Can you tell us a bit about Sunstinger? Where are you from and how did you all meet?

Sunstinger was originally a recording project. We have all been in bands in the area, some of us in bands together. We wanted to just record some stuff and see how things would turn out. We got a few gigs and got the buzz back to start gigging again and it’s just progressed from there.

We are from various small mining villages in Fife, Scotland. Apart from our drummer Nick who was born in Spain but is from our main town in Fife, Dunfermline.

Where did the name Sunstinger come from?

The name means absolutely nothing unfortunately. We just stuck the first two words that came to mind together and that was that. There wasn’t much thought into a name as we did not know where we were going with the project. Do we wish we came up with something else? Maybe.

You recently released new EP Beyond The Frame. Any tracks that stand out as band favourites?

Everyone has different favourites, which I think is a good thing! We have alot of different styles and sometimes we change back and forth… I prefer our more melodic songs like Nothing’s Alright, Leave Me Alone and All My Friends Are High. Whereas our guitarist gourlay prefers the more 80s influenced stuff like The Void and Shimmer.

Who produced Beyond The Frame? Have you worked with them before? How did you find working with them?

The EP was produced by Magnus Collie. He plays a huge part In the way this band sound has developed. He’s pretty much the 5th member. We won’t work with any else, we have no reason to.

What were some of the biggest challenges to overcome when making music, especially during a pandemic?

The pandemic has been challenging trying to keep active. Just before the pandemic hit we were really starting to see the numbers at shows and things were picking up pretty fast. It was unlucky but we kept releasing songs and have managed to keep busy during the time. We just can’t wait to play live again. In this EP we tried to capture the drive and energy of our live shows.

You guys released a lot of new music in 2020, and even before. How would you say Beyond The Frame compares to your older releases?

We experimented with a few different sounds in our releases. I think the EP is what we were building towards. It’s exactly how we wanted it to sound and were very proud of how it’s turned out.

Can we expect any live shows from you guys soon?

Yes, we’re booked to play a hometown show in Dunfermline at PJ Molloys on 8th October. This will be our first show back by the looks of things and we have two great local support acts lined up. T-A and Jupiter Strange.

Where can we find out more about you?

Check our Facebook page and Instagram for updates

Both @sunstinger

And if you haven’t already go and purchase our EP from bandcamp. Grab a limited 12″ vinyl!

And, because they are always forgotten in interviews, any last words from the drummer?

He’s not here but if he was I reckon he would say “quien tiene los doritos?” Then fall back asleep.

Released yesterday, this new song is one to watch out for. The band’s previous track Feel The Same features on our playlist ‘Rock Out’, so this one was set to be a banger!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from and where did the journey into music start for you? 

We are all Londoners who come from all over the place, Italy, India, Australia and Norther Ireland. We have been involved with music, in one way or another, from a very young age. 

If you had to sum yourself up in three words, what would you say? 

Rock And Roll 

You released today your new single Have You Met Me. What does this song mean to you? 

the song was inspired by the realisation that the same way we go down, we come back up; gradually and then suddenly. The antihero protagonist has lived a life of unapologetic excessive in all ways and despite nearing the end, the statement is clear… I won’t go down.  

You released two singles last year, Delicious and Feel The Same. How does this new track compare to these previous releases? 

We released 3! Creep Negativo came out at the end of the year. They are all rock and roll songs, they are all very Ora Violet, they are all honest and put a lot of work into each one of them. This one is a 2 minute feral sonic bullet, so it’s shorter than the others, it differs in this 

Is there still more new music on the way from you? 

Oh yes, plenty more to come out this year 

Can we expect to see any music videos any time soon? 

We have a video for Have You Met Me by Italian artist Pablo Chiereghin, it comes out on June 11th 

What about live dates, now that gigs look set to return soon?

October is when we start playing live again, more info to come soon. 

What is one thing you didn’t expect to have to deal with, while making music? 

As banal as it sounds, Covid 

Where can we find out more about you? 

@oraviolet and on Spotify 

Anything else you would like to tell us? 

Thank you for having us and thank you for your support

Out now across all streaming platforms, this duo have stormed onto the scene. We spoke to them about all things music

Can you tell us a bit about yourselves? Where are you guys from and how did you meet?

So we’re made up of Matt Spencer who plays lead guitar and me, Ewan McLeish and I’m on lead vocals and play guitar. We met through Matt’s older brother Luke who happens to be my best friend, and one day on a kayaking trip we decided to have a jam to see where it took us. We ended up writing songs in the summer of 2020 albeit remote from each other due to the pandemic, by sending riffs and ideas online and building a song until it was completed. I remember the first time we met in person after lockdown we played one of our songs in full that we’d written separately from each other, and it was quite a bizarre feeling. We are based in Chichester and London.

If you had to use three words to sum the other up, what would you say?

Ewan about Matt: Decisive, driven, and a great tour guide when in Camden.

Matt about Ewan: Handsome, Furry, Melody-maker

You recently released your debut single I Remember. Where did the inspiration come from for this track?

‘I Remember’ is a song about someone’s constant endeavour to reach a sense of
self-acceptance. This notion was channeled into an acoustic demo which later had 90s alt rock elements added to it.

Is this a hint at more new music on the way?

Yes, we are planning on releasing our second single in early July so stay tuned… We are really excited for the next release too as it’s still in our style, but also offers a slightly different flavour to the one you get with ‘I Remember’.

Who produced this? How was it, working with them, especially during a pandemic?

‘I Remember’ was produced by Neil Elliott at Old Blacksmiths Studios in Portsmouth. It was great to experience building a relationship with a producer for the first time (and first time in the studio), as this is really important to make a studio session successful. We had to push the date for our recording session back a little because of restrictions, but we feel really lucky to have got in and recorded not too long after as we were desperate to get some songs down. What was also lucky was that I (Ewan) was allowed to take my mask off for tracking vocals, otherwise the end product would’ve sounded a little muffled…

What is one positive you guys have taken away from the pandemic?

That it is still possible for us to write and develop songs, even if we are remote from each other. I believe it gave us an extra drive to push even harder to make the most of the time we had and be ready for when we could eventually record or play live.

Are there any plans to start playing live shows, when they are allowed?

Yes, we are hoping to play some shows at a local venue called ‘La Havana’. Moreover, we are going to push to get in some local festival slots.

What is next for you guys?

We are going to keep writing and releasing songs over the summer. Ewan will be moving to London in September so the big city awaits us….

Where can we find out more about you?

We are most active on Instagram: @mcleishandspencer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/McLeishandSpencer
Twitter: @mcleishspencer_

I’d like to thank the guys for taking the time to answer our questions and I wish them the best of luck for the future.