On The Line w/ Black Doldrums
Fantastic Darkness from North London
Goth is a label that is tossed around easily, but nailing its essence? That's a different beast entirely. Black Doldrums, however, absolutely get it. Their music isn't just dark; it's a profound, resonating darkness that gets under your skin just as it was intended. We were thrilled to get some time with the UK trio: Sophie Landers (drums), Kevin Gibbard, and Daniel Armstrong (bass).
Hello, great to meet you. Where are you based?
London
We love the 'Dying For You' song/video and the Summer Breeze video is the best idea (see below)! What's the next single and are there plans on coming to the states?
We've recently released a video for Tarantula which is the b-side to ‘Dying for You’ and planning on doing some more videos for the album songs, but the single releases happened mostly in the run-up to the album being released in October, 24. We'd love to come to the states, it takes some organising and some visa costs but a proper tour would be in the works hopefully in the next couple of years.
Who was the person that got you into music? Are you still in touch with them?
Sophie: I had a friend at school whose stepdad was a punk in the 70's so when I was about 15, she introduced me to bands like The Clash and it kind of went from there, previous to that I'd already got into music like Kate Bush and Adam and The Ants.
Kev: My uncle played guitar and lived across the road, he showed me a few chords and introduced me to The Beatles.
What's been the biggest non-music inspiration for you lately?
Sophie: I study psychology and a lot of what I talk about is picked up and put into the lyrics and themes of the music and then used in the videos as well, which I think unconsciously, there's been some David Lynch cross over regarding our imagery due to similar themes around the uncanny particularly with videos like Dying For You and Tarantula.
“The upfront costs of touring can make things challenging, you really have to be willing and able to do that for yourself which is hard.”
What do you think is the biggest challenge that new artists face?
Being noticed amongst privilege, nepotism and making it on your own without a huge amount of wealth behind you. Social media is a good tool but on the other hand it's controlled by money. Major labels are now paying influencers on TikTok to use singles from their artists to go viral but it's not real and when you're aware if these issues it can be frustrating to know this is what you're up against. The upfront costs of touring as well can make things challenging, you really have to be willing and able to do that for yourself which is hard.
What's something you've had to overcome?
Finding a small team of people to back you up and work just as hard as you. We're grateful for our booking agent, label, driver friend as well, but it can take a while to find people who are reliable and want to put in that effort, once you have that, you can't take it for granted.
For the songs we've heard online, how are those being recorded? What's the recording process?
Haha, find the money first of all, find someone you can work with who won't rip you off as it seems to be industry standard that the artist comes last, no but seriously, it's probably too much to put into one paragraph but in today's climate, it's a long process but rewarding when someone sounds the way you imagined it. You need to have an open mind and be willing to experiment and take the time to lay everything down and really the mixing part and preparation is key.
What's been the best thing that's happened since the band started?
Hard to narrow down as there's always 'best moments' as they come and pass, but probably currently being asked to tour with Archive and play 3k cap venues in Europe mainland. Fans singing lyrics back at you at gigs and people telling you the effect your music has on them, when they can really relate to you is amazing.
As I Start To Catch Your Eye, Please Don’t Tur Away And Hide, Don’t Hide The One No One Knows, A Painted Smile That Doesn’t Show, Now That I’m Dying For Your
- “Dying For Your from” from In Limerence
Have you had an "it happened for a reason" moment in the recent past? ? Something you weren't happy about at the time but turned out to be a good thing?
We initially wanted our first EP to be on our current label Fuzz Club, but due to scheduling they couldn't take it, I suspect it probably just missed the mark musically and it was a blow for us at the time, but looking back, we're so glad it didn't get the exposure it could have had because creatively we've developed so much since then that the previous two albums were the right time for us to be signed to them.
What platforms have been the most helpful with getting your music heard? Bandcamp, YouTube, IG etc.
Definitely YouTube and Instagram for directing traffic. Dying For You is at 20k streams in 2 months on YouTube and gained us many new followers, it was just amazing for us to feel understood by so many people, musically and visually.
How would you define success for the band?
Having people really understand where you're coming from and feeding it back to you at shows and generally seeing what it means to people to follow your music and the excitement they feel when they discover you. A lad in Cornwall had been listening to us for years and then finally saw us last month and telling us how excited he was. People who travel miles to come and see you, having our music as part of their lives and them telling us this. It feels good to get your music into mainstream press but direct conversations with the people at your shows means so much more.
Photo Credit: Live B&W by Alan Goud | Full band by Alex Amoros. Follow @blackdoldrums
