Ceiling Demons have been busy up in the Yorkshire Dales recording a new album which they now plan to turn into a live performance piece. Roisin Kelleher tracked them down for a chat about their music, their influences and recording shotguns.
First off, how’s your year going and what are your plans for the near/further future?
2013 is going very well so far. We’ve been recording our debut LP in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales and are currently finishing work on it, whilst looking for the right label to work with. We believe it to be something very unique and aim to release it later in the year. At the moment, we are transforming the project into a live performance and aim to debut Ceiling Demons live in the second quarter of this year. We are looking for promoters, venues and events that will compliment our music and currently have sessions booked with the BBC Introducing programme, which will air in May.
You have a pretty unique sound. What inspires it?
We take inspiration from singer-songwriters and bands such as Spiritualized, Bright Eyes, Joy Division & The Eels as well as Hip Hop artists such as Saul Williams, WHY?, Scroobius Pip & Fliptrix. When it comes to lyricism, we are drawn to substance. Beat Demon likes to use samples in an expressive way and takes inspiration from producers such as Nujabes, DJ Shadow and Leaf Dog.
What other personal inspirations do you have which contribute to your life musically or otherwise?
The impressions left upon us from our roots, past experiences, friends, family, loss, concerts, festivals, dope, stout, planets & stars. The inevitable peaks and valleys of life.
How important is image to you when it comes to promoting your music?
Imagery is incredibly important. We are living in a digital age, where we are all constantly interacting with screens. The relationship between music and image is more interwoven than ever. The presentation of music is not just about the music itself and that is something we are very conscious of. You just have to remember that all these screens are looking right back at you, it’s a reflection, but you have control of what you see.
What are your earliest musical memories?
We have vivid memories of our father singing ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’, our brothers listening to stuff on the radio like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and film soundtracks such as ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ & ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’. Psy’s first record was Slipknot’s self-titled LP. Beat Demon’s first memories of music are of his father playing Style Council, but he considers hearing Changes by 2Pac at age 10 as the only important moment of his life.
Which other bands/artists do you admire at the moment/in general?
We admire many artists collectively. Recent favourites include Edward Scissortongue, Young Fathers, Haleek Maul, Hurts, Serengeti Doctrines.
How do you think social media makes it easier/harder for artists to promote themselves?
It makes it very accessible but due to this accessibility it can be over-saturated. To use it successfully artists must put in a lot of work, really challenge themselves or bring something fresh to people’s attention. It’s all about time and place. Keep slaying.
Do you place more emphasis on music or lyrics when writing? Or are they both perfectly equal?
Both are extremely important to us. Psy & Dan concentrate mostly on the words whereas Beat Demon focuses on the beats and the production involved. We help each other with input, but respectively leave each other to create in their field.
What do you think you would be doing/would like to be doing if not music?
Digging graves in the Yorkshire Dales.
Finally, tell us something interesting about yourself, anything you feel like sharing!
The debut single from our upcoming LP features gun shots that we recorded ourselves. The man that owned the studio had a couple of shotguns knocking about so we fired some shots into the stratosphere and recorded it.
Shout out to all the Demons showing us love. Keep checking the Ceiling above.
Ceiling Demons can be found on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, BandCamp, and ReverbNation.
All words by Roisin Kelleher. More work on Louder Than War by Roisin Kelleher can be found here.
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