Interview with Ritual

Can you give us a brief history of the project?

I'll try and keep it concise...we formed in April 2017 with the intention of just jamming and making noise to amuse ourselves before releasing our first single 'Pariah Messiah'. It seemed to generate a bit of buzz so played a couple of live shows to a positive reaction and things have kind of been rolling along nicely from there. We've played the last two Metal 2 The Masses Hitchin finals, released three tracks to date as well as two music videos with more stuff in the pipeline.



What are the plans for the future for your project?

Well, we've actually got two EP's in the works at the moment. One self produced - which will be out imminently - and one with Matty Moon from Half Ton Studios in Cambridge. He produced The Grey's last album which we all absolutely adore and are absolutely stoked to be working with him. We're hitting the studio with Matty in November so keep an eye on our social media for more updates. Other than that, we just want to write more and gig more so if anyone reading this wants to offer us a slot for early 2020 then we are all ears.



How does the band handle mistakes during a live performance?

We're pretty well rehearsed so fortunately we haven't yet experienced anything horrendous yet. Famous last words, right? I guess if one of us does do something 'unexpected' everyone else just carries on with what their meant to until the situation rides out. I've definitely been guilty of hitting a couple of bum notes before and got a few amused looks from the others then relentlessly teased. That's enough motivation for me not repeat the mistakes. You've got to laugh about this stuff though. It's about having fun so why get annoyed about it. Life's too short.



What do you think is the bands favourite moment/time?

There are so many but not necessarily to do with playing live. We spend a lot of time together and always have a blast getting up to hi-jinx. Spending time in the studio is a lot of fun and we all had the time of our lives planning and then making the music video for our last single 'Petrified in Ash'. It was stressful at times but there are so many funny memories connected to us goofing about while filming and then editing it. Fortunately, the final product was pretty much what we set out to achieve so it was worth it. In terms of performance, it would probably have to be playing at both Metal 2 The Masses finals in Hitchin. There's an extremely strong local scene in Hertfordshire and a dedicated following of alternative music lovers so making it as far as we did on both occasions was a huge compliment and massively rewarding. The tournament takes place at Club 85 in Hitchin and gets absolutely packed which makes it a hell of a lot of fun to play.



What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

I don't know if we should be giving advice but if I'm pressed I'd have to say be open to ideas and do whatever it is that you want to do regardless of expectations. If you're yourselves then that comes across in your music and its just such a more honest and satisfying listening experience. What else? I guess the more you rehearse, the more fluid you'll be as a unit and the song writing becomes more immediate. Communication is also a huge factor in being able to go forward pro-actively. Lack of it will just be counter productive and - if you hang out a lot - inevitably feed resentment. There's never really one guilty party so as long as you're forthright with one another about how you feel about ideas then really everyone should be on the same page and resolutions can be made.



Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional (or any other type of) support?

Not financial that's for sure. We're scraping the coffers. Haha! Our partners and families who have to put up with our Ritual obsession. My lovely fiancee refers to the band as my 'wife' in jest which probably sums it up best. Our rehearsals are sacrosanct which is where the name of the band derives from. Sunday jams are a ritual unto themselves and our nearest and dearest put up with a lot as a result.



How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with songs or a demo CD etc?

At this moment in time, we don't have anything physical but we've got three tracks available online to check out plus a pretty sweet remix by Brighton-based producer, Mavigh. The EP produced by Matty Moon will undoubtedly have some kind of physical release but that's a little too far away to discuss with any real clarity. Anyone who wants to hear what we're about can check us out via our Linktree (https://linktr.ee/ritual_band_uk) which connects to all our social media.



Do you have any upcoming shows?

Funny, you should ask...we do! We're playing 'Castlefest' in Luton at the 'UK Centre for Carnival Arts' on Saturday 28th September. It's with a host of stellar bands and artists so well worth checking out. Then following that we're playing our own night at Club 85 in Hitchin for a Day of the Dead themed Halloween Warm Up Show. That'll be on Friday 25th October alongside our friends in The Best Medicine, Earthbound and Dorylus. It's going to be off the hook so we encourage everyone to come and 'disco, disco' with us.



Any last words?

Why? What are you planning to do to me? This interview has taken a rather sinister turn. I'm off. Bye.