EMQ’s With MOVMENT
EMQ’s With MOVMENT
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Irish Electronic Dark Rock band, Movement. Huge thanks to their Bassist/ Guitarist/ Synth player, Kevin Kelly, and Vocalist/ Drummer, Martin Kelly, 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?
KEVIN: Kevin Kelly, and I play bass, guitar and synths. Movment started in 2008 and we released our first album in 2012. We have since released 2 more albums, “Transformation” (2022) and “Reinvention” (2023). Before Movment, we had released 3 albums by Raw Novembre, our first band.
MARTIN: Martin Kelly, vocals and drums. We have our own home studio, End of Light Studios, where we write and record. We have always been interested in music, since our teenage years.
How did you come up with your band name?
KEVIN: At the time, we were writing songs as Raw Novembre with other musicians, but Martin and myself had always written songs together. We called this project Movment. It was not until about 2008 that we began to focus fully on Movment, and we wrote our first album around then.
MARTIN: The name comes from a community of like-minded people, a movement. So, we want to appeal to people who like what we do and are attracted to the music we like. But we are also open to anyone listening to what we create. We hope our music affects people in a positive way and impacts them, the same way the music we like impacts on us.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
KEVIN: We are from Mullingar, a small town in the middle of Ireland. There are some Metal/Rock musicians and fans in Mullingar, but the scene has definitely gotten smaller over the last 10 years. I feel there is a resurgence now. I suppose it follows trends that are happening all over the world. We add to the Rock and Metal scene in our hometown with our dark, electronic Rock.
MARTIN: I grew up on Metal, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and more. There are fans of the scene in our locality, but younger people seem to be less into Metal. I do see some change in that, and I expect a resurgence here in Metal and Rock over the next 5 years. I don’t think rock music will die, it has just been hibernating, and there are lots of Metal/Rock scenes all over Ireland. It just doesn’t get the press and recognition it deserves. Rock and Metal musicians are usually very talented at their instruments and are producing excellent albums all the time.
What is your latest release?
KEVIN: Our latest album is “REINVENTION”, and it has been available since November 2023. We are releasing it on CD via EPICTRONIC in a few months so we will be promoting it again then.
MARTIN: We have released 3 singles from the album – ‘I BELIEVE IN NOISE’, ‘CRAWL BACK INSIDE’, and ‘EXISTENCE’. And videos for these songs are on YouTube on our Distort The Scene channel.
Who have been your greatest influences?
KEVIN: I listen to lots of music, but the first band I became obsessed with was Joy Division. I also listen to Punk, Post-Punk, Rock and Metal. At The Drive-In are also a favourite band of mine, especially, their album “Relationship of Command”. Other bands I like are Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Wipers and Rage Against The Machine.
MARTIN: I listen to Metal and Rock. The first band I got into was Iron Maiden, but I also like Nine Inch Nails, The Jesus Lizard, and Metallica.
What first got you into music?
MARTIN: I got a drum kit in my teens and played drums for a few years, before moving to vocals. I played with a few bands before Kevin got a bass and we started playing and writing songs together. We created a few bands before our first real band, Raw Novembre, started to write and record our own songs.
KEVIN: I got a bass, because Martin was drumming, and we began to jam together and write songs. I changed to guitar after our guitarist left Raw Novembre and I have been playing guitar since then. I still play bass, and I also experiment with synthesizers and samplers.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
MARTIN: I would really like to work with Trent Reznor, as his compositions are engaging, intense, and unique.
KEVIN: I’d like to jam with Queens of the Stone Age. They have a great sound and are still producing great Rock records.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
MARTIN: There are lots of great festivals, but playing at Download would be tremendous. But there are many more festivals. Ones with Rock, Punk and Metal bands would appeal to us.
KEVIN: I like the lineup for Cruel World in California. That would be great. I also like Hellfest. It always has amazing lineups.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
MARTIN: We often get photos of our gigs, and some of these have been of excellent quality and unique perspectives on our performances, especially in recent years.
KEVIN: I am fond of crosses, so anytime we get one, I like that.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
MARTIN: We don’t bite, ask us anything!
KEVIN: Be sure to check our Electro mixes of our songs. They are alternative versions of some of our best tracks.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
KEVIN: For me it would be Ian Curtis. He died way too young! Both he and Joy Division had so much more music to offer.
MARTIN: I think it would be Kurt Cobain for me. He had many more years of songs in him. It was sad to see him go so young.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
KEVIN: I enjoy playing instruments, experimenting with synths and sounds, and writing songs. That is what I enjoy most. I probably don’t like travelling, on the plane/bus/train, but visiting different countries and cities is great.
MARTIN: I still enjoying playing drums, and writing new songs is my favourite part of music.
And I hate spending too much time on a song that is going nowhere!
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
KEVIN: I think artists that write songs are under appreciated and underpaid. It would be nice to make a living from songwriting, but the pie is too small for unknown independent artists. And it is not down to their talent or songwriting. There is loads of amazing music created by independent artists.
MARTIN: The power and control of music is in the wrong hands. Hopefully music becomes more democratic in the future, and smaller artists can get more airplay and payment for the songs they write.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
KEVIN: My favourite album would be Sparklehorse “Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot” with Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, a close second.
MARTIN: I really like The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, with Piece of Mind by Iron Maiden next in line.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
KEVIN: I like vinyl, but I find CDs more convenient for playing in my car.
MARTIN: I really like playing vinyl, so that would be my favourite, and the vinyl packaging is the best.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
KEVIN: We played Zeche Carl, in Essen. That was an excellent venue.
MARTIN: We once played the Marquee in London, and that was outstanding.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
KEVIN: I like PCs and the web, so I guess I would be working in tech, somewhere.
MARTIN: I sketch and draw on the PC, so that would be my area of expertise.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
KEVIN: That’s a lot, do you mean famous people? Alive? Jurgen Klopp, Robbie Keane, Peter Hook, Ian Mackaye, and Dave Gahan.
MARTIN: For me it would be Trent Reznor, Nicko McBrain, Samuel L Jackson, Frank Black, and Harrison Ford.
What’s next for the band?
KEVIN: We are tracking 6 new songs at present, and we will mix these in the coming months. And we are also writing some new songs, for our 4th album
MARTIN: We should have finished writing our next album this year, and once we record it and mix it, I expect the album to be released in early 2025.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/movmentie
Instagram – https://instagram.com/movmentie
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@movmentie
Twitter – https://twitter.com/movment
And all our social media links are on our website – www.movment.ie
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?
KEVIN: It’s probably a Bap in the UK, and a Roll in Ireland.
MARTIN: Yeah, we tend to call them Rolls more often than not, but a Bap is probably the correct name for a round piece of bread. If it’s brown and round, we call it a Brown Cake… !
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
KEVIN: Yeah, try and check out new bands, at least on a weekly basis. There is loads of great music out there. I know it is tempting just to listen to all your favourite music all the time, but streaming a new band and engaging with them on social media is so important for emerging bands. They need your support!
MARTIN: Yeah, we all listen to the classic stuff, and the top-rated bands, but if you search for new bands, you will be surprised by what you hear. There are some amazing bands out there, and most of them are not getting the streams and plays and likes they deserve. We listen to lots of new music!
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