Films, gothic, supernatural, life, space, and the universe, meet Hybrid Spirits
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
Hybrid Spirits are :
Nigel Rooke – Vocals, lyrics, keyboards and drum programming.
Paul Kirk – Vocals, lyrics, keyboards, guitars and drum programming.
Voodoo Jade – Vocals and lyrics
The word Hybrid describes our music, as we don’t believe that we sound like anybody else. Our music can’t be pigeon-holed, and our releases can vary. We chose to add the name “Spirits” to our band name because we all get along really well, like 3 kindred spirits.
To date, our released have varied from rock to electronic, from alternative to ambient!
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Our new EP “Mirage” is a 4 track EP with various types of music. It starts with “Rain or Shine” which was released as a charity single in July. It is a song to reflect feelings of hope and solidarity during the Covid-19 lockdown, and sales from it will be raising money for the International Committee of the Red Cross for those affected by Covid-19 across the world.
https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/covid-19-emergency-appeal
We will continue fundraising until the end of April 2021, so it’s not too late to buy a copy of the charity single (£1.50 or more) to support the cause at our Bandcamp page : www.hybridspirits.bandcamp.com
Also on the EP is “Mysteria-Hysteria” Our homage to horror films inspired by Hammer Horror Films and AHS Roanoke. A dramatic song to get the blood pumping and the heart beating faster, with a few goosebumps along the way. Perfect for Halloween and fans of horror films. Intro spoken by the Late Boris Karloff from the film “Black Sabbath”, Outro spoken by the Late Bela Lugosi from the film “The Black Cat”. This song was very popular at Halloween!
The song “Mirage” is about a vampire and combines elements of a gothic stage musical with powerful and dramatic consequences whilst conjuring up stark images of devastation and chaos….in the desert! It has a soft verse/into then all hell breaks loose in the chorus and middle 8!
And the last song “La Vie en Rose et Noire” is about a couple who go on a city break and all hell breaks loose. An initially happy event which goes dreadfully wrong caught up in an incident similar which happened at Charlie Hebdo magazine. The song is partly sung in French. Despite the subject matter, the song has upbeat electronic music and melodic guitar.
WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Work on the song “Mirage” started during 2019, and we felt that it was a very dramatic and
powerful song. 2 other tracks were finished but not released, and we felt that they would go together nicely. The charity single came out of the blue – Paul wrote it a few days before England was put into lockdown, and Voodoo Jade saw it as an opportunity to write something which would instil hope in people and raise money for charity at the same time. As England is about to go into another national lockdown, starting on 5 November, we feel that it’s the perfect time to continue to raise awareness of both the new EP and the charity single Rain or Shine.
CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?
A mysterious EP with a 2 rock/goth songs and 2 lighter songs!
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
For me (Voodoo Jade) it was the album “God’s Own Medicine” by “The Mission”. When it came out, there seemed to be no other music in the same vein. I was at an awkward stage in life as a teenager who didn’t like pop music and at the time didn’t like rock (I do now though!). The sound and feel of this dark music struck a chord with me and I felt that I finally belonged. The people who went to the gigs dressed the same as me (I didn’t know many Goths at the time) and I finally felt at home!
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
Unfortunately, we don’t have any music on video film. We loved the concept/theme of the video for “Walk this Way” by Run DMC and Aerosmith, also the gothic Evanescence video “Bring Me To Life”.
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
Paul and Nigel both work full time so spare time is spent enjoying time with family members and loved ones and writing music and going to gigs (when not in lockdown!). Voodoo Jade works part time so spends other spare time recording vocals or writing lyrics and promoting the band and dealing with social media etc. She loves going to gigs too and occasionally bumps into Nigel as they live in the same city, so have recently enjoyed seeing The Mission, The Cult and Gary Numan.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
We’ve not performed live for a while – not as Hybrid Spirits – but we all recall being nervous before gigs then experiencing an adrenaline rush! We are spread across the UK so it is difficult to get together to rehearse for gigs. We’ll never say never though! Gigs are also difficult as Voodoo Jade is in a wheelchair.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
We formed in 2017 after Paul Kirk met Voodoo Jade via a collaborative project with a mutual friend. Before that, Paul and Nigel were in a band for many years called “Aus der Asche” which became known as “From the Ashes UK”. After the collaborative project, Paul and Nigel invited Voodoo Jade to join them in their music venture, and Hybrid Spirits were born!
HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER?
Paul and Nigel both write songs. They have different writing styles. Nigel will write his own lyrics which can often have an emotional link, but not always. Paul has written a song or two, but usually passes his songs to Nigel or Voodoo Jade to add lyrics/vocals to. It depends on the style of the music, as to who ends up doing the lyrics and vocals, and whose style suits it best. If someone is stuck on a song or a theme, we all share our thoughts on it. Our subjects and styles vary depending on the music and who is writing the lyrics!
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Other music, thoughts, films, gothic and supernatural things, images, life itself, space and the universe, good and bad things in the world
WHAT IS NEXT?
We have already recorded some new songs which will be on a future release. Again, it is a different feel to the music which we’ve already released and would be classed as darkwave/electronic. We are still writing more music for the next EP/album so everything could change yet! We do alternate vocals between Nigel and Voodoo Jade, and the next EP will predominately be Nigel on main vocals. His voice is perfect for darker songs!
The band is also recording relaxation music for a series of meditation tracks which Voodoo Jade is currently working on. There are some tracks for general meditations, and some for the development of psychic awareness/abilities.
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.
Website: www.HybridSpirits.co.uk
Latest Music Release: www.hybridspirits.bandcamp.com
Twitter: @SpiritsHybrid
Instagram @Hybridspiritsband Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridspirits