EMQ’s With KURO
EMQ’s With KURO
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scottish Alt Metallers, Kuro. Huge thanks to them for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hey all! We’re KURO, an alt-metaller outfit from Glasgow, UK. We combine filthy riffs and pounding beats to create an In-Your-Face sound that’s guaranteed to hype you up to take on the world. We’ve been an underdog band here since lockdown that fully formed in the midst of it. And by underdog we mean that we represent the misfits and people from all subcultures which we make a key ethos of both our music and live shows.
How did you come up with your band name?
It was an early project name from pre-lockdown that a lot of the early would-be demos were under, so when the band came together and the early demos were used as a basis for the first songs, the name stuck around.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We come from Glasgow, which has always been a gritty city for artists whilst at the same time being an incredibly culturally accepting and diverse place that’s allowed a lot of artists and genres to thrive. And whilst gritty, the Metal scene is alive and we certainly see that at our shows here.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
‘No Exit’ – our newest single. And it goes out to all the people trying to break a cycle right now.
Who have been your greatest influences?
One of the great things about us has been how diverse our music tastes have been which has allowed us to carve out a truly unique sound. For example, Ruffy takes influence from a lot of Modern Metal, Robbie from classic Nu-metal, J.B from Hard Rock to even Glam, and K with a lot of Electronic/Dance-focused music.
What first got you into music?
K: For myself, it would’ve been a lot of old-school Rock and Metal, I started playing guitar when I was 10 and it led me on a path into being that lone Alternative kid in school that only really found comfort in playing and listening. I think I’m lucky in the sense that ever since I picked up a guitar, I knew I wanted to perform and play in a band.
Robbie: My Grandma got me a guitar when I was four, but I didn’t really know what the **** I was doing. When I got to high school I had the basics down and I proper went down the rabbit hole of with Rock n Roll and Metal, and started writing my own songs.
Ruffy: My uncle and papa were both drummers, and from a very young age, drums were kind of in the family. But I didn’t start playing until high school at around the age of thirteen, when I grew up listening to a lot of Nu-metal at the time, very early 2000s. The only reason I went to school from that point was to play the drum set, as I didn’t have my own at home. From there, I was in a few successful local bands up until my early 20s. Finding an outlet at that age was important as it kept me out of trouble, and also losing my dad at twelve, I think I needed somewhere to channel those feelings.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Robbie: Limp Bizkit. I think it’d be a crazy fun experience, and I want to see Wes Borland work his magic with my own eyes.
JB: The Prodigy
K: Nine Inch Nails, need I say more?
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
We’re always honoured to be a part of any festival we play, whether it’s big or small. It’s the people behind it, and who attend it, that make it special. Although if we had to pick one, it might be Hell-Fest, Download or even cheekily.. Coachella or even more unconventional like Burning Man.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
K: I can’t speak for the others here, but I love weird stuff. One time I got a snail ornament with a penis for a head and was asked to sign it. No clue where it is, what was done with it or who it eventually wound up with, but I remember that fondly because it takes absolute guts to go up to someone and just hand that over.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Hate for it to sound cheesy but… Be yourself, and be the change you want to see. The world is much better with you in it, and you shouldn’t be afraid to leave your mark on the world.
And also listen to No Exit.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
JB: Alexi ’Wildchild’ Laiho
Robbie: Bowie or Lemmy… Maybe Lemmy. It all seemed downhill from there.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The shows, the people you meet along the way, the creating the art, seeing ideas become real, hearing music form, travelling, touring and catharsis of being on stage.
On the other hand though, we hate how oversaturated everything feels, how in a world where we should be bringing each other up, it instead feels like a competition to do better, how it feels like the odds are so slim to be heard or to have the chance to make a difference. Artists have never been more pushed to their limits to simply exist and keep outputting music. This is what we touched on in our recent single.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
We’d change exactly what we said we didn’t like in the last question.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
JB: “Vain” (No Respect)
Robbie: “Igor” – Tyler The Creator
K: “Masseduction” – St Vincent.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Whatever the listener prefers, we’re just honoured people will listen regardless of the medium.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
I think that varies across us, but our definite biggest highlight was our recent sold-out home town show. To go on stage to a packed out crowd of people who all felt like they related, understood and were empowered by what we were doing was a hugely validating moment. We prepared for months to put together our best experience yet and to see it all come together on stage and to have it reach so many people was truly an unforgettable experience.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Wishing we were musicians probably.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
JB: Andy McCoy (Ex Hanoi Rocks)
Wim Hof
R9 Ronaldo
Johnny Depp
Elvira
What’s next for the band?
Our new EP “Circling The Drain”. October 3rd.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Catch us on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kuromusicofficial
Bandcamp:
https://kuroofficial.bandcamp.com
Follow us on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pSFuhFkJ64O7v83m2hjka
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll, or a Tea Cake?
K: I’m going to be controversial here and say a roll
JB: Sangwidge
Ruffy: JeezoRobbie: A roll! Did they make most of these up? What the **** is a barm?
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