Kyte
We speak to singer Nick Moon about their year, and new EP 'Two Sparks, Two Stars'.
Kyte released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album at the beginning of 2008, drawing comparisons to Sigur Ros and Arcade Fire.
The Leicestershire five-piece have followed it up with the 'Two Sparks, Two Stars' EP this month, and we grabbed singer Nick Moon for a few words about their sound, their favourite shows of the year, and why they covered 'Solsbury Hill' for the EP.
There seems to be an air of mystery about you - are you happy to keep it that way?
I'm not sure if we ever intended to come off as mysterious. I think when it comes to interviews we still feel a bit strange about people wanting to know about us. Also the music is I suppose quite mystical at times, so I'm guessing some people might get perceptions of what we're like, from the songs themselves.
If you're not, then can you tell us how the band came to be?
We are friends from school, I knew Tom from quite an early age and we started writing joke songs together. Eventually we decided to take things a bit more seriously, and things just went from there. The other members were good friends of ours, everyone played in different bands within the Market Harborough scene.
Have Kyte always sounded this way? Did your sound come naturally to the band as a whole, or was there an evolution?
Tom writes all the music, and I think the sound of Kyte is always changing, especially with some of the songs we've been working on recently. I think touring, and travelling around playing with various bands will definitely have affected the songs in some way. In terms of vocals and melody, I listen to what Tom sends me, and coming up with vocal ideas seems like quite a natural thing to do.
Your live show seems to be pretty special - can you tell us about some of your favourite shows? Any unusual events happened at them?
I think this year all the shows in Japan were amazing, in particular Kyoto was special for me. I remember me and Scott got stuck in torrential rain before the show, and were completely soaked before the gig. But it went so well, and it was probably the best response we've ever had. I remember going into the crowd in the last song, it was a surreal and amazing experience.
What's been the strangest reaction to your music, live or otherwise?
I think once again the reactions in Japan, we were treated so well and the audiences were so quiet and patient. There were people crying, and looking so moved. We were brought presents, such as a really beautiful book containing the lyrics to 'Sunlight', hand printed on the pages.
Your new EP covers Peter Gabriel - why did you choose Solsbury Hill, and are there any other covers itching to get out there?
We are all massive fans of Peter Gabriel, I think he's a genius. I think it was a spur of the moment Tom had. When he told me he'd been working on it I was really excited to hear how he'd approach a song like that. I think any cover has to ultimately be a tribute to the original, which is hopefully what we've achieved. Who knows if we'll do anymore covers anytime soon.
Have you had the pleasure of meeting any of your inspirations?
Not direct inspirations I don't think, maybe one day. We've played with a few bands who we look up to and respect, but none of the big guns. Although I did meet Geoff Barrow [Portishead] at a Bristol show we did, that was pretty awesome.
What's been the best advice given to you since you've been in a band?
Be genuinly happy and into the songs, before you try and take it everywhere. Pretty obvious one, but I think its pretty important. The amount of energy that goes into being a band, if you're not enjoying the music you may as well give up.
What's next for Kyte?
We're currently finishing some new recordings, and preparing for next year. We have a lot of songs finished, which was always the intention so that for the next record we can have a wide selection to choose from. We're rehearsing a lot of new songs live also, I think we're going to start playing live again in late January/February.
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