Collected – Interview

UK newcomers COLLECTED have unleashed their enthralling new single, Love With Fury. The track is a sprawling slab of vibrant contemporary metal, framed by impassioned vocals, gargantuan rhythms and cutting edge riffery. Watch the video for the single, here – https://youtu.be/dleIgEpFvT0 . With a growing surge ripping through the underground, we asked the guys to introduce themselves:

What is the full band line-up, who sings and who plays which instrument?

The band is comprised of 4 members. Vocalist Liam Brazitis. Guitarist & songwriter Charlie Day. Drummer Artis Upitis and guitarist, composer & producer ‘Haitch’ Barratt.

How and when did the band form? Tell us anything interesting about your hometown.

We all grew up in a small seaside town called Clacton-on-sea. And if we’re honest, it’s not a place that represents what we’re about in anyway whatsoever. It’s probably one of the most non diverse towns in the country. I believe one of the only places in the UK to vote UKIP so I’m sure you get the picture. On top of that it’s a town that don’t care about it’s live music scene and that’s quite a hurdle as playing music was so important for us growing up, as a distraction that we could put our passion and frustrations into. So we made do.

It’s a town that can easily pull you in and very quickly you find yourself lost and caught up in things you shouldn’t be. That’s why the band was so immensely important to us, it allowed us to dream and give us something to aspire for. After we got a bit older and the band was slowly growing towards what it is today we quickly found that our neighbouring town Colchester was the place to be. It had a passionate local music scene, great promoters and venues that all care about music and art. So like many (if not all) local music lovers and bands, we made Colchester our home base.

Liam

When and how did the band really start gelling and solidifying?

We really started to gel when Liam joined the band back in 2015, after our first rehearsal together we could tell we’d found someone who matched the vocal ability and energy we were looking for in a frontman. Ideas started to flow and we wrote our first song together soon after.    

 Charlie

Who are your musical influences?

Oh god, that’s a difficult question, we could be here all day! But if we had to name a few that specifically influence us as a band we’ll probably have to say; Letlive and Every Time I Die. Them two are big for our vocalist Liam in particular as some might be be able to tell. Rage Against The Machine, Monuments, Deftones, Fever 333, Devin Townsend, Meshuggah.

Our roots are very much within metal that’s for sure but I’d say a lot of the attitude and storytelling comes from earlier Hip-Hop and hard-core bands. We definitely also take some elements of Synth-Wave as well, mainly in the electronic sounds we tend to choose.

Haitch

Where did the name of the band come from?

It basically stems from the idea that the band is almost like a ‘collected’ consciousness of the members thoughts, feelings and ideas etc. We wanted it to be something we can channel all our energy into wether that be positive, negative or even just musical influence we’re into at that moment in time. Then after a while as the band matured that basic idea kind of expanded into the idea that, why can’t that go beyond just us. Although we all experience things very uniquely throughout our individual life’s, so many similarities can also be drawn. It’s the differences that make us all so amazing but if we can look past them differences we’ll see just how much we all share in common too. Which can be a powerful thing.   

Haitch

How far back does your history with each other (the band members) extend?

Quite far!

Me, Haitch & Artis have pretty much been best buds most of our life’s and we known Liam since we were about 16. We kinda just clicked, became great friends and began our journey.  

Charlie  

Are you friends from school or any family relations?

So, Artis and myself went to school together and I knew Haitch from a local football club we were in. I then introduced Artis to Haitch and we began jamming fairly regularly in Haitch’s garage so we were probably about 13/14 at that time. A few years later we got to know Liam a bit from another local band he was in at the time.  

Charlie    

Where have you played or toured? Please name all countries / regions and recognised bands that you have played with.

We’ve mainly played in the Essex, Suffolk and London areas. Ipswich and Chelmsford to name a few but Colchester has really been our home-base. So if you want the full COLLECTED experience you’ll need to come down to one of our home turf shows. We are looking forward to branch out more this year though so if you aren’t local to Colchester we’ll still be booking shows all over the place this year.

Liam

In your opinion, how is your band different from all the other bands out there?

Because of the unfiltered, raw meaning that we bring with our music. What we represent is a real vocal passion for change, understanding and unity. Don’t get us wrong, we always wanna put on a fun show and build a positive atmosphere with our audiences. And of course we love having songs about love and partying an all that but along with that, we have strong views and we want people to know that. And we want them people to know that if they hear that message and feel them words, if you feel what we’re shouting, then you’re as much a part of COLLECTED as the members themselves. 

Liam

If a deaf person were to ask you to describe the sound of your music, how would you describe it?

Our music is loud and vibrant. Usually what you can expect is high energy, a strong pulse you can bop your head to and vocals that flow between harsh rhythmic screaming and beautiful melodies. 

Haitch

Where can we find your social media sites?

You can find all our music and follow us on our social media platforms via this link right here: https://linktr.ee/COLLECTED_UK