Interview with CONFLICT CHOIR

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Ali : I originally got into guitar by seeing clips of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan as a kid, i had a toy guitar and would play along with this toy guitar to the Jimi Woodstock concert at around 6 or so years of age.

I think if I’d not have got into music I’d just be a big music fan, or maybe something to with food or psychology? Who knows.

Jack: Originally for me when I was at first school I used to like hitting things, and one of my teachers noticed this as I was interrupting the class alot and she suggested to my parents “why don’t you stick him behind a drumkit and see what happens?” and that was pretty much it really. If I didn’t get into music I probably would have done something to do with art as I tend to do a lot of piece’s in my free time.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Ali: When i’m spending time away from music i like to get lost around London or other cities, read and look after my physical health. Also going to concerts and art shows really helps my creativity.

Jack: Usually if I’m not playing music I have a side business which is gardening, it helps ground you, puts things into perspective, gives you time to think. It helps influence my creativity because it allows me to look at how nature adapts to the ever-changing world and how we can do the same.

The other point is that I meet a lot of older people and you talk to them and hear their stories and experiences of life, and that defiantly influences your story telling /writing aspects of creativity for me.

How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.

Conflict Choir was formed in 2020 literally about a week or two before the “The event that shalt not be named”.

We are all session musicians in the band, and met playing for Andy Bennett (Ex Ocean Colour Scene) but wanted a creative outlet of our own - it started out as a solo project for frontman Ali Clinton’s project, but as we continued playing and improvising together it felt more like a band than a solo project identity.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We are based between two cities these days! Although we were all Birmingham based from the inception of the band, Ali the guitarist/Singer is based in London these days and Jack is based in Worcestershire.

The two different perspectives definitely make a big difference to our sound.

Our full length album was very inspired by the surroundings at the time, as we recorded the majority of the album in Jacks Garage for the live instrumentation and Ali’s flat for the production and ethereal soundscape side of our music.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Ali: The band name was actually originally coined by a friend - Thom Mcguinness, who years prior actually was the bass player in another iteration of Conflict Choir.

A few years later when our music came to being created, the natural light and shade of the ethereal textures and heaviness really leant itself to the name so i asked for Thom’s blessing to use it, and here we are.

The idea of this project is to be rooted in collaboration, so it really fits with the ethos of the band - as well as describing our oxymoronic sound of both ethereal and heavy landscapes.

Jack: Expanding on our collaboration ethos. Because we are session musicians, as well as a band. We’ve been utilising our skills by helping other artists create their songs and helping them achieve their goals. Artists such as Chloe Mogg, Lydia Lutudi to name a few. Have allowed us to push their image forward by recording and performing their art. Through collaboration its both elevated their sound and ours. Which has been great for building up strong artistic relationships, we are always up for working alongside any artists in the future as we love playing music with anybody. But also this helps the image of the band, as being more than just an alt Rock Psychedelic band but a band that is multi-genre and has much more to offer the creative industry.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Ali: For me, opening up for our heroes King Herd last year at The Hare And Hounds Birmingham was a huge highlight.

We’ve looked up to the guys in the band as session musicians for pretty much our whole lives so that was an amazing experience to be a part of.

Also, our single release party’s that we’ve been putting on across the country are always an amazing time to get to know different cities and audiences!

Jack : I’ve got too many to think of, I would agree with Ali playing alongside King Herd was amazing especially getting to watch them at one of Birmingham’s most iconic venues.
I would add playing at The Flapper in Birmingham supporting The Pagans S.O.H. Was absolutely awesome to work with those guys too.
Another point to mention our friend Zenn Finn (promoter of Soul sessions and singer of Collective Sleep) was putting the night on. He asked us to play for our first ever show, we went on in the middle of the show. Once we finished, there was almost like a stunned silence from the audience and then an eruption of cheer like a proper massive one. At that point I really thought we’ve got something here.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Ali: My personal favourite venue that we’ve played as a band to date would probably be the Hope and Ruin in Brighton. I’ve seen so many amazing bands there and it was so cool to play one of our release shows down there.
As a bucket list venue, I’d personally love to play Birmingham Symphony Hall with our project as I’ve seen so many of my heroes there. Also the roundhouse in London would be incredible!

