When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphanies since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
Tough to single out one moment. Music has always been a big part of my life and major events always generally coincide with a soundtrack - certain songs or bands bring me back to those moments when I listen to them years later. That being said, my first one has to be listening to Nirvana's Nevermind as a kid. The contrast of soft tones and aggressive melodies has always stuck with me.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
Not 100% of the time, but mostly a riff or a progression to get the ball rolling. From there the most important step is finding a vocal hook or melody that holds up - the meat and bones from a writing perspective. Themes and lyrics seem to come from an unconscious place to begin, and are then molded around the rhythm, overall structure and the guys’ feedback.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
Inspiration can come from any angle but I enjoy finding new bands and songs. With the live scene opening up, watching other bands as a group is always a great way to be inspired. We disagree in our opinions from time to time, but I think that’s important to find a common sound that we enjoy and reflects us as a group.
We’re based in London. I think The Palpitations are a group that reflects the diversity of the city. We all come from different backgrounds... Romania, South Africa, Reading and London. Those cultures seem to neatly blend together. I guess that’s the beauty of music, it’s a universal language and we try to draw from our diversity as much as we can.
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?
Fight Club
You now write for a music publication (The Ripple Effect?). You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?
Eulogy by Tool. No song tackles the reality of our mortality better.
What one single album do you wish that you'd written or performed on, and why?
Tool, Lateralus. The depth, and collective exploration into a state of mind... I don’t think any other album has been able to take me to that place. It’s a masterpiece for so many reasons.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
We are very proud of all the stuff we put out, it takes time to find our sweet spot and build enough layers to be happy with the depth of our tracks. Of course, our next single Denial is a banger, but we have a few more to follow.
Temple of Thieves, Counterfist, Citizen, Tool and Deftones. Deftones carry so much suspense and gravitas in their compositions, the guitar tones are killer. Tom would add Opeth or Ghost, Nishant would add Bambara.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
Vinyl
Whiskey or beer? And defend your choice
Beer in the afternoon. Whiskey at night... thanks
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
Banquet Records in Kingston
What's next for the band?
We’ve got two new singles to release following Denial and then an EP. Got a busy summer ahead with some great gigs in London, Brighton and Luton to look forward to. Beyond that, a full album is definitely getting closer.
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