Sunday’s here. The day of roast beef, Yorkshire pud and SINKA…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re all born and raised in Watford!
How did you meet?
Shaun (guitar & vocals) has known Jack (drums) since school, and I (Matt, bass guitar) met the guys when we went to college.
How long have you been playing as a band?
After college, Shaun and I started playing together in a couple of different settings, with a constantly evolving line-up. But as soon as we tried playing as a three-piece things really began to flow, and we developed SINKA. Jack joined the band late last year and since then it’s been nonstop writing and rehearsing ready for all the shows to come!
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
It’s a good story with that one (I think so at least!) When the band first started and was going through various iterations, it went by Sin-Kaprice. Which was ‘inspired’ by a Kapri Sun carton! And after the last lineup change we settled on SINKA!
What are your influences?
As a band there are a few artists we love, another three-piece Biffy Clyro has been a band we all love for a long time!
Individually we’re very heavily influenced by a lot of the new(er) rock bands on the scene currently, for example I love bands like Don Broco & Lower Than Atlantis. Shaun has always taken influences from Muse and Jeff Buckley, especially in lyricism and vocals. Jack brings a slightly different flavour from bands like Periphery and Tesseract. Together we can all contribute our inspirations to make a SINKA song.
We currently have a playlist titled ‘Songs to SINKA your teeth into’ on Spotify which covers the top artists that we were listening to and inspired us as we wrote our forthcoming EP F.W.Y.K.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We are an alternative rock band, we have been compared recently to Royal Blood, Nothing But Thieves and sometimes a bit of Muse. (Daniel P Carter from the Radio 1 Rock Show said “Fussy” reminded him of Queens Of The Stone Age.)
Shaun has always been an extraordinarily talented songwriter and brings a solid stream of really good songs/ideas. Then when we get together and add all the parts, pulling from our inspirations we create a distinct SINKA song.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Shaun is always writing, whenever he has a minute to spare it will be focused on music. His passion shows in every aspect of what he brings to the band, with regards to his lyrics, Shaun says the lyrics all have depth and are very personal to the point where it can be nerve-wracking putting them up for people to see. He’s a huge fan of Jeff Buckley and the way he weaves absolute poetry into his music. Shaun writes with metaphors often to cover especially revealing lyrics which he doesn’t want the world and their nan to know, but also because he wants people to really read into the lyrics and pull them apart to understand where he’s coming from.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Hard hitting, powerful and energetic! We want to make our live show entertaining and impressive as possible. I have the most freedom on stage, while not singing, so I’ll be providing some energy for those watching to feed off. When the crowd is really feeling what you’re playing and giving you a lot back nothing can compare to it! It’s the best feeling.
Jack is solid on the drums, rocking out and keeping us all in time! Shaun’s vocals are just as impressive live as they are on record, and he’s not too bad on the guitar as well!
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Given the opportunity Shaun and I love getting amongst the crowd, that connection and energy is brilliant for us to feed from and put everything we have straight into the show.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Drums – Tama Superstar Hyperdrive (All Maple Shells in Classic Cherry Wine finish w/ Black Nickel Shell Hardware)
- 22” Kick Drum
- 12” Rack Tom 1
- 10” Rack Tom 2
- 14” Floor Tom 1
- 16” Floor Tom 2
- 14×5” Matched Snare Drum
Cymbals – Istanbul Xist (B20 Alloy)
- 14” Xist Hi-Hats
- 18” Xist Crash
- 16” Xist Crash
- 20” Xist Ride
Sticks – Ahead JJ1 Speed Metal
These sticks are designed to be beaten to crap, and they are ultra-light. Yes they are pricey but they last so much longer than any regular drum sticks!
Bass – Ibanez BTB205, I love using a 5 string bass for the extra low end, it helps to create a massive sound in our songs, and gives me that extra versatility.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our current single “Fussy” has been getting some great support and we’re now in the run up to releasing our debut EP F.W.Y.K coming late spring/early summer time, and we’re incredibly excited for everyone to finally hear it! If you’ve been to a live show or are coming to one soon, the tracks will be nice and familiar. The EP will be a taste of what’s to come for SINKA, and we’ve picked our favourite tracks and the ones that show the range we have to offer.
What are your plans for 2019?
Coming up in 2019 we’ve got our first music video coming for our single “Fussy”, followed by the release of the EP F.W.Y.K!
We’re playing loads of shows, including a slot on Camden Rocks Presents with some other incredible bands and Camden Rocks on Sunday 2nd June at The Monarch. We are able to venture further and further afield to get to play in front of more and more people which is incredible! So, please keep an eye on our socials @Sinkaband for any shows near you!
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!
I think a band we would love to be able to support would be Biffy Clyro! They are incredible musicians and performers and have been massive influences for all of us. We would have All Aboard Gloria as our opener, they put on a great show and I like to think our styles go hand-in-hand! (Plus they do a nice Biffy cover for good measure ;) would make for a great show!
Header photo by Performer.Live
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