Sometimes, it takes years to get to where you want to be, but when you get there, it’s really worth it.
This week my band ‘The Society of Strange Living’ released our first E.P. - called ‘Energy Efficient’. It’s just four songs, but it’s the culmination of several years of work, stealing time in between International tours, and trying to make the perfect songs with the perfect band.
Let me introduce you to our crew - on drums, Danny Krash - explosive energy machine, channeling the spirit of Kieth Moon. Locking in with him, Dan, the gentle loving heart of the band, weaving delicate patterns of counterpoint on his bass guitar. Bethany’s angelic soul voice both powers and harmonises the band - then there’s me, Sam - the poet, dreamer and restless spirit on lead guitar & vocals.
We REALLY care about making music. It’s taken us years - and many changes of members to find the band that really gel together. Once we’d got the line-up sorted, we’d have runs and runs of bad luck, finding it almost impossible to get us all in the same place at the same time. We had no money, so we had to record with outdated, broken equipment, which would often break in the middle of takes, making the work take three times as long as it should do.
Then we found the Birdcage. A free spirited little boozer full of warm hearted, open minded people gave us a space to develop our songs and our sound, until now we really gel together as a band as well as four friends, thinking alike. With people listening and enjoying what we were working on, we found a new power and pushed on.
The hard bit for most bands is the songs, but for us this came pretty easy. We knew we wanted to write songs that sounded different to everyone else, about things other people wouldn’t dare to write about. Our E.P. has four of these songs.
We sing about joining a sex cult and trying to explain it to your Mum, Sociology conversations with our washing machine, Secret jealous unspoken lust, and of course a bit of good old fashioned unrequited love.
Featured on the last song is our washing machine drum kit, Ginger. He’s become an important part of our family, and one of the reasons SOSL sound like no other band in the know universe. Hear him on track 4 - ‘Instant Noodles’.
It’s not been an easy ride. All working jobs, living lives and balancing relationships, and often not even in the same country, the band have pushed on through thick and thin, and now we have something indelible to show for it. A beautiful, hand-crafted record, made over hours and hours in a Frankenstein home-made studio. It’s not perfect, it’s a dirty, gritty, sexy beast, but it’s the first mark on the world made by four unique, beautiful friends.
We hope you love it as much as we do!!!
SOSL Xxx
