Introducing: Liquid State

Bristol based alt rock/post hardcore outfit Liquid State have just released their new single ‘Face To Face’, and vocalist Keren Ashley talks us through the origins of the band, what the band have been up to recently, and the real reason why Liquid State drummer Harry Moffatt is an “official social hermit crab”. Poor Harry, it’s always the drummer that has the piss taken!

Liquid StateWhat are the origins of the band, how long have you been playing together?

As our current line up, we’ve been a band since late 2016. Before that Liquid State was an acoustic duo consisting of just myself and Kray (guitarist).

How did you feel performing your first gig? And how was it?!

Oh blimey, our first gig? I’m pretty sure our first gig with our current line up was at The Fleece as a comeback gig but prior to that we’re looking at either The Louisiana or The Thunderbolt, with our mates stepping in on drums and bass! We can’t remember how we felt playing our first gig, but we were probably bricking it!

What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe yourself?

We’d like to say we’re a bit of a mashup when it comes to explaining who we are. It’s always been difficult to put a stamp on it exactly. Being a female fronted band, it’s sometimes easy to be branded as exactly that, but we feel we’re way more than just ‘female fronted’ and instead we’re just a group of individuals that like to get sweaty as hell on stage, make too much noise and have an undeniable addiction to writing constantly sinister lyrics.

New single ‘Face To Face’ is out now, how long have you had the track brewing for, and are there any particular themes behind the lyrics?

To say Face to Face is long overdue would be an understatement, we’ve had this track brewing for over a year. Our original plans were to release Face to Face first, We had the music video and everything ready to go for a release, but we ended up getting offered some financial help for China Dolls from our university but on the agreement that we released that first. So yes, we are absolutely buzzing to be finally releasing it! Lyrical content of Face to Face is heavily influenced by topics of manipulation, control and being caught up in an abusive relationship.

Is the single indicative of what a debut album would sound like if released today?

Because we’ve been sat on this song for such a long time now we have definitely grown and our music has evolved more, for sure. However Face to Face is still a good indication on what to expect, we’ve just got slightly more heavier with our writing now.

The Liquid State Facebook bio states ” We write songs about some nasty, dark stuff.” – in what ways has the current fucked up, nasty state of affairs that is Britain in 2020 influenced your writing?

When isn’t the world fucked up? No matter what year we’re looking at, there’s some fucked up shit hitting people in the most unimaginable ways! Whether it’s deemed ‘important enough’ for the media to cover it or not, there’s always something to write about, and that’s where our lyrical topics stem from. I couldn’t write a love song if I tried, comes out far too cringe worthy haha so I’ll stick to what I know for now and carry on writing about serial killers and bad mental health.

What particular issue today do you feel strongly about?

I’ll link this back to the previous question about all the current fucked up shit we as a collective are facing, there’s a list of issues that could reach the moon and back ten fold. There’s multiple issues that don’t even reach the tabloids because they’re ‘not worthy enough’. It’s bullshit. Every single person and every single issue is worthy of attention. We have the obvious ones right now; police brutality, Black Lives Matter, the numerous government fuck ups that we now are expected to grow to just get used to, the economy potentially reaching rock bottom, the catastrophic change to our climate and potentially a WW3 on our hands.

It’s mad, but I’ll go on; what about the increasing numbers of homelessness we’re seeing in this country, the constant fight for animal rights, the lack of support for sex workers or the fight for the LGBTQ+ community to live freely and openly worldwide, It can go right down to the attempt to save our oceans. Boy oh boy, there’s plenty of issues that need to be addressed right now and it’s our voices that can make a change for the good, 100%.

In what way has the band grown and developed since ‘Save Yourself’ in 2018?

Wow. We’ve grown from little beans to a full sized bunch of potatoes since Save Yourself, and there’s no doubt we’ll continue to grow and develop for years to come, there’s no end to bettering yourself. We’ve all become way more established and comfortable in our individual writing styles and have spent time focusing on self development and personal criticism to become bigger and better versions of ourselves. We’re ready to put our all into our future releases and create nothing but stonkers.

What band out there at the minute do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?

