motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’re from Sheffield, UK. How would you describe the current music scene there? Do you feel that you’re part of it?

SINCE TORINO: There’s a really cool diy emo scene emerging in Sheffield right now – nine or ten bands full of really nice people making really cool music, going to each others’ shows and just having a really good time. We’ve not been going a full year yet, so we’re still very much babies in terms of the scene, but we definitely do feel part of it and it’s a really cool thing to be part of.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your first two singles ‘Snow’ and ‘Everything Else’. Will they be part of your new album?

SINCE TORINO: They won’t, actually! Snow and Everything Else were probably the two first good songs we wrote together as a band, they feel pretty connected to one another and were recorded during the same studio session. They really felt like our first tentative foot in the water in terms of figuring out what we sounded like together as a band in (relative) hi-fi, the kinds of sounds we wanted to go for and how we work together in a recording environment. We’ve written most of the songs now for a sort of thematically and narratively consistent EP which we’re going to be self recording over the next few months, but that definitely feels separate from these two singles.

MOTEL VOID: Could you tell us more about the recording and writing process of your new songs?

SINCE TORINO: Sure! Most songs begin with an acoustic sketch and some nonsense lyrics, we’ll jam it a few times and if we all feel like there’s something in it worth digging into we’ll keep playing it, exploring avenues and trying loads of stuff out. Alex will inevitably try to add a tempo change, which will take us all at least three practices to grasp, and then it’s the long process of refinement. We’ve got the world’s biggest spreadsheet full of ideas and inspirations for each song, usually with cited examples from across the indie canon to back up our ideas (“hey, wasn’t it cool when The National did this on Guilty Party, let’s do that”), and working out each song’s sonic palette is a super fun and collaborative process. Lyrics tend to take ages to pin down, and they’re usually changing right up until the last second. Everything Else, especially, so much of that was changed right before vocals were recorded in the studio.

MOTEL VOID: Your biggest inspirations right now?

SINCE TORINO: We’re all massive fans of 90s lofi production, where everything kind of sounds like crap but in an endearing way (Silver Jews, Pavement, Frog (especially Kind of Blah, that’s in heavy rotation atm)) and also the super meticulous soundscapey stuff like Sleep Well Beast era The National, Sigur Ros etc. It’s a weird balancing act between those two very different ways of making a record, but super fun to dig into.
With how we sound as a band, especially Alex’s drumming:
American Football
Pinegrove
Slaughter Beach, Dog

In terms of songwriting:
David Berman
Matt Berninger
John K Samson
Mark Kozelek (especially his later, super narrative stuff, everything from Among the Leaves through to his self titled under his own name)
Leonard Cohen

MOTEL VOID: Your plans for 2024?

SINCE TORINO: We’re gonna be recording this EP, hopefully playing a load of shows & a couple of lil festivals in support of that & of the two singles, both in and out of Sheffield. Maybe a music video too!