"You'll Never Catch Us Writing a Pop Song" - Slow Renewal's Brodie Mack on the Future, the Music Industry, and Why They'll Never Compromise Their Sound
Scottish post-hardcore/emo band Slow Renewal kick off their tour tonight in the Scottish capital with Lake Pleasant and co., fresh from their success of their recent live sets supporting local heavyweights Tenements. Newer to the scene, they already demonstrate an unflinching determination to make their voices heard, and a refusal to do it on anyone else's terms. Fresh from the release of their self-titled EP - which they cite as the cathartic release of anxiety about the future and past relationships - they're ready to get back on the live music circuit and make their mark on the scene.
I caught up with front man Brodie Mack on their EP, the Scottish music scene, and what needs to change in the music industry to make room for fresh talent.
Q. You released your self-titled EP in April this year, officially launching yourself onto the Scottish music scene; how have the past few months been for the band? Has anything about the experience come as a surprise?
A. It’s been a mixture of a lot of different feelings if I'm honest. I've been sitting on the EP for a while now, with half of it being recorded in the summer of last year. So its just been prepping and waiting. We've all got university to see to as well, so the band was put on the back burner until early May when we played our first shows with Tenements. I'm personally surprised about how well my vocals have gone down with everyone that has listened to it -I 'm very anxious about my voice so having a project where I'm the vocalist has been very nerve racking.
Q. You're about to go on tour with fellow Scots Lake Pleasant - what is your favourite thing about playing live music and what are you most looking forward to?
A. For me it's all [about] the money haha! No...it's like I said before, getting a positive reaction from people. You can tell when a set isn't taken well by the crowd but our first two shows went down really well. So if every show of the tour is like that I'll be happy. I'm also looking forward to playing The Hug and Pint 'cause it means I get to eat there again! (They're easily one of my favourite places to eat ever).
Q. How important do you think collaboration and friendship with other local acts is for new bands and for the local music scene in general?
A. I think it should be at the core of everyone's work ethic in the scene. I do think there is an important difference between supporting friends bands and supporting people just because they're your friends. The latter means you don't go to any shows your friends don't play which doesn't help the scene, and it occurs far too frequently to be honest.
"Lucky for us the Scottish music scene is all about pulling everyone up as well as yourself".
There are no egos - it's just about putting on the best shows we can for ourselves and the attendees.
Q. What do you hope to achieve with your music? What message do you hope people take from it?
A. Music and in particular Slow Renewal has been incredibly cathartic for me personally. We all want to make music that we enjoy and that doesn't compromise our artistic integrity.
"You'll never catch us writing a pop song to make ends meet or for extra fans cause that's not us and its not what we want".
I hope that when people see us perform or hear our music they know that everyone suffers; a bit grim, but it's the truth, we all do and there's no shame in it. We need to accept it so we can help others and - more importantly - ourselves. There is a culture of self sabotage and neglect when it comes to helping others...a sense that you have to fix everyone before you can fix yourself. But we are capable of fixing ourselves whilst helping others, and its what we need to do.
Q. You cite anxiety about the future as a source of inspiration for the EP and this is particularly evident in the final track, Freedom. Is creating music an antidote to this or do you find creating content to be another source of uncertainty?
A. I find relief once the content is created. I get very anxious when I have an idea that I can't put into words or music and trying to force it out always makes it worse. Fortunately we're never in a position where I need to rush or force out a song for something. As a result as well I have about 15-20 half finished song ideas that will probably never be complete because I don't know how to finish them or just can't.
I'm always worried about the future. Where I'm going to be living this time next year? Will I graduate university with a high enough grade? What will I do for money? Will I be stuck in my part time job forever? Just so many possibilities and I can only ever imagine the mundane or horrible ones as the probably futures. The music helps me convey these feelings which helps me not feel so alone about them. Which in turn makes me worry about them slightly less. Comfort in a crowd I suppose.
Q. What do we need to know about Slow Renewal?
A. We've got plenty more to offer and our next release is planned to be longer and more fleshed out both sonically and lyrically. Oh, and out tour starts on Wednesday the 10th of July at Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh!
Q. If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be (and why)?
A. Oh boy, that's a tough one...there's so much I'd change haha. Female and LGBTQ+ [representation] is very slowly on the rise which is amazing and I think a way to make them easier to spot and gain representation would be to stop having labels support mediocre artists. There's so many just "okay" bands out there now, and it's harder to be noticed cause anyone with a laptop can record an album in their room now and whilst that's great, it's also the problem. Just cause you can do it, doesn't mean you should.
"So I guess the thing I'd change is have labels support actual talented artists that push the envelope and are good, rather than just giving boy band #12214134315 an album 'cause they can market well and can yield the label maximum profit".
Some of the most iconic bands of the past were pushing the envelope and I wonder if they'd ever be looked at by labels if they were trying to make it today.
You can catch Slow Renewal on tour NOW:
Sneaky Pete's - Edinburgh (10/7/19)
Green Room - Perth (11/7/19)
Hug n Pint - Glasgow (12/7/19)
The Cellar - Aberdeen (13/7/19)
Monty's - Dunfermilne (14/7/19)
Click here to read more about the local music scene in Scotland on OneMoreLightLB.
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