What are your names?
roves are Ethan Morgan (Vocals/Guitar), Connor Coutts (Guitar), Ellis Morgan (Bass/Vocals) and Matt Jamieson (Drums)
What is the band name?
roves
how did you come up with the band name?
It originally came when we were in a Range Rover. For some reason, roves popped out at me from that and from there, I couldn’t get it out of my head. The definition of to rove being “to travel without a destination” seemed to fit with what we’re doing with the band. It all seemed to fall into place and from there on out it was decided.
What is your genre of music?
If we were to headline it under a wider genre we’d probably say alternative rock. But we find that to be too generic and not really accurate to what we play. We like to use the tagline of ‘ambient and atmospheric sad songs’ we reckon that probably gives a bit more of an insight into our sound.
Give us a little bio about you as a band and as individuals.
Connor and I have known each other our whole lives and grew up in ‘bands’ together from the age of 7 onwards when we first started learning the guitar. Throughout those years of going between different bands we started to work out what sort of music we wanted to play and I guess we stumbled upon our sound in roves. Ellis had played a couple of gigs with us filling in acoustically for other band members in other bands and as my brother he was an easy choice to bring in, especially with similar music tastes. As we were growing up playing in different bands on one side of town, Matt was doing the same on the other and eventually when we settled upon roves and asked around about a drummer, Matt came up and from there on we didn’t look back
What made you go in to music?
The idea of doing what we love for a living. That’s a long way off but if there’s any chance we can travel the world and be successful doing what we enjoy then we’re going to go for it.
Are you a signed?
No we’re not, we like the idea of being independent for now. It’s interesting understanding how the industry works and would never want to rush into anything.
Your brand new single ‘Always’ is out, what’s the meaning behind it?
I wrote always years ago now. I was 14 and thought I needed to fall in love or something dumb like that. When a relationship didn’t work out I was upset and this was the outpouring as a result of it. Looking back now it’s kind of ironic, when you’re young everything feels like the end of the world and so now when I sing the song I look back on those times.
Will we see an EP or Album, at the end of the year?
Hopefully! There’ll be a couple more singles first but we’re aiming for an EP at the end of this year or the start of the next.
Will you be heading out on a tour or have any gigs?
Yes, currently we have a few gigs booked. We play the Time Machine in Wokingham in support of Mellor on the 14th April, The Monarch, Camden on 18th April supporting The Tin Pigeons, and we’re supporting The Brocklebank in Cardiff on the 20th of April. We also have a headline show in Reading at the Rising Sun Arts Centre on 29th June which we’re really looking forward to.
Who are your influences?
As a band we draw influence musically from a wide variety of artists/bands. Ben Howard and Jeff Buckley carry a huge weight especially in some of our quieter more ambient songs, however on the other hand influence from bands with a fuller sound like Moose Blood, Amber Run and even Coldplay can be heard in our music. The “roves sound” is defined by our collective musical upbringings all merged into one.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
I tend to write lyrics from experiences or stories people have told me. It usually just comes from what I want to put down on paper or into song and then hope that’s relatable to other people. It just so happens that I tend to write better sad songs than I do the opposite
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Hopefully still playing and writing music, just to bigger crowds.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Connor and I are at university at the moment so that takes up a fair amount of time. We’ve all had part time jobs as well to keep the money coming in but we have different hobbies as well whether it be sport or photography to keep us going outside of music.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
It’s difficult to single out a singular song that influenced us or me most. My favourite song is a song called Byegone by Volcano Choir and for me it’s a song that is sonically perfect. The ‘roves sound’ definitely took influence from that song so maybe that? I’m not sure.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
A good friend of mine, Scott Stowe who’s a musician from LA, once told me to ‘always be who you are and do what you love, whatever that is, will inspire people’. roves was created as a project of getting to play the type of music I’ve always wanted to play and in the transition to roves that piece of advice stuck in my head.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
I’d pass on that same advice Scott gave me, do what you love but and make sure you put everything into it.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
^feel like I’ve already answered that above
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
I’m not sure if we have 5 things but over anything else it’s important for us to have a good time otherwise what’d be the point. Talking to the crowd from stage is also important to us, I’ve always preferred live bands that interact with the audience, it makes it feel more personal.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
