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A Plea, A Promise! So, finally! You’ve released a new single, ‘Grief’. How stoked are you all about the new release?! Has it lifted any pressure? Ben – “I’m so happy it’s finally out for people to hear. This is the most heart felt song we have written and I’m extremely proud of how well it is doing so far.” Your previous release was ‘Ephemeral’ which was two years ago. Why such the long wait? Ben – “I’d say it’s lifted a lot of pressure. I’m a really impatient bloke, which is a shame but we are all perfectionists in A Plea, A Promise. We know that our songs will never be perfect, but a lot of time and effort has gone into making them the best they can be. We experimented a lot to find what was best for us and we are all really happy with the way it turned out.” How have the dynamics of A Plea, A Promise altered with the change in frontman, Justin? Ben – “Like I said we have tried to make the song, and the rest of the songs, the best they can be. We are tough critics on ourselves, but after all this time it has been worth the wait for us. It has been frustrating at times, but we are doing what’s best for us. I hope the people who have waited so long can see that we want everything to be at the highest possible standard. After Callum left, I always knew Justin was the right guy for the job, and I haven’t look back. I love the vocal style with the pitched screams and such and you can hear the emotion being put out.” Comparing the two singles ‘Ephemeral’ and ‘Grief’, what would you say that are the most noticeable differences? Ben – “Grief’ is a lot more emotional and darker, I would say. It comes from the heart. I love music that portrays real life occurrences. I just find it to be more real, but I love the change of direction in our sound. I still love ‘Ephemeral’ though, as it was one of the first tracks I contributed to being a part of A Plea, A Promise.” What were A Plea, A Promise’s main influence for ‘Grief’? Ben – “We all just come together, it’s great just to be able to have us all in the same space – I think it’s a pretty inspiring vibe to get good ideas coming out. Tom and Connor are the main songwriters in the band, but we all contribute what we can.” So, ‘Grief’ is the first single to be released from the ‘new’ A Plea, A Promise. Surely this means that there’s some more new material on the way… an E.P. maybe? Ben – “We have an entire EP written. We’re now just adding the finishing touches to it. We’re hoping to have it out ASAP.” Excellent! Further plans? U.K. Tour? European Tour? Ben – “We will be touring when the EP is out, for sure. We are playing Throne Fest in Glasgow in August. We’re all pretty stoked for that!” Do any of your have your own personal little habits whilst writing/recording? Ben – “Y’know I don’t really feel that any of us do… we all sit together and write the songs. Just to make sure we are all happy with what we are writing. We make sure everyone is happy and stoked with what we have come up with and that’s really about it… haha.” What bands would you all say that are heaviest influences on you, as musicians? Ben – “I think for all of us, just whatever bands and artists we are listening to at that moment in time or years and years ago, really influence us as artists.” I understand from sources that ‘Grief’ is Justin’s most personal song he’s ever written… what is ‘Grief’ about, what does it represent? And how do the band want this track to be perceived? Justin – “When I first joined A Plea, A Promise I was very conscious of every word I wrote down on paper and sang into the microphone. I found myself being very depressed and unable to express how I felt in the songs – I couldn’t find attachment due to a lot of stuff happening at that point in my life too. I grew up with a wonderful family that looked after me from almost birth. They would encourage me to express my feelings and emotions but as I got older I found it harder and harder to do so. It grew more difficult to talk to people about how I was feeling. I write all my feelings down in poems and musings I still do! Grief came about from a lot of hurtful things that happened to me including losing family members, losing friends and of course losing the women I loved. It was a very hard day leaving her seeing the look on her face knowing it wouldn’t be the same – that was the lowest point in my life at that point. I didn’t even want to leave my bed let alone record a song. One day Tom came to me with a song and asked me what I thought of it, since that moment it lit the spark that I needed which made me feel something. We ended up working on it at 5AM at my place. Writing this song for me, it was like almost me putting all of the sadness, all of the depression I’d fallen slowly into, into the one place a very difficult place. I’m sure some people will read this and think get a grip it’s only a girl – but everyone has experienced loss at some point in their lives. It might not be a girl leaving them, it might not be a guy leaving them, but I wrote it so people realise that they are not alone and it does get better in time. You’ve just gotta give it the time to get better!” Ben – “I think ‘Grief’ can be interpreted in many different ways such as losing a loved one. I think we all have our different interpretations of what is is about. I like it like that. That just means it can be related to by a number of people and not just one specific person with a specific story.” Finally, just to put my own curiosity at rest… what bands and albums are you all hooked on at the moment? What are some of your favourite releases from this year? Ben – “Recently I’ve not been listening to too much metal. I’ve been listening to Blink 182’s ‘California’ – which for me personally is by far the best release of the year so far. I’ve also been listening to Drake, Fightstar, Astroid Boys, and The 1975… a little bit of a mix up! Everyone else is generally into bands like Being As An Ocean, Casey, Sworn In, The Devil Wears Prada… we all have our different tastes in music which I think is great for writing.” Varied, to say the least. I’d just like to thank you once again for taking the time. I really do appreciate it! Ben – “Sure! No problem, thanks a lot!” Find A Plea, A Promise on Facebook. Purchase tickets for Throne Fest in Glasgow, here.]]>
