The Void are Ewan, Mark, Stephen and Euan, four friends from Edinburgh whose astounding stage presence and captivating pop tunes have earned them support slots with Cryoverbillionaires, Johnny Foreigner and Hundred Reasons this Spring. With new E.P. 'Game of Ghosts’ set for release in June, music-news.com caught up with the quirky quartet to find out about writing lyrics, friendships and Scotland’s booming music scene.
Who are the Void and how do you fit in with Scotland’s unsigned music scene?We are The Void, we’ve known each other and have been friends since high school. Scotland has got a really interesting music scene and I think the genre we set fits in well. We’ve got a lot of friends in this scene and there’s a lot of interest in what we do.
What other bands in this genre/music scene would you compare your music too?Fellow Scots Biffy Clyro, Twin Atlantic, Idlewild and The Xcerts. We’d also say that these bands have an influence on the music we write. We’ve previously played with the Xcerts and they put on the best live show we’ve ever seen; they’re definitely the best live band. We’ve enjoyed The Xcerts music for a long time; they amaze us every time we see them.
What’s the best live gig you’ve played?Supporting The Xcerts last year was a highlight. Our first gig of the year was played in GRV Edinburgh and it was for sure one of our favourites. There was a great crowd there who made us feel really special as they participated in the show. We’ve also got support slots coming up with Johnny Foreigner and Hundred Reasons. There has been a lot of media coverage and attention so we’re looking forward to that. Hopefully bigger things will come from this.
What makes The Void live performances so enticing?Our energetic live performances are emphasized with guitar jabs, alternative rhythms and mid sections that will make your jaw drop. Our music is a variety of calm and loud sections mixed with unique timing and epic pauses that will leave you wanting more. We like to keep our music interesting and exciting. It's a lot to do with the visual image of the band too. We like to keep all aspects of us exciting - keep people on their toes! We really just do what comes naturally to us during a live performance.
What songs do you enjoy playing live, and what’s your best song on record?We are all really excited about playing our new songs live. Each member has a different song that they love to play. Our new track 'Game of Ghosts' gets the majority vote at the moment.
What can we expect from these new songs?We're hoping the new single is going to be the biggest thing we've done yet. We've got a couple of record labels interested and you know, we just keep hoping. The new stuff captures everything we've previously done but it's just progressed. We're really happy with the outcome of everything and hopefully people share this feeling.
How do you write these appealing songs?We all lock ourselves away from the world for a couple of days (usually in Mark's house) and fire ideas at each other. Usually someone will have a general idea for a song and will play it to the rest of us. The others will then come up with new ideas or progressions on the idea and we'll come up with the basis of a song. It's good to take a break though and come back to it in a couple of hours. We tend to forget to do this, and even forget to eat whilst writing/recording - I think we get too into the moment! Lyrically, our influences can be anything from stuff that's happening in our lives to writing about something next to us in a room!
What is in store for The Void in the next year?We're planning a new EP release for the summer, which will hold all our greatest achievements in song writing. The songs we're writing at the moment are nothing like we've ever written before and we’re really proud of them. We're currently writing tons of new tracks, some that get thrown away after a week, some that we've been working on for months now! We are planning for the E.P. to develop into an album in the next 7 to 8 months.
The Void tour live this spring, you can check out the dates and their songs for yourself:
www.myspace.com/thevoidband
