2023 will be a big year for Motions. With their single Dead Seeds out now and their debut album due in April, we caught up to learn a little about the band.
Give us a potted history of the band
We’ve been a full band since July 2022, so not long at all really. We’re based in Teesside, and our debut album comes out April 28th. We’ve been on numerous official Spotify editorial playlists, including The Pit and Walk Like a Badass (lol.) Our guitarist Dave, and our bassist Jay were previously in a band together (Exit by Name). Paddy’s been in several bands over the years, including Young Rebel Set, Whalter, and of course is a solo artist too. I was in a band called Massacre on Broadway, but we broke up in 2012.
Who inspired you to start making music
Given we all grew up in the 90s, I’d say on a whole, those mid-late 90s bands like Deftones and early KoRn. Then bands like Helmet and Will Haven. Our drummer/ Producer Paddy has been a music teacher, and always been in bands, so had a lot of influences growing up – teachers and such — that led him into a full blown career in music.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
We love Deftones’ White Pony. It takes the listener on an emotional journey and that’s something we aimed to create with our first album. We didn’t want every track to sound the same. We wanted to mirror real life – an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve also always loved Chino’s symbolic and metaphorical lyrics that can be interpreted in number of ways. They then become ironically relatable regardless of what you’ve been through. I’ve gone for the same poetic style, that incorporates a lot of post-apocalyptic imagery to symbolise the anxiety/ emotion that particular track is about.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say
Deftones if they decided to make a metalcore album.
Tell us about your new single
Our latest single Dead Seeds features Dan Cook from Raging Speedhorn, and Krsy Fox, formerly of LA based band Knee High Fox. Dave and Jay knew Dan from their days in their previous band Exit by Name, and given we’re big fans of his band Raging Speedhorn (I even have a tattoo I got in 2004) , we thought it’d be really cool to get him involved. As for Krsy, I know her from the movie business. Krsy is a fantastic director and singer, and actually part of the Zombie family. Her husband is Spider One from Powerman 5000 so I think talent must just come naturally to that family! Kry’s a parent too, so she got the song, but also her voice is so powerful it totally suits such a heavy track.
Guitar-wise, Dave needs to take the credit. I think musically it just screams pulsating anger, but there’s a vulnerability and a fear about it too. Our producer (and drummer) Paddy did a great job of emphasising that feeling sonically. The first thing I thought of when I heard it was the anxiety that I felt when I first became a parent. And the rage felt at the idea of anyone hurting him. If you think about it for more than a few seconds it’ll keep you up at night. I guess all parents have that fear but we just supress it. So I explored it as a form of catharsis.
Our debut self-titled album is out on April 28th, and I’d say Dead Seeds is very much the beating heart of it. Then we have faster tracks, slower, more ambient and softer tracks. We really wanted to take the listener on an emotional journey. Exploring rage and sadness and fear and anxiety and back again. It’s really important not to bottle up all those negative emotions so the album can help people explore those untouched feelings in a safe way, by listening to the emotional journey of our album.
Where can we get hold of it?
Dead Seeds out now on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. Our album will be available April 28th. I should also mention, very importantly, we’re working with Press On Vinyl to get the album released on vinyl. We need 70 pre-orders by Feb 12th, so anyone who can go out and grab one, that’d be amazing. Pre order the album here
Tell us how you write
Thankfully our guitarist Dave is a riff machine. He wrote a bunch of guitar structures during lockdown, so he nailed the basic start-to-finish structures of the tracks as they are now. By the time I joined in the summer, there were already 5 songs ready to go. Dave had a bunch of other structures ready to go too, meaning with drums, additional instrumentation, bass and vocals to add (and with a bit of tweaking) we were able to make quick work of the album. Each person has their own role that allows us to work as a cohesive unit. Dave writes the main riffs that make up the songs’ structures. Dave may already have drums in mind, or Paddy drums along and sees what sticks. We throw ideas around, same for bass. Paddy writes the additional instrumentation, such as strings, synths, keys etc, during production. I write all of the lyrics then record vox in my studio at home before sending them to Paddy who makes the magic happen.
Tell us about your live show What would be your dream gig
We aim for it to be a super atmospheric and energetic experience. One that brings our album to life. We have lights, strobes, a fog machine, and effects firing off all over from our SPD pad. Cliché as it sounds, we hope it’s an attack on all the senses!
Dream gig has got to be Download Fest. Either main stage or in a packed tent with thousands of people singing a long and moshing their hearts out. Who wouldn’t want that!
What can we expect from you in the near future
We have our first ever local show on Feb 11th, that’s at Play Brew in Middlesbrough with Boadicea, Negatives and Bloke Chap Fellow. Our album comes out April 28th. We’re playing the Metal For the Masses Battle of the Bands at Trillions in Newcastle on that date. That’s for the opportunity to play Bloodstock, so maybe we’ll be playing that too! We can dream. There’s our album launch show at The Georgian in Stockton on April 29th, with Motherland and Flatline. Then we have a few more special gigs lined up throughout 2023, including The Cluny in Newcastle. We’re super excited about our album. Hopefully it’s the start of something special.
Tell us your favourite records
Collectively we’re all huge Deftones fans, so I think if we were all to agree it’d be their album White Pony, or maybe Diamond Eyes. They’re the desert island discs. But I know Dave and I have been enjoying the latest Fit for a King, Bad Omens and The Devil Wears Prada albums recently. I’m a massive fan of metallic hardcore bands like Converge and Knocked Loose too. And Every Time I Die will always be on my playlists, but Sleep Token and Spiritbox are on rotation in my car, house and ears.
Find out more via the band’s Facebook
Check out the bands track Dead Seeds, below:
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