London based punk quintet COPE are set to release their new EP Challenge Oppression // Pursue Equality on 11th November. New single Seasons Ending has gone down well since it’s unveiling a few weeks back, it’s the second single to be revealed from the EP to date. Earlier this year the band released their debut single ‘Now or Never’, which saw them launched into the public eye. They played their first show at London’s prestigious Camden Barfly before its unfortunate closure, as well as playing at Camden Rocks Festival 2016. An impressive feat considering they haven’t even been a band for twelve months. You can check out Seasons Ending below!
We manage to catch up with Cope about their upcoming EP, tour, fans and more!
How pumped are you from the release of Challenge Oppression // Pursue Equality in November?
Super pumped. We’ve worked really hard on this, and are really excited to get it out there. Its a years work finally coming to fruition, so we can’t wait.
How has the single Season Ending’s gone?
It’s gone really well from the feedback we’ve had so far. As soon as we wrote that track, we knew it had to be the lead single. It has a really important message too (as does most of our stuff), so we’re glad people are picking up on it & taking note.
Is the EP any different from your previous releases?
Well our only other release is Now Or Never, our debut single, which actually closes the EP, so it’s no different at all really. Its just as angry & visceral!
Will there be a tour with the EP?
There should be yes. We’re currently working on something right now, but it’ll most likely be early 2017 due to other commitments within the band. There will definitely be a show or two this year though.
Would you eventually want to bring out a full length album?
Absolutely! We’ve just started working on the follow up to Challenge Oppression, so once thats released, I think we’ll definitely focus our attention on a full length.
How much does your fans mean to you guys?
Well without them, we wouldn’t be anywhere, so like every other band, we owe it all to our fans. People often forget that its real people who are coming to your shows and buying your music. Therefore its very important to treat everyone with respect and give them the time of day.
If you could work with any band or artist, who would it be and why?
Wow thats a tough one! If i had my way (and some of the lads may disagree with me here!) i’d love to work with the Misfits. Everything they’ve done and still continue to do epitomizes punk and the attitude we share. They’re personal favorites of myself and Adam, and we both actually have Misfits tattoos too, so we’re big fans to say the least!
What inspires you guys to make music?
I’ve been quoted on this before, but i unfortunately cannot take the credit for the original quote – ‘bad governments make great music’ so i think that sums it up really. The way things are at the moment is totally fucked, and i don’t think people are angry enough. We do take a lot of influence from our daily lives & other goings-on though, so its not ALL ‘fuck the government!’ haha.
But really, fuck the Tories & everything they stand for.