Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: Hey, we’re from the Isle of Man which is a tiny island between Northwest England and Ireland. I’ve wanted to be a musician for as long as I can remember, I’ve always found music to be the perfect outlet for me and to create professionally has always been my goal.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: The latest 1975 album is fantastic, the diversity is so fresh and forward thinking for a pop artist. I’m a big fan of Beabadoobee, Bad Bad Hats, Fontaines DC, Phoebe Bridgers, they all have a unique approach to their art that I find really inspiring. A newer artist I’ve been listening a lot to recently are Priestgate, there’s a real transcendental feel to their tracks which I can’t get enough of.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘HIGHWAYVES’?
A: Listening to Nirvana for the first time when I was about 10 hit me like a freight train. I’d found my dad’s first mp3 player and Nevermind was the first album in there. I listened to it on repeat. I learnt how to play Smells Like Teen Spirit on an old nylon string guitar and that was it for me, after school I would play 3-4 hours a night just non-stop.
The name HIGHWAYVES wasn’t actually our idea. It was mentioned to us in passing by someone close to us and it really connected with us. We’ve drawn up our own meanings for the name, parallels about being on a journey ‘Highway’ and ‘Waves’ summing up the transcendental influences in the music. We don’t really know how the person who coined the name came up with it, but it really sparked something in all of us, so thank you.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘FRAME IT’. Is there a story behind it?
A: FRAME IT is about the disintegration of a relationship. It happened years ago, which was probably when I first started work on the song, it’s taken years to fully formulate the emotions we were feeling. I didn’t want to write an accusational break-up song, that’s not what the situation was. We really did love each other, but just couldn’t see eye to eye and it was so difficult to accept that. In the end we kind of lost touch because it was too hard on both of us emotionally. Working through FRAME IT was cathartic for me in many ways.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: We’re building up a body of work with interweaving themes, building up to a big release piece by piece. The next single PLASTIC is out March 10th.sound that races from
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: Our sound is contradictory, it races from spacious to suffocating, combining the dark aggression of grunge with dreamlike washes reminiscent of shoe-gaze. Each piece is punctuated with intimate, poetic lyrics that are as personal as they are universal. We want to be earnest and lay bare our deepest emotions for all to join in.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: It’s really early days for us but to see our music connecting with people already is really fulfilling. We’ve had people reach out to us from all over the work and it feels like the start of something special. We’re just going to keep creating and hopefully connecting with even more people.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: We have tonnes of musical ideas to work through. Usually as soon as we start playing chords or riffs, I get an immediate idea of what the subject should be. From there we’ll craft a melody for the whole piece, and finally I’ll write the lyrics. Sometimes the lyrics can come out all at once in about 5 minutes or sometimes they can take years to get right. I don’t force the process and luckily I’ve been given a lot of freedom and space to express myself within HIGHWAYVES
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: For me personally, I was in a signed band when I was 20. We did one tour of the UK then it fell apart and we were dropped. I remember thinking we were on the way to ‘making it’ but things just got worse after we were signed and our love for music was really sapped. Coming back from that disillusionment was really difficult. But a few years down the line, all the guys I was in that group with have managed to carry on making great music which is just awesome to see.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: The most significant moment for me was just playing in a field in the pouring rain in the Isle of Man. We were in this outdoor bar kind of thing so most people were hiding under the tent, well away from us basically not interesting in our music. But out the corner of my eye I saw this group of 17 year old kids standing by the entrance, outside in the rain (the bouncer wouldn’t let them in) and they were soaked head to toe. I’d never met them before, but they stayed there for hours and sung all of our songs word for word. It blew me away and then I knew that the music we make could actually connect with people.
