Introducing #208: HORLA
Manchester’s most atmospheric and cinematic alt-rcokers HORLA return with their first single since the start of the pandemic. ‘Sound of A Gun’ is the first single to be taken from their forthcoming EP of the same name. They took some time to talk us through their music.
Hey guys, how are you? Thanks for answering our questions, can you introduce yourselves?
Hi, We’re all good! The pleasure is all ours. SO yes, we are HORLA. Nathan, Josh, Max and Robyn. I guess we’re from Manchester? Or use it as our central hub / HQ, we’re kind of scattered all over the show at the moment but we like it that way.
Your track ‘Sound of A Gun’ is almost out - can you tell us what it is about?
Sure, We’re absolutely thrilled to have this one out there. This was penned in 2015, prepped for release in 2019 but lockdowns hit and put a fork in the road so to speak. In essence, Sound of a Gun is a song about the kind of loneliness, isolation we all feel in those high pressure moments that either make or break you. Something I feel we can all relate to over the last 2 years. - I wanted to juxtapose the idea of ‘coming alive with Sound of a Gun’. It's that point in time where things become so desperate and overwhelming that you weirdly find that moment of enlightenment, in this case, holding onto the things or a person you love to pull you out of the fuzz/static of crippling circumstances. the do or die moment, whether it be your environment or relationship. It's about being relentlessly fearless and breaking out of repetitive, mundane cycles and just having faith that everything will fall into place.
It's the first taste of new music and of the forthcoming EP, what can we expect from that?
A lot of versatility, each track has its own space and intention. We always write around a feel / mood. Track by track it almost takes you on a journey, its the perfect four songs to introduce our sound &- It's the perfect introduction to us as a band and what to expect live - we have big riffs, and we have anthemic moments. We always envisaged these songs filling up big venues and bringing a lot of people together. That's what it’s all about for us.
How did you get together and start playing as a band?
We were all in various projects at the time - either sessioning or touring. The earliest iteration was when Rob was sessioning for bi-polar sunshine down in sunshine studios in Manchester and I was in Embers - we just hung out and traded drum fills and song ideas. I showed him some songs I'd written for a project and a few months later we were jamming them in a room too loudly. Josh and Max got involved a few months after i’d sent out the demo’s - we all knew we wanted to make ambitious music.
What are the key influences when it comes to your sound?
Definitely the city they were spawned in, there’s a certain bleakness to them but it has that light / dark dimension. We always try to create a kind of unique world around our songs, whether that be sonically or visually. And we like to make a statement lyrically and leave food for thought. Creating a listening experience in the same way meditation music makes you have a transcendental experience - we encourage people to step outside of themselves and be totally immersed by certain sounds - whether than be sonic textures or live sounds of wall of noise guitars.
How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to it before?
Someone once described us as ‘Future music for the here and now’. So i’d go with that.. Guess it leaves you with something to think about.
Finally, what can we expect from you as the year progresses?
We’re already penned in for recording sessions in March, which I believe will be for our next few releases and certainly our heaviest hitters yet. Sound Of A Gun is the starters, we’ve got the mains and dessert ready to be served. More singles, more shows, and hopefully some touring and festivals!!! We want to be everywhere and reach as many people around the world as possible.
