Mix-uppers INSIGNS combine the likes of indie rock, alternative, and alternative pop, going on to release a handful of content. Newer content will be released with even more already in the works. The band goes on to say much about their works and what the future holds.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
The band was created in 2014 in the small town Cherkasy in the center of Ukraine and we had a lot of changes. But something never changed. I mean lyrics in English. From the very beginning, we had the original songs, so we were never be a cover band. We used to play grunge and post-grunge. I'm the only one from the original squad, by the way, so I saw how my band has transformed. I liked a lot Three Days Grace and their frontman Adam Gontier, so my music was kinda similar to them. At the same time, I'm still a huge fan of City And Colour which plays Indie Folk. These genres formed the stream of In Signs from the very beginning. I was trying something new for In Signs. Many members left the band. We even had a girl on the vocals and I was a guitarist and backing vocalist. I'm glad that we went through a lot of such things, it helped a lot.
We played in the local bars, sometimes we played in few towns in Ukraine. Everything has changed when I moved to Kyiv. Here I met our manager Max, our first sound producer Bob, our current sound producer Vitalii and our guitarist Oleg. The bassist Bogdan was with me almost from the start. He didn't move to Kyiv so he's always driving to us each time we need him. We're still waiting for him to move:) In Signs don't have a drummer as a band member now. We used to ask professional drummers to come to the studio. In the future, we will act the same with the concerts cause currently, we don't have any tour activity.
In Kyiv, we released EP called 'Find Your Home' which is a respected message to our origins as a band. All songs from the EP are old school grunge and alternative rock. I decided to change the genre cause I'm tired of grungy guitars but I'm sure that in the future we will release a single I used to play before. I'm glad that we released this EP. The song Too Much reminds me of the old days when I just grab my guitar and went to practice with the band.
After EP we started to work with another sound producer so the latest songs were produced by me and him.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
In 2014 we were 'The Signs' but this name has been changed to 'In Signs' after 1 year just because we wanted to.
I think I always wanted the name Signs for the band. That's because I had a lot of signs in my life about music and that one outlined the man I need to be. So the band's name is a shorter version of 'Everything you need in the life is hidden 'In Signs'. I remember how I wrote down these lines in my first notepad for the lyrics. And such signs never left me.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are currently located in the beautiful old city Kyiv, Ukraine. And there are some good places the bands can play in. Before the lockdown, we played in Stereo Plaza as a support band. This place is one of the biggest in Ukraine for having a concert. We played there in February 2020 and 2 weeks after our show, we came there to Bring Me The Horizon’s concert. It was so emotional for us.
Also, we played in Atlas club in Kyiv as a support band before Danny Worsnop's solo concert. But this time we played an acoustic set. It was such a pleasure for us to met him. Great musician and person.
Unfortunately, in Kyiv we don't have many places where bands can play live. The band needs to have at least a small budget to be able to organize the show even in another city. I believe that it may change after the lockdown.
It's hard to recommend someone local in Kyiv because usually there are some metal bands or pop artists. I don't know the bands which play such music as we do. But I can recommend the band Sinoptik which plays stoner rock. For sure I can recommend Jinjer but I don't know if I can call them a local band. Now they are international world metal stars.
4. How would you describe your style?
It's a really hard question. We don't lock ourselves with just one genre. But I can say that we play a mix of Indie Rock, Alternative Music, and Alt-Pop. The next releases will prove it.
I care a lot about lyrics and music. I don't want that someone calls us a commercial band or something like that. I don't write about money or cars (I mean in a bad way). The real emotions, love, hate are much more important.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Before I moved to Kyiv we released 36 songs (3 albums and 3 singles). I recorded, mixed and mastered all of them at home. The quality was not good, to be honest, but some songs had more than 1000 listeners around the globe in Spotify. Of course, I deleted everything we had when we started to work on 'Find Your Home' EP in the studio.
Then we started to work with Vitalii from the VD Sound on our new stuff. We released the first song in Ukrainian, then we released an English version of it. It’s called 'Blood For Blood'. Originally, this is was written in English and consists of two songs I wrote before. The Ukrainian version is not just a translation but a brand new lyrics. It was a cool experience I must say. This song was in the Spotify editorial playlist which helped us to grow.
The latest release is called 'Knock Knock' which is a pure banger. This is the sound I was looking for. Our sound producer just dropped me a melody idea from his voice memos. In few minutes I replied to him with the chorus idea. That chorus is actually the chorus in the final version.
Soon we will release the new single called 'Bloom'. I love this song a lot cause I wrote it a few years ago but now we have a better sound of it. It has definitely Indie Rock vibes and strong lyrics so I’m so excited about it.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
Our studio work never stops. Except 'Bloom' we are working on the next songs. I wrote around 60 demos of different songs. Usually, it doesn’t take to much time for me. When I have an inspiration, the song creation process is around ten minutes. I just take an acoustic guitar, notepad and pan.
We will listen to demos together and decide which one needs to be released next. Our listeners will be highly impressed by our new stuff cause it is something new not just for us but for the whole industry. Of course, I want to make something new. I like to be experimental so our music won't let you be bored.
On the Instagram account, I usually played live on the acoustic guitar. Some new stuff I played already.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
I didn't plan anything so far. The coronavirus affected everything, and we don't know how to manage the situation. Many bands played live concerts or tried to find another way. I think that In Signs is doing the best what any artist can do - be in the studio and working on the new music. We believe that covid-19 will disappear soon and then we can start playing and touring.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
First of all, I want to say that I always wrote songs in English. It's not the usual thing here in Ukraine. That's because from my childhood I used to listen to The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Scorpions, and Oasis. Then I started to listen to Linkin Park and all kinds of Alternative Rock. I'm saying that because I always wanted to be on the international level so my music can be heard around the globe. I expect that In Signs can make a huge impact on the rock industry and we can prove that real music with strong lyrics can live forever.
After the lockdown, we want to sign an agreement with a concert agency company and go on tour. Let's see how we can start. Life is changing each day but I will never lose my faith in In Signs.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
All our music is on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more. We have an Instagram account where we upload all updates. But also we have a YouTube channel. We’re filming the studio process all the time so you can find something interesting for you there.
We stopped doing merch because of covid-19 but we will continue as soon as we can.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
I hope that all our listeners can understand the message we want to deliver and this message will resonate with them. I hope they can feel the emotions and passion from us cause this is the most important thing in music - make you feel something. I always remember a lead melody and the lyrics, but it's just my personal view on that. Just listen to our songs and let us know what do you think. We always respond to all messages on Instagram. Thanks to our fans we’re growing.
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