What are your names?
Braden – Guitar/Vocals Bambi – Bass Mike – Drums

What is the bands name?
Square Wave

How did you come up with the bands name?
We’re really into fuzz and distortion, we’re big pedal fanatics so it’s just a reference to the process the signal goes through in producing the effects.

What is your genre of music?
I suppose you could put us in a few different brackets. We try not to pigeon-hole ourselves too much but we’ve been called a few things: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Psychedelic, Grunge.

Give us a little bio about you.
So the band first started off with Bambi and myself. We’ve both been in bands in the local scene in Southend since we were fairly young, playing on the same bill a few times and having quite a few mutual friends but we never properly spoke. We eventually got chatting when I opened for our friends band Kasakela – they’re a really great band with some super exciting stuff coming out this year so keep an eye out for them! So yeah, we got chatting and realised we had a lot in common in terms of musical influences and tastes. We started jamming together with no intention of forming a band or anything but after our first session it was clear that we already had melodies coming together and it was then that we decided to form a band. We played around with a few different drummers we found through friends and online. When we eventually found Mike we invited him to come play with us at our local practise studio. We turned up on the day and I could hear this crisp breakbeat coming from within the studio, I turned to Bambi and said “woah! Whoever that is, we need someone who can play like that!” We got into the room and there was Mike, the secret culprit behind those filthy breakbeats!

What made you go in to music?
Personally, I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t want to make music and play guitar. I think my earliest memories of music would be when I first heard “We Will Rock You” on the tv when I was probably about 3 years old and subsequently stomping around the house all day screaming my head off and clapping my hands together!

Are you a signed?
We’re not signed at the moment, no. We’ve self-released our debut and we’re keeping options open as much as possible at the moment.

Your set to release your new single ‘Luvy Duvy’, tell us more about the mini-album.
The single will be our first release, we’re really excited about it. We feel it’s a good introduction to the band and sums up our general style.

What is the meaning behind ‘Luvy Duvy’.
The concept behind Luvy Duvy is kinda that idea of seeing the world through somebody else’s eyes when falling in love with them. When you truly fall in love with someone it shapes the whole perspective you have on the world. It can change your world in such a way that it can feel completely alien to you and I’ve always found that magical.

Describe the track in two words.
Interplanetary Groove

What was the writing process like?
This track was one of the first ones we tried piecing together years back. It’s been in the bank for a while. It’s something that’s developed a lot in terms of structure but the chords and lyrics were all put together from the very beginning.

What was the recording process like?
We had the best weekend of our lives. Dan over at Buff Records treated us like family and knew exactly what we wanted to do with the track. It’s great to have that connection with someone in the studio. The entire atmosphere was relaxed the whole time and we just enjoyed trying out loads of little touches like matching bass and drum fills. I got to play a bunch of really nice guitars too which is obviously enjoyable.

Who did you work with on the single?
We got Dan from Buff Records in Hackney to produce and engineer the track and we got it mastered over at Abbey Road.

Will we see a music video for ‘Luvy Duvy’?
There will be a music video! We have been working with a close friend of ours who is a fantastic director and screenwriter. Kristian Fitsall has worked with a few other local artists and he’s a keen supporter of what we’re doing. I’ve acted in one of his videos before and he’s a great person to work with, he gives it his all and the end result is always something unique and professional.

Do you have any shows coming up?
We’ve got some things in the works but nothing that we can announce just yet, you’ll need to follow us on social media to keep up to date on announcements!

What else can we expect in Early 2020?
Loads of gigs and new content. There may be some surprises along the way as well!

Do you have any collaborations coming up with any up coming artists? We’re not collaborating musically with anyone at the moment. We are always finding new artists and there are a few artists who we are looking to put some shows on with at the moment. We enjoy organising and running gigs with other bands, it’s good to build that community and we just enjoy seeing a lot of other new bands at the moment.

Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
A musical collaboration isn’t something that we’re actively looking for at the moment. However, if there are any artists out there who are looking to get in contact then just drop us a message on one of our social media pages. We’re keen for people to send us their music because we’re always looking for new bands.

Do you play any instruments?
I play guitar.

Who are your influences?
We each listen to a fairly broad range of music and we’re pretty much influenced by everything we hear.

How do you get inspiration to write songs?
I have a pretty keen interest in books and films so a lot of the lyrical inspiration comes from that. I like a lot of sci-fi and horror stuff. I like when you find something fictional that can accurately represent a feeling.

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
I’m pretty keen to move to London. We spend most of our time there going to gigs and Mike’s already living there so it would be great for us to all be closer. My dream would be to have a living situation where we can write and record everything from home, we already do a lot of home demo stuff and we really enjoy that whole process.

When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
I work an office job in London and when I’m not doing music I’m usually watching movies and occasionally helping my other creative friends with different projects.

What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
There’s so many songs I’ve heard that make you just think “Wow! This has boosted my inspiration and reasserted that music is what I want to do”. If I had to pick one song that I’d always go back to it’d be “A Day In The Life” from Sgt. Peppers. That track just has the best opening line of any song ever “I read the news today, oh boy…” and it just takes you on this wild journey throughout, definitely a huge inspiration for me.

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Take all advice with a pinch of salt, what has worked for somebody else might not work for you and you need to stay self-aware and analytical.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
I think it’s hard to give general advice without knowing an artists specific position or state of mind. I guess something to consider would be just to trust your instincts, a lot of people overthink their creative process, sometimes there can be more beauty and feeling in simplicity.

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
It’s cool to be kind.

Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
The Pink Toothbrush! That’s our regular haunt for sure. Get a couple Rodney’s and dance so your feet don’t stick to the floor…

Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first? – Other than going home you could probably find me in The Pink Toothbrush that night or whichever local Wetherspoons.
2/ Who do you see first? – I’d probably go home and see my dog first. He’s the most amazing little Lhasa with the characteristics of a small boy. He’s a hairy little bro for sure.
3/What do you eat first? – Probably like stir-fry or something

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
– Tune your instrument! – That’s a huge one for me, I play a lot of vintage-y kinda guitars and hollowbodies. I play with a lot of vibrato and bends so I have to battle to keep them in tune.

-Meet people – There’s a bit of a culture recently, I’m not too sure why, where bands seem to not want to meet the people at the show. I don’t know whether it’s some sort of ego trip or something but I just think it’s really lame. Part of putting on a show is the chance to hang out and meet new people and if you’re not going to get involved in that then you’re a bit of a party pooper!
-Keep an eye on the time/set-up and load out efficiently –

-You don’t want to be the band who overruns their set or takes too long setting up. It’s just bad form as it means that other bands don’t get an equal opportunity to share their sound. We always make sure to be on time and ready to set up so everyone can enjoy more music throughout the night!

-Don’t sweat the small stuff – We like to do slightly different things for shows to add a bit of atmosphere like adding some stage lights or adding video with projectors. It’s great and it’s a lot of fun but never let all of the smoke and mirrors distract you from the reason you’re there – to play the songs and have a good time.

-Have fun – It’s got to be the most important one. A show should be a party, not a job. If you’re not having fun then people are going to pick up on that and you’re just going to bum people out. Remember not to have too much fun though! Don’t get too wasted, unless you can pull that off and that’s your thing… but there are definitely a lot of people out there who think it’s their thing until they see the photos the following morning

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
We’re on Facebook Instagram