Band Of The Week #313 - Red Ivory
This week's Band of the Week is London newcomers Red Ivory - who have just released their EP 'Please Leave, I Need To Wake Up Now'.
Formed in autumn 2021, vocalist Eiliyah, bassist Berry, guitarist Frida, and drummer Ivy met in their secondary school music rooms and began writing together almost immediately. What started as four friends experimenting with riffs and lyrics has since evolved into a band with a sharply defined identity and a catalogue of songs that speak to their shared experiences of adolescence, change, and uncertainty. Every track is written collaboratively, each member shaping the sound so that it reflects their diverse influences – from the rawness of 90s grunge to the angular edges of post-punk and the melodic sensibility of indie rock.
'Please Leave, I Need To Wake Up Now' gathers together five songs written between 2021 and 2024, effectively chronicling the band’s formative years. The EP captures the turbulence of that period – from fear of rejection and claustrophobic anxiety to fleeting moments of hope and catharsis. Its title, at once commanding and fragile, mirrors this duality: the sense of pushing back against overwhelming forces while acknowledging vulnerability.
The recording process itself became a turning point for Red Ivory. Having not previously spent significant time in a studio, the band found themselves invigorated by the creative possibilities it offered. With Phillips’ guidance, they pushed their songs into new territory, adding layers of instrumentation and experimenting with dynamics while never losing the raw immediacy that defines their sound. Long summer days at Strongroom allowed them to fully inhabit the music, bouncing ideas off one another in between the pressures of school exams and everyday teenage life.
At just eighteen, Red Ivory stand at the cusp of something significant. 'Please Leave, I Need To Wake Up Now' is more than an introduction – it’s a document of growth, resilience and defiance, a testament to what they’ve already achieved and a thrilling promise of what’s still to come.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Red Ivory, how are you? So your EP is out now – how does it feel to have it out there?.
We are great, thank you!
It feels great! It took so much time from the writing to recording to releasing and all while we were busy with school, so it’s amazing to finally have it out for everyone to hear, and motivation for us to keep on writing material to come next. - Ivy
It’s really exciting to show our development over time - Frida
It feels soooo good to have people what we are actually about - Berry
It is called ‘Please Leave, I Need To Wake Up Now' – what is the meaning behind that?
The title for the EP was moving through my brain for a few weeks, I then introduced it to Frida and she totally got the kind of situation I was trying to refer to - that kind of vibe that feels inescapable and where just when you thought it was over and would end it sucks you right down under. After we showed it to the whole band we refined it - finding exact words like ‘need to’ rather than ‘have to’ and that felt very significant, like we were solidifying something sacred and personal - Berry
To me, it means acknowledging that someone or something is bad for you, and that to ‘wake up’ (as a metaphor for healing or moving forward) it’s often best to leave that thing or person behind. It also involves the idea that people or environments can act as sedatives and cloud your judgement. - Ivy
It’s like how changes are sudden, just like waking up. And the idea of “please leave” is a metaphor for time, how growing up is really scary and you want to stop time but you do need to wake up and face reality because change is inevitable - Eiliyah”
I feel like a lot of the songs on the EP seem nightmarish and very high in anxiety - Frida
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories you are willing to share with us?
We recorded at Strongroom studios in Shoreditch with Adele Phillips - Ivy
We went quite loopy in the studio spending 10 hours a day in there as 17 year olds still stressing about missing school as we were in full time education. Also we couldn’t really spend money on proper food so only ate meal deals for three days in a row. But it was one of the best times I have had with the band because we were just all manic at the same time, constantly annoying each other but also feeding off of each others ideas and managing to focus on the recordings to make sure they turned out how we wanted. - Eiliyah
The very long days made us go a bit crazy - Frida
What are the key influences behind the EP?
Experience wise we were all influenced by the extent and drama of changes happening throughout the time writing it and recording it, and musically it reflects our old, core influences of 90s indie rock and grunge as well as elements of (post) punk and noise rock which we moved towards as we wrote and played live more. - Ivy
If the EP could be a soundtrack to any film – which one and why?
The Edge of Seventeen, I guess because we were 17 when we finalised the EP and the film highlights the ups and downs of that certain age, which is definitely something reflected a lot in the EP - Eiliyah
Something teenage and angsty, like Donnie Darko - Frida
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
“Hand on my heart, where do we start? Are we who we say we are?” Off of crashing down. I love the consonance of the ‘H’ and ‘W’ sounds, the hopeless but desperate questioning and the pulsing way that Eiliyah sings it -Ivy
“It wasn’t what you said but the way you speak”, the fact that people can say anything but the way they say it is how I will interpret it, like if someone were to tell you that they love you but sound like they don’t mean it then I can’t hold onto it - Eiliyah
“I hate the way you make me feel.” It’s so honest and upfront, no bullshit and no hiding behind politeness - Berry
Now the EP is out there – what next for you?
More of everything!! More live shows, more writing. We want to tour and definitely get back into the studio. Also it would be cool to do more in terms of our visual output for example music videos - Ivy
