TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM
We released our debut 7 track EP on October 11th. Some might say it's a mini album, to us it's a collection of songs we're really proud of and want everyone to hear! It's pretty varied and shows many different shades of what we're about.
WHAT INSPIRED ANY CENTRAL THEMES ON THE ALBUM?
Several themes run through the EP. They're inspired mainly from the whole situation we find ourselves in with social media and the mess pretty much the whole world is in. Also lyrically I look within myself and there are some real personal reflections in there. The song UvU in particular is about suffering from Anxieties and depression and not being able to speak about it.
HOW LONG DID YOU SPEND RECORDING?
We recorded very quickly on this release. We did the bulk of the music over a two day weekend. Then I did a day on vocals and Dale did half a day on extra guitar and keyboard. We were very focused going into recording and knew what we were going for sonically. It really pays to be prepared.
HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT THE SONGWRITING PROCESS?
In Toronto Blessings we share writing the music. The best way we normally write is if one of us brings a few ideas in to practice and we'll flesh them out. Normally the ones we write the quickest end up being the best. As for lyrics, I'll try and get some phrasing ideas first and let the song write itself.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE TRACK FROM THE ALBUM?
It's really hard to choose to be honest. But I'll say that two really stick out to me are the title track Asleep and UvU. Asleep just has the perfect ending to the EP as sonically it sounds like the end of the world. With UvU it was me opening up to friends and family about the deep depression I was facing. It was a really emotional track to record, every word I mean and I sang it that way.
WHO ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES?
We really like the rhythmic style of bands like Metz and Viagra Boys. This is something we like to incorporate into our sound. We also like older bands like Killing Joke and The Jesus Lizard. The whole post punk style really speaks to us, but we also love electro music too. We try and put all of these influences in a blender and get something original.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
Toronto Blessings formed from the ashes of our previous band Cavorts. When the singer from Cavorts moved to Germany the three of us who were left kept practicing. We wrote lots of new ideas and songs, so that's when I decided to give it a go at singing. I'd always sang backing vocals and never fronted a band. It was strange at first, but we could tell we had something straight away. We pretty much scrapped a full album of material as it was too similar to bands we'd been in before. So our guitarist Dale bought a dirty analogue synth and we started writing with that. We wrote the song 'Give Nothing' and that pretty much became the blueprint to where we wanted to take the band.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ANYONE STARTING OUT?
Just try to have fun while your doing it. Time goes so fast so try not to beat yourself up if you have a bad gig. Also try and not follow the crowd, try and write music that you would want to listen to.
WHAT IS NEXT?
ANYTHING ELSE YOUD LIKE TO ADD -
Well the Asleep EP has just come out so we're trying to get out there and promote that. We're also trying to finish off the next batch of songs we want to record, hopefully that will take place early in the new year.