For any new band it can take sometime to find your feet and identity. Sometimes a band makes a concious to decision to change their sound and name to something that is true to themselves. And that is exactly what happened with Empty Blue.
Originally formed in early 2013 under the name of Boundaries, the quintet have spent the past two years developing a pop-punk centric sound. At the start of this year they released a demo EP entitled ‘I’m Not Even Good At The Things That I’m Good At’ that planted the seed that would become Empty Blue. As seen in their recent video for ‘Pull Me Under’, the five-piece have organically evolved into a promising melancholy alternative emo outfit.
With a reinvigorated approach, we recently spoke to the Leeds-based group about their beginnings, their forthcoming EP, their hometown and more.
AH: Let’s start things off with a simple one. What’s the story behind Empty Blue?
Empty Blue: There isn’t really a story behind us haha, we’re just 5 friends from Leeds that started writing songs together at the beginning of 2013 and thats about it.
AH: It seems 2015 has been a pretty busy year so far with the release of ‘I’m Not Even Good At The Things That I’m Good At’ back in January and now a second EP in the works. What can you tell us about the new EP?
Empty Blue: Well we released that demo as Boundaries, our old name, at the beginning of last year and then re-released it through our friends at Good Boy Records in January onto tape which was cool to do. There isn’t much to tell on the new EP. It should be out pretty soon but we haven’t got a date yet but we’re working on it so keep your eyes peeled! We are all really proud of the songs on there, so we hope everyone likes it!
AH: How does it differ to the demo EP?
Empty Blue:
The new EP is quite a bit different to our old songs in a sense that its a bit of a different sound. The last release was pretty Pop-Punky and though we’re still proud of the songs we wrote for the demo, our new songs weren’t always going to be a follow up to them. When it came to writing the new songs, we just wrote them and this is how they turned out, the change in sound has happened organically and we’re proud of that.
Song wise its different because we’ve all had our own input on each of the songs. We wanted to write songs that meant something to us all and we all put our ideas into the songs, so I think we’ve managed that well.
AH: From hearing the new track and the first EP, it seems you’re heading in a more laid back/shoegaze-esque direction?
Empty Blue: You could say that we’re taking a more laid back direction. I think we’re just using space in songs more, if that makes sense. We’ve all listened to shoegaze bands in the past and we all like it but we don’t think thats the kind of direction this band is going in, we definitely take influence from it but not enough to completely become a shoegaze band.
AH: Let’s talk influences. I see you list current bands like Balance and Composure, Title Fight and Citizen amongst others on your Facebook. Do you think those bands give new listeners an indication of what Empty Blue are about?
Empty Blue: Definitely, those are just three of our favourite bands that we listen to regularly. We’re not influenced by just those bands, but you could say our sound fits in closest to them.
AH: You hail from Leeds, which is known for its rich musical history and various venues. How beneficial is the Leeds music scene to a band like Empty Blue?
Empty Blue: Yeah it is a very good scene to be part of, there is so much talent in Leeds its crazy. We’ve been lucky enough to play some pretty cool shows in our time as a band, every band that we listen to have played in Leeds at least once so there are always shows going on that we can go to. We’ve been lucky enough to play with Neck Deep, Roam, Decade at the Cockpit. Playing shows with your local friends’ bands is always fun too! We’re proud to be from Leeds, and we’re glad the Leeds music scene is as good as it is.
AH: Going forward, what else do you have anything else planned besides the new EP?
Empty Blue: We don’t really have anything special planned. We just want to try book as many shows as we can, maybe a few tours here and there and just enjoy being a band! We’re still unsure as to when or how the EP is going to be released, but we’re working on it so look out for any details on that in the future.
AH: Finally do you have comments to share with the Already Heard or want to give a shout out to anyone?
Empty Blue: Thanks for taking an interest and interviewing us on our new music! It has been fun to do this, so thank you!
‘Pull Me Under’ by Empty Blue is available as a free download from Bandcamp.
Empty Blue links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86)