Jack: The favorite Venue for me is at the Whiskey Jar in Manchester, as we’ve played at the Tuesday Jam Night run by our good friend Joe Bagpipes, the vibe is awesome and the audience is so attentive, like a true musical family. The venue to hope to play would be Birmingham O2 Institute, in the main room. Also, Shepherd’s Bush O2 in London.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Ali : Oh damn this is a hard one.. So many acts I’d choose from.

I’d have to be selfish and chose some of our heroes many from the kind of genres we cover somewhat.. otherwise this list would be pages long … so probably The Smile (And/or Radiohead) Moses Sumney, Steven Wilson, The Cinematic Orchestra and an amazingly crushing band called Heriot.
Maybe in the woods somewhere with a bunch of projection lighting going crazy too.

Jack: For me it would be ace to have the line up as, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Primus, Black Midi, The Flaming Lips, Holy Youth Movement, Young Culture, The Dave Matthews band, FrancMoody, Seneca, Bob Vylan, Porcupine Tree to name a few really just a mixture.And same as Ali really, just loads of lights in a wooded area.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Ali: My advice - for what it’s worth - would be to play in as many different styles and setting’s as you can and try to take concepts from all of these to find your unique voice. This also helps with empathy both on and offstage as you’ll find yourself playing with people from many different walks of life – music really is magic.
Also really try and be present in each part of the process and enjoy the communication and kinship with your fellow bandmates and musicians! Same thing to my younger self really.

Jack: I would say the same as Ali really just try and play with as many people as you can. As that’ll help with both your music vocabular but also it helps you build up that networking process, as that’s also integral in the music industry. Advice for my younger self would be just keep playing don’t stop.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Ali: For me I really love playing our song “I Feel Fine” It’s a lyrical commentary on mental health over a really ethereal daydreamy but dark sonic landscape.

Whenever I sing and play this live i feel a massive emotive release.

Jack: Mine is “What are you doing it for?” As that was our first single and its such a powerhouse song to open up and introduce the band.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Ali: My favourite song in our set is probably a song called Algorithm, it’s a dreamy song but turns really heavy in a live setting with a big ol shred improvised guitar solo in there for good measure.

This and a song called The Real Thing (Out on the 15^th March) (Where Jack our drummer plays an amazing solo) are often the most requested in our set!

Jack: Algorithm is probs my favourite to play too as it just builds beautifully into Ali’s Solo and it’s a chance just to give space to all the other instrument parts. Most requested I would say is “Real Thing.” Probably because there’s a lot of syncopation going on and Ali’s delay riff sounds awesome in the intro.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Ali: We usually start jamming and improvising with each other as a band and then use these to make our music, or Ali will bring in a song/idea that’s near to being completed for everyone to add parts onto. Also conversations about life and current things happening in the world is always a great source for inspiration!

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

We talk openly about the struggles of mental health and the effects that technology has on us today. I think it’s fair to say that our music is very introspective. We also use sound bytes from some of our literary heroes such as Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts throughout our live shows to further articulate our message.

Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?

As a matter of fact yes! Our Next single is out on the 15th March, and is titled “The Real Thing” This will have a full video that we’re very excited about as well as a single release party at one of out favourite venues - The Swan in Stourport.
Also coming up after that is our Full Album release which is set to be released on the 24th of May! More on that soon too.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

As we mentioned we’re releasing our new single soon in March with a single release party, and then later in the year we’ll be releasing our full album!

We’re playing around the UK this year and are currently looking into playing some European shows this year too. Fingers crossed on that. We’re always adding new shows so keep an eye out for those!

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

We usually post our updates across Instagram and Facebook but the real behind the scenes content is on our Patreon. Here’s some links to all of those:

https://linktr.ee/conflictchoirofficial

Instagram : @conflictchoirofficial

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/conflictchoirofficial

TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@conflictchoirofficial

Spotify :