My Inspiration: Starved – Collective Vol. 1

Metalcore/hardcore outfit Starved rise from the ashes of their previous alias Starve To Survive, to release their new EP, Collective Vol. I – featuring previously released singles For Moments of Late and Grain alongside a new track, Sunday Cliche. 

Here, the band (who will be performing a headline show at Bobiks, Newcastle on Saturday 9th July) tell us more about what inspired the release…

It encapsulates everything we’ve been through and everything we’re aiming at – with our personality, vibe and aggression written all over it. All we’ve ever wanted from the start was total freedom from the norm, and all the pieces are slowly moulding together. Whilst we were formulating the EP, we kind of realised how much space we could work with sonically, and how far we could potentially push it. 

Going to rave nights around the North East seemed like a chance to let go of personal struggles, and allowed you to connect with yourself for a few hours. So we thought why not shove that expressiveness into heavy music? The second track on the release – ‘Grain’ is a prime example of it. We shot its music video at World HQ, with the ‘For Moments of Late’ video being shot at Sinai Soundsystem’s base in Sheffield. We wanted to make it clear to our audience that THIS was the direction in which we wanted to conquer.

Sonically, our influences have stemmed from our direct love of heavy and electronic music, in a sort of yin & yang kind of way. Most of us grew up together through school and meeting each other at local shows, and the bond between us just built instantly by sharing similar musical interests. Anything dubstep/jungle/breakbeat/soundsystem from late 90s to present day – musically and visually, we’re all over it.

During the writing process, we like to take the energy of System of a Down to push us instrumentally, and the electronic sound naturally being stemmed from The Prodigy, Pendulum, and countless other rave pioneers.

The 3-track was recorded with Jim Pinder at Treehouse Studios just over a year ago, with mastering done by Ste Kerry. Production for ‘Grain’ was completed totally by Gimz (Bass), with Connor Sweeney providing additional FX for the other two tracks.