Interview with Kulpa

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

We were all brought up on different genres of music through our families so it’s something we’ve always had that connection with and wanted to do. I wish we could answer where we’d be without it but it’s honestly the main thing in our lives so it’s hard to imagine our lives without it!

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

We all do different things like keeping fit at the gym or running, going out with friends or just chilling watching Netflix. I think it all allows you to just have a more open and creative mind as you’re not constantly thinking about work or forcing yourself to write the next big hit, so that when something comes to mind you know it’s special.

How long has your band been around?

We started Kulpa at the back end of 2021.

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

Newcastle holds a place in all our hearts. It’s our home town and we see inspiration everywhere, from the people we see around the city, places we’ve been and just the culture of the city in general.

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

Originally, the name was ‘Culpa Shee’, however after a big rebrand we decided to make it more memorable and more suited to the alt-rock style so it changed to ‘Kulpa’. I don’t think the word has a real deep meaning to us apart from it meaning ‘guilt’ in Latin which is pretty cool! I think as time goes on we will start to hopefully put more meaning to the word and make us think of ‘Kulpa’ as a sort of safe space and outlet for people to relate to.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

I think our most memorable show probably has to be our first ever headline. It was the first time we had ever put on our own gig, not knowing if we’ll even make our money back, but it went down an absolute blast and I’m sure it’s a night we’ll always remember. Just seeing family, friends and people we don’t even know having a great time jamming along to our songs is such a great feeling that’ll never be topped.

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

I think our favourite place to play as of now would be The Little Buildings in Ouseburn, Newcastle. It’s a small 60ish cap venue so it makes for great intimate shows and everyone that works there are lovely. We’ve played there a few times now and every time you know it’s going to be a brilliant night!

One of our next goals is to play The Cluny/Cluny 2 in Newcastle or the o2 City Hall. We’ve seen some of our favourite bands perform there so to follow in their footsteps would be a dream come true.

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

We’ll all have different answers for this one having different music tastes but I think as a band within the rock/alt-rock scene, Foo Fighters would definitely have to be on the card! Along with maybe Queens of the Stone Age & Muse, that’d be one hell of a lineup and it’d be an absolute pleasure to share the stage with them.

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?

I think some advice we’d give to someone just starting out in a band would be, just go for it and give it 110%. I think most times now people feel a bit scared to show their true selves because they’re not of ‘the norm’ but I think just diving deep into writing/making music whilst having fun with friends is the best way to express yourself and what you're feeling.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

One main piece of advice would be to just give it all you’ve got on stage. We’ve got to the point now where we realise no one really cares how silly you might look when you’re jumping and dancing around on stage, because they know you’re having the time of your life. Just enjoy the moment and try not to overthink everything because they are the moments that matter.

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

From a band stand point, it has to be ‘Sunny’. It was our first single we put out and it gained way more traction than we ever could have imagined. It showed that putting all of that time and effort into a project would be rewarded and that is what pushed us to keep on striving to get better and better with each thing we release.

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

Our first single ‘Sunny’ is not only our favourite but also goes down really well with the crowd. I think it’s just a very catchy, rock-driven song which people can relate to and bang their heads at the same time! ‘Bloodshot’ is always a fan favourite as well, because of its diverse elements there’s something for everyone inside of it whether you’re into pop-rock, hard rock or metal.

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

Most of our songs start with either a guitar riff or a vocal melody idea and we start building up the song layer by layer that way. Sometimes the whole song essentially writes itself and everything just clicks, whereas other times it's more meticulous and requires multiple ideas to be scrapped before we find the best possible solution for the problem. We take inspiration from everywhere! Most music is probably inspired by a band or song we’ve been listening to on repeat recently, and the lyrics can come from anything, whether it be something happening personally or something globally.

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

It depends really, Jack tries to tell stories of his own experiences and things that he goes through on a daily basis mixed around themes such as mental health issues he’s experienced like emotional overloads, anxiety and depression which comes with ADHD. Hopefully people can listen to them and understand the emotions we’re portraying and can relate and know that they’re not alone.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

I think disagreement from a writing point of view is essential. You may think you’ve written the best thing ever but then someone else comes along with an idea you didn’t think of, and whilst you may not like it at first, it’ll more than likely lead to improving that piece of writing! I think to just not take any disagreements personally and that we’re only trying to help and better each other is the main thing that helps us get past band disagreements when they do happen.

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

Yeah so we have our newest single ‘Bloodshot’ out everywhere on October 28th paired with our first ever music video which you can find on our YouTube ‘Kulpa Official’. We’re also in the middle of writing a brand new set full of some absolute bangers so keep an eye out on our socials for any upcoming gig dates! https://www.facebook.com/CulpaSheeOfficial/