INTRO BY KAT VISTI
INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY
PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLD FAST HOPE
In early 2016, Hold Fast Hope released their debut single entitled 'Fortune Favors', and from there performed throughout Long Island, NYC, and New Jersey, including opening for a Mets game at Citi Field. The band released their debut EP 'Traitors' this past March. In an interview with Unclear Magazine, we got to know more info on the bands EP, their musical influences, and their future plans.
How did you guys first come together to start the band?
"Our singer DJ & guitarist Dan were both in a previous band together called Rebels Fighting Robots. When members of the group left to move in different directions with their lives, we decided to pick it up and keep something alive. Our drummer, (also) Dan, had played with Dan (guitar) with a different project a number of times, so he was our first pick on drums. We found our bassist, Nick, through a posting to Facebook which is probably the only time finding a band member through the internet has ever worked for us!"
Who are some of your musical influences?
"As a group our influences vary, but some of the top ones would probably be Thrice, Moving Mountains, O’Brother, Pianos Become the Teeth, Underoath, Norma Jean, Balance & Composure...the list goes on in that direction."
In March you released your latest EP, “Traitors”. Can you tell us a little about the process creating it?
"We picked out the songs that we wanted to use for what was then an untitled EP back in August/September 2016. We had only been a band for a little under a year and were determined to get 4 tracks out the door. We started recording them in October and used about 10 days in the studio over the course of the next two months. I think we really spent the most time on guitars & bass, really dialing in all of our tones with the equipment at our disposal. The goal was to create as much layered depth as possible without letting any clutter sit in the mix. Hopefully our listeners can hear the hard work we put into it."
For those that haven’t heard your music, how would you describe it to them?
"Probably somewhere between the ambience & layering of Moving Mountains & the intensity/aggressiveness of Artist in the Ambulance era Thrice. Think BIG guitars & booming drum & bass."
Of the songs on the EP which would you say best represent you guys as a band?
"That would probably be our single “Fade”, which encompasses a lot of the different facets of what makes us a band. It has grooving verses that just make you want to start moving, a hard hitting chorus, wide dynamics & a huge sounding outro breakdown section."
Is there anything else we can expect from you guys in the near future?
"We are working on shooting a music video for our single “Fade” DIY, considering doing videos for the other songs as well. We also will be hitting the studio again this year to plan for a Fall/Winter release of another similarly sized record. Can’t wait to keep putting out new music & try our hand at directing and filming our own music video!"