Ontario alt-rock duo cleopatrick are getting ready to release the second single from their sophomore EP the boys. youth follows hometown which has already amassed over 8 million Spotify streams in 6 months. They’re also scheduled to play Lollapalooza 2018.
Best friends since the first day of kindergarten, frontman Luke Gruntz and drummer Ian Fraser translate their lifelong connection into a powerful unification of sound. With a bastardized bass amp and split signal, Gruntz simultaneously commands the range of bass and guitar topped with provocative blues grooves and take-down breakdowns.
In early 2016, the pair recorded their first EP 14 in its entirety in a single studio session and was later dubbed one of the most promising acts of 2017 by 94.9 The Rock’s ‘Generation Next’. Now piling all of the torment and rhetoric that comes with chasing big dreams within the limits of a small town, cleopatrick is on a mission to reverse the stigma against modern rock bands, backed by the style, sound, and stats to prove it. Check out youth below!
We managed to catch up with the duo as they talked about their latest single and more!
How has the release of Youth gone down with fans so far?
It’s been incredible. we recorded youth almost a full year ago, and wrote it months before that — its been the closing song in our set every night, and the piece we have been most excited to release. we are beyond happy its resonating with people.
Can you tell us something about the single no one else knows?
So originally when we wrote youth, I was feeling a bit reserved with my choice of themes and lyrics. we had a completely different like instrumental outro at that 2:50 mark, and it was lame. We demoed it like that, and I knew deep down the song wasn’t truly done. I had all these words written but i was a too scared to say them. Then one day i realized the whole point of this band is we get to talk about whatever the fuck we are feeling — so i rewrote that ending part before we recorded it, and we have been extremely proud of this song ever since.
Will you be releasing an EP/Album at all this year?
We have actually been slowly releasing our EP “the boys” over the course of the last 9 months, only just as singles so each song can have some space to breathe this crazy disposable streaming world. “the boys” EP is going to feature our songs hometown, daphne did it, the depths, bernard trigger, and youth. Perhaps some new music in some sort of way before the year is over, but we are more focused on getting on the road for the remainder of 2018 and hanging out with all new friends.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Mat Champion from BROCKHAMPTON. he has this really dope youthful approach to his verses that i admire so much as a songwriter. i think the three of us could absolutely kill a track together. plus matt can low-key sing + he dresses cool.
How pumped are you for Lollapalooza this year?
Shut up. That still hasn’t sunk in yet.
What’s the music scene like in Cobourg at the moment?
It’s essentially still sitting in the same position it was before. a future dream of mine is to come back with some cleopatrick clout and invest a lot of energy into throwing shows and bringing cool bands through our town. a few of our friends are in some cool local bands, but none of them really get the opportunity to play locally without having to grind to make it happen. Shoutout backyard riot and city of leeches. long live the Cobourg struggle.
Will you be touring at all this year?
We absolutely will be touring this year. we in fact have some insane tour announcements coming really soon that we know are going to satisfy a lot of our new friends. cant say much more.
What was the first ever gig you went to?
Hahaha my first ever concert was KISS live in Oshawa, on. it was like 2008 (best year of my life) and i still haven’t seen anything like it. Ian’s was Bruce Springsteen in Toronto in 2008 as well. Magic tour. 2008 rocked.