting to see where things go. All cards are on the table.

Do you have any gigs coming up soon?
We’ve got our single launch on the 9th November at The Camden Assembly, London and a big hometown show on 28th December in Southend. We’ve got some other exciting things in the works. We love playing live, definitely the best part of being in a band.

Would you consider coming to Australia at some point? You have fans here who would be delighted to hear you live!
Oh, we would love to play Australia! If we ever get the opportunity to come over, we will. I’ve never been before but from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s a beautiful place.

If you could work with any musician or band in the future, who would they be and why?
Ooo, tough question. If you asked every member of the band this question, you would get a completely different answer. For me, I guess, hmm. I mean I would happily work with any of my big influences haha but the sake of the music I think a collaboration with a genius like Brian Wilson would be cool. I would love to harness some of that ‘Pet Sounds magic.’ Either that or, someone like Kendrick Lamar. I mean that would be great because it would sonically throw us in the deep end. (I think Dale would be with me on that one)

Do you have any long-term goals or aspirations for your music career?
We just to reach as many people we can
But If we can the same effect on at least ONE person that the artists I love have had on me, then I think we would all be pretty happy.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience?
I love those moments where everything just clicks. The music, the band, the people all hit that same frequency and suddenly we all go to that special place. They are the moments that The Trusted lives for.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –

FAVOURITE:

Album – Achtung Baby (U2)
Artist – Peter Gabriel (As a solo artists. He is a genius)
Movie – oooh, I like my gangster movies, either Goodfellas or the first Godfather. I cant pick.
Place to visit – Memphis, Tennessee. The city that basically gave birth to modern pop music, cant wait to get back.
Venue to play – Camden Assembly, London (Beautiful venue)
Food – Any kind of Italian food
Drink –Anything with mango in it
Person in History – Martin Luther King
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?)- Probably Dale’s face

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Check out THE TRUSTED below
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AMNPLIFY – DB