Interview with LIFECYCLE

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

Letitia and I have been digging music since our earliest memories … we met jamming in the music room back in sixth form college and haven’t looked back since … what else is there to do with life?

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

Music doesn’t pay the bills and I’m glad to say the band are all grafters … having to work “for the man” often causes creative juices to build up ready to be safely released in the right (suitably loud) environment … we work in technical industries and are generally surrounded by machines … I love how technology can be fused with music to create bizarre new psychedelic textures

How long has your band been around?

Time flies … the concept and first rough jams came together in 2010 … it took a few years to get the sonics and technology right for us to take our sounds to the next level

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

London, baby … it’s the multicultural, energized hub of today’s western civilization… what a place … grimy and full of chancers but energy in the streets surely infuses with your life … I think our breakbeat and jungle influences are a direct result of living in the City

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

Themes of death and rebirth are common in our tunes … the name is a bit bombastic but this is deep spiritual sh*t man!

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Supporting 60s psychedelic legend Arthur Brown on a couple of UK tours was spectacular … not the normal dance-music and heavy-metal oriented crowds you get on the London circuit … some older but open minded people in those audiences

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

I miss the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town … believe it’s now just a gastropub … for decades it had the best live room, atmosphere, sound system, and top promoters who actually booked decent bands and looked after the place … its loss was end of an era. Have always wanted to play Brixton Academy despite the fact it sounds awful in that beautiful space.

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

Literally anything? Can we go back in a time machine to the Fillmore East 1969 and support Hendrix?

Or maybe we could go back to Bristol when Roni Size was just blowing up with the Reprazent live band? Come to think of it those may be a bit unrealistic …

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?

Don’t worry about getting things perfect … especially with all the technology around to smooth out all the rough edges in music, it’s more important than ever to do a messy, banging, expressive take and live with it, warts n’all!

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

Don’t run too headlong into the dance music scene … it has some dangerous, sketchy corners

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

Greed (from 2014’s Lino Cosmos LP) was the first track that came together for the Lifecycle live project back in 2010, and it was all about keeping things simple. It’s a really simple riff, straightforward arrangement, and simple message to the lyrics. I love how that came together, sounds rich and full, but is all built around that pure, simple backbone.

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

Letitia and I love playing No Stopping, the lead single from this latest mini-LP Lowest Colour … it immediately hit with everyone around us, and it’s great to play as there’s a long vocal harmony section at the end … can be quite moving on a good night when we belt out the last lines together

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

The tracks always start as rough instrumental electronica sketches on my laptop … we start with breakbeats and synth sounds to create a crunchy groove and atmosphere, then start jamming over it with the live band, bringing organic elements in … it’s good to try and preserve that initial seed of the mood

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

I am a fan of ambiguous lyrics that people can read their own current situations into … but there are definite recurring themes about not taking things for granted … how important it is to challenge your own thought process

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

It’s good having a power trio, as there are less people to fit in the back of the van, and always means an argument turns 2-against-1 … never a stalemate ;)

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

We need to get back on stage following those crazy pandemic years … we are now playing with The Jungle Drummer who played with London Electricity some years back, and is an absolute dynamo on the skins around 170-180bpm … the material we are recording with him right now is fast, hard and I think will really surprise a lot of people … that is approaching fast on the horizon