Interview with Electron

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Answer: well, I remember that the first artist that got me was Lenny Kravitz, but it was Aerosmith with a Joe Perry guitar solo that made me want to become a musician. I’m not sure what any of us would be doing today, as we all have been living with and for music since we were babies… Pretty hard to picture our lives any other way, you know?

 What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Answer: Well, we usually like to read, listen to music, exercise, cook, watch football or f1… We like to keep ourselves busy when we’re not doing music, and we think that reflects in the energy of our art. 

 How long has your band been around?

Answer: we have been playing together for the past five/six years in multiple projects… We just didn’t know Electron was about to emerge. We started playing shows as Electron in 2022, and since then, we took a long road to get where we’re at today.

 Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

Answer: we’re based in London, but the three of us are Portuguese. We think the experience of everything we went through, leaving Portugal, arrive in the UK and start living in London, the good and the bad stuff that comes with it, has a direct influence on our art; since we make music about what we experience. Our songs are a tale of three punks smacking things up around in London.

 How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Answer: we needed something strong, energetic and bold, to reflect our music. Electron felt natural, we think it describes our music and our personalities to the fullest. 

 Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Answer: each show is important and we enjoy playing any stage, all the time. I think one show that will live in our memories is the Brighton show, supporting King Buffalo. That place was packed, the sound was neat, what an experience! 

 What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Answer: We recently started playing at The Dev for the M2TM London competition, and I got to say that it was a fantastic surprise. What a great venue and environment! My favourite place used to be the Rock Den, unfortunately it ceased to exist. Finding another cult venue is a privilege.

We tend not to think a lot of what we’d like to be playing. I could tell you Wembley Stadium, the O2, or Electric Ballroom. But what’s the point, you know? This industry is a long, slow ride: you have to enjoy each moment otherwise you’ll get lost in the frustration. We’re very happy to be playing where we’re playing, and of course, we’d love to be massive already, but those things come with patience and persistence. We just need to keep working and those times will come. 

 If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Answer: Us, Scatter The Tribe, Them Bloody Kids and Regional One. What a killer lineup it’d be. Some of the best bands I’ve ever played with. Just imagine if we can make that show happen…

 What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Answer: don’t focus too much on the future, otherwise you won’t enjoy the first stages of a band. It’s a beautiful phase that people usually don’t enjoy it, because they’re too focused on getting out of it. Practice, practice, practice, make mistakes, play live, record, release, repeat.

 If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Answer: don’t go to Stoke on Trent to record 3 demos, it’s not worth it! 

Stoke was the 3rd city we’ve visited in the UK. Imagine, having seen London, Guildford and then a reality shock like Stoke… There was a massive hole on the ground of the shopping centre. And that was 5 or 6 years ago. Is it fixed now?!

 Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Answer: They’re all special, every song is  about something of our lives. “Burning Inside” is super special to me (Jason), because it talks about how I felt and how I still feel about someone who passed away way too soon, due to illness. It’s about how I deal with the concept of death, and how this particular event influenced my life. Every day I think about that person, and I get flooded with stress, and I get angry at life… It's tough for me to describe it, but since that tragic day, I haven’t had a day that I haven’t thought about her. I miss her, and I’m super angry that I can’t be with her anymore. And that song helps me a bit, it calms me down, and feels great to sing it live, even though it is challenging as from the moment I sing, I start picturing her face. But I look at this song as an homage to the great person she was, and as long as someone is listening or singing it, she will live.

 Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Answer: We love to play this new EP, songs kickass in the practice room. At our shows everyone wants “Break Me” and “burn it down”, people go nuts with those 2.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Answer: like we’ve previously said, it’s our lives. We’re inspired by what we do, what we go through, what we feel… and yes, the music we listen to also inspires us, but our music it’s 100% ours. 

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Answer: We tend to talk more about emotions, rather than anything else. We love Dali and Munch; and we’re inspired by all forms of art. We picture is as a painter, if there’s this emotion that we want to portray we make a song about it. It’s a bit like that, and we can definitely notice it in our songs.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Answer: Minimal stuff, more like “what time tomorrow?”, “9am?”, “that’s too soon”. It’s silly but that’s our level of disagreements. We have just been through so much stuff in the past years, that we’re all super like minded and think like one. It definitely made us stronger and we believe that’s why there is no drama in this band.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Answer: Our new EP will drop in May, and our single number 2 “The Unbound” will come out April 19. Stay tuned and stay metal.