We’re all massive fans of bands such as Sleep Token, Loathe and Holding Absence at the moment and opening for them would always be an absolute pleasure. There’s plenty of bands we’d love to support though such as Static Dress, Dream State and Chapter and Verse; all absolutely stellar bands.

Marmozets copped some unnecessary flak a few years back when they produced a different sound on ‘Knowing What You Know Now’, but bands have to evolve, they can’t stand still or produce music that other people think that they should, can they?

I remember this album and the whole situation very well, I also remember myself being slightly disappointed when I listened to it, merely because I was expecting to hear an absolute monster of an album, especially with Becca’s powerhouse vocals. However, although I wasn’t necessarily sold on the album personally I think it’s important that bands still keep their own integrity and stay true to themselves. Yes, music is for the fans, but it’s also for the people who create it, and if you don’t love what you produce, what’s the point? You’d end up hating performing and end up resenting the music you spent so long working on. I don’t doubt that Marmozets lost some fans after that album, but I also don’t doubt that they gained new fans too due to the new pop vibes that they gave out. I believe band development is key and super important, and that it shouldn’t be jeopardised because of the fear of losing a few fans.

The new music scene is bursting at the seams with fresh talent, in what ways do you feel that a band has to stand out from the others trying to build a name?

Agreed, there are so many sick bands that are all lined up just waiting for that moment to break out right now. It’s a tricky one but I find that along with the basics like keeping up with a strong social media presence and staying in the loop with releasing regular content it also comes down to uniqueness and originality; and not just in the musical aspect but visually as individuals. Having that visible quirkiness definitely helps to push you out there a little bit more, The Well Runs Red is a great example for this, he doesn’t care on opinions, he dresses how he likes and has made himself stand out as someone unique and original, and that’s sick as fuck!

Who do you feel is the next band to break out of the UK?

There’s so many sick bands out there we could list hundreds, but our top bands that always come to mind are Lastelle and Phoxjaw, both bands are insane and we definitely recommend you check them out if you haven’t already.

What are your first musical memories? And what was the lightbulb moment that made you go “I want to do that”?

For myself my lightbulb moment was when I was at college studying performing arts and we were closely linked to the music course, I was always obsessed with watching their showcases and found myself always going for the roles that had singing parts in the drama shows we did. It was during my last year of drama college it suddenly dawned on me that it was music I was passionate about, and not the acting. Kray’s lightbulb moment was when he got encapsulated while listening to Fleetwood Mac in his mums car driving to school, and says it was the first time he heard music for what it actually is instead of just background noise. Ben (Liquid State bassist) first got involved in music when his older brother started playing guitar and the two of them would listen to music together, however Ben couldn’t get a guitar too, because that was just pure copying and that just weren’t cool man, so he started playing bass instead; maybe this is how all bassists are born haha. Harry’s (Liquid State drummer) moment was when he saw Green Day and Foo Fighters play live when he was 8/9 with his mum and can remember thinking to himself that musicians were the coolest people ever! Every year his mum would ask him if he wanted to go to a concert with her, or have a birthday party with his friends, and needless to say it was gigs he chose every time; and that my friends is why Harry Moffatt is an official social hermit crab.

What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?

I’m pretty sure the last gig Kray and I attended was Pagan, and for the boys it was Periphery. Both legendary bands, but equally gutted that Pagan have now disbanded.

The album that you have in your album collection/spotify playlist that would surprise most people?

My last listened album on Spotify is actually Justin Timberlake – Futuresex/Lovesounds. What an absolute bop of an album haha! Also not opposed to a lil’ bit of Billie Eilish either.

Taking lockdown into account, what are your plans for the remainder of 2020?

Because nobody knows what the hell is going on and when things are going back to normal we’ve just been focused on writing and polishing new material ready to take it to the studio for when normality hits. We’ve been in touch with bands and promoters to organise gigs and tours but due to everything being up in the air right now it’s been tougher than usual, so our priority is purely writing and keeping up with our socials.

How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?

We’re pretty decent on socials and are always up for connecting with new and old fans, don’t feel shy to come ask us some questions and have a chat with us. You can find us mainly on Facebook and Instagram, but we do also have a Twitter too; we’re just not cool enough to be able to work it.

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