Band of the Day: Khaidian

When you have a new album out and you’ve already made videos for half the tracks, you deserve to have people hear about you. Don your studded reading glasses and find out more about Khaidian…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

The band mainly hail from London, UK.

How did you meet?

I (John) met Joe through some online forums years ago. I knew his past bands and he knew mine, so we had a mutual respect for each other. We played a few shows live with a different lineup but ended up swapping out the drummer and singer for Paul and Andy. I think that was through Gumtree or something. Andy lost his shit when he heard what we’d written and got in contact with both Paul and Perrin to see if they would be into it as well. Perrin was in GraVil and as such wasn’t available, but Paul took up the drum throne. As it happens, when GraVil went on hiatus last year, Paul had left the band due to family commitments, so Perrin came in and is now a permanent fixture.

How long have you been playing as a band?

As this lineup since May 2018, but the band has essentially existed in this guise since 2013. That’s when the Khaidian sound really solidified with Andy joining. We’ve all come from somewhat established bands and have a lot of experience under our collective belts.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

You know, it’s an ancient word for making things really complicated for yourself, but the end result is fucking awesome…

Hahaha, nah, it’s totally made up… The result of asking lots of people what sticks in their head!

What are your influences?

I’m sure you can imagine that we all have some wide reaching bands we are influenced by. I’d say main touchstones for us all though are bands like Deftones, 12 Foot Ninja, Faith No More, NIN, Tool, Meshuggah. We all have other stuff we’re into though. Music needs to be enjoyed like any other art; widely and without prejudice.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

Every band thinks they are unique… every one! We’re but a sum of our parts, it’s just how as musicians we choose to interpret them. Listen to it, we’re trying to write songs with hooks and groove, but we’re also heavy with some interesting soundscapes and electronica in there. Andy only sings as well, as we made a conscious decision to avoid what is now a cliché of ‘screaming followed by angelic singing’. We aren’t just trying to retread the same path as another ‘more successful band’ in hope of our own success. Fuck that.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

Andy’s lyrics are from a personal perspective. He uses music and his lyrics to definitely work through a lot of his rage, but there’s also exploration into loss, drugs and music itself, among a lot of other things.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

We’ve done some touring of the UK previously, but as this lineup, a handful so far.

Where we can, we do try to have video projections when we play. We try to make it an experience rather than just a gig. It also gets fucking mental onstage. If we don’t limp offstage covered in sweat and bleeding, we’ve not done our job.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Personally I’ve done some mad shit, like playing on top of a PA system or finding myself playing on the bar the other side of the room. I know we all have injuries stemming from throwing ourselves around onstage.

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

John – Ibanez RGD2127FX, Whammy, Focusrite Clarett 8Pre, Ableton Live using Bias FX and Turnado. Into a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170 and custom Framus Cobra 4×12 loaded with V30s.

Joe – ESP F Series extended scale bass, Sansamp into Warwick Profet 3.2 and 4×10 cab.

Perrin – Pearl Masters BRX, Sabian Cymbals, Evans head, Vater drumsticks.

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

Our album Penumbra will be out on 18th January on Armalyte Industries. You can pre-order now.

We also have videos for 5 of the tracks on our Youtube Channel. Another 2 should hit in the near future, so it’s worth subscribing, they’re all made by us directly:

What are your plans for 2019?

Well, other than releasing Penumbra, we should be playing some key dates. The first we’re playing is an intimate show with our mates in Pteroglyph and Slave Steel at the Unicorn in London on the 13th Jan. Should be a blast!

We’ll also be releasing the last 2 videos from our album and then knuckling down to finish album number 2!

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

Tough choice! I’d probably swing for Deftones headline, although we might be a little heavier. As for support, I’d say Derange. Lovely people and great band. We’re hoping to do something in the future with them anyway.

From previous Band of the Day, Absolute Hero: What do you like to do on your down time on tour?

Downtime? What’s that? In bands nowadays you do everything yourself. Even when you’re not doing something directly, you’re probably thinking about it. For example, we produced this album almost completely ourselves and that includes 7 music videos, so there’s very little time available to us. When we do though, we enjoy hanging out with each other. When we don’t, music, film, TV, books, and consumption of most media is usually on the cards.

From another BotD, Divided Minds: What has been your favourite venue to play?

For myself? The tent stage at Hellfest (when I was in Interlock) was amazing. As a band, I kinda miss the 12Bar club as the vibe was awesome. Unfortunately it’s closed now.

And from Nale: If Jesus played in a band, which instrument would he play?

An extended scale 12 string bass. He’d tap all over that thing and be annoying as hell.

Khaidian: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube

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