“May I have your attention please” snarls vocalist Dillon Squire-Strong on Heavy Rapidscommanding and anthemic new single Going Down, which drops today. Produced by BABY STRANGE’s Johnny Madden, the track’s raw, brazen and turbulent sound captures Heavy Rapids spirit, and is telling of further things to come later this year.
Dillon explains “Going Down draws inspiration from a conspiracy regarding the false supplied information about the brace position which is shown on airline emergency landing cards. Studies by physicians have shown that this position could actually result in instant death, which would mean the airline don’t have to pay out as much cash compensation. It’s pretty disrespectful to the public who are paying expensive costs to fly, at the risk of their life”
Music was instilled in Dillon from an early age as he glanced over his parents record collection. “The first record I remember listening to was Screamadelica by Primal Scream. It gathered dust for a while because I thought it was some kind of of metal record when I was aged eight or nine. I got bored one day and stuck it on, it opened with ‘Movin’ on Up’, and I was wowed. I watched their live performances online, and that was when I caught on to the power of music and how interactive it can be”.
Crossing paths with guitarist Jamie, drummer Johnny and bassist Tone through school and Glasgow’s burgeoning music scene, Heavy Rapids collectively retain this curiosity for music with their sound drawing influence from the likes of Idles, Fontaines DC, Shame and Green Day. “I think being from a scene with so much history for being a progressive force in the music of the time can be both inspiring and daunting”, says drummer Johnny, “Regardless of how it makes you feel, being from a scene with so much raw talent coming from every angle certainly keeps you on your toes; and that’s a good thing. No one’s out to get one another up here, we are all working together to pull in the attention of the rest of the country and it feels good to see that people are starting to listen. One of the biggest benefits of being from Glasgow/Scotland is you don’t need to look too hard to find some new top quality music”.
He continues, “I think we are seeing a steady resurgence of rock/punk around the UK as people are getting bored of the same repetitive radio friendly pop that gets force fed to us. It’s essentially an automated conveyor belt of reused hooks and chord progressions all topped off with questionably vague lyrics about ‘love’. I don’t want to smear all pop, there are still extraordinarily creative and talented people making good music but if you want music that is a true reflection of what’s happening in our country right now then you need to get listening to the breaking artists in your hometown and further afield. There’s no smoke and mirrors with rock/punk. It’s a tool for the people who feel misrepresented and forgotten about to bring about change”
Kicking up dust on the UK live circuit, recent live highlights include support to Starcrawler, Strange Bones, Bloody Knees, alongside last year’s Electric Fields festival. Last year’s singles Crying Shame and Stuck With garnered support from the likes of Radio X, Amazing Radio, Clash Magazine and Gigslutz.
With further new music on the horizon, Heavy Rapids are set to make one hell of a noise this year. Watch this space for further news.
LIVE
Feb 2 – Edinburgh – Sneaky Pete’s
May 5 – Glasgow – Stag & Dagger Festival