Today, we sat down with Johanna Rey to talk their current project, advice for musicians and much more!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your
surroundings?
Our songs are inspired by a number of different subjects. Some of the songs on the album are politically focused, some are more personal. I tend to write about how I feel at any given time and it’s a way of me expressing frustration or anger at things I don’t think are fair in society.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
My brother in law got me into the Dead Kennedy’s and bought me a DVD of them playing live. That was my first exposure to heavyish music. I later got into bands like Slipknot, System of a Down and then onto more tech complex stuff like Dillinger and Converge. I try and keep my music taste eclectic but I’m always drawn to the heavy stuff.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
I’ve always admired Jamie Lenman. When he was in Reuben, they were all I listened to for a while and he later featured on Black Peaks album. I got to meet him and just burst into tears (haha). Jamie has been a huge influence on me musically and personally. He just does what he wants to do and does it well, honestly and with good humour.
If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?
Outside of music I also draw and love design. Pete and I tend to do all of the artwork for the band, and I found a flow with the artwork that I did for the Singles (Hate Campaign, Plight and Trial by Choice).
I would like to do more of that and I would probably be creating artwork if I wasn’t doing music.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create
music?
Just pick up a guitar and go for it. When I first got mine, I got it from my cousin and it had been sat in a shed for ages. All the wiring was fucked and it constantly buzzed when I put it through an amp I got at a car boot sale but it did what I needed it to do. Someone I met taught me what a power chord was and the rest is history. I’m definitely not as talented at guitar as Pete or Rob (Bass) are, but I still write as often as I can (almost every day) and every now and again something clicks. If you want to do it, you will.
Tell us about this current release
Reality Fallacy is our debut album and was released on the 14th of October. Trial by Choice is our most recent video and was premiered exclusively on Outburn. Trial by Choice is about the anxiety of decision making. I find it difficult to commit and I will always detriment myself in favour of someone else. This song is about taking ownership of my decisions and deciding to break away from the cycle of trudging through the same mundane choices.
