What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

A. L.O.E’s music tries to capture and reflect triumph, heroism, anguish and struggle throughout society. Not as a political stand, but to hold a mirror up to humanity. Weaving speech and video in to live performance to create a cinematic experience of popular culture and a reflection of our times.

We started making music together in an old mill building in Halifax that quickly became L.O.E HQ. At that time none of us knew where this project would lead. It was born out of a shared need for a creative outlet. We all wanted to create music that told a story and that meant something to us. At the core of everything we have done we have always tried to have fun and create songs that we enjoy and that we are proud of. It has always been a hope that if we were authentic to ourselves then this would translate to an audience.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

MA. We have just released the People Like People Like Them EP on Hopeful Tragedy Records. The EP is available on handcrafted clear lathe cut vinyl produced in Montreal, Canada by Hopeful Tragedy Records in their creative atelier. Both songs on the People Like People Like Them EP were a pivotal point in our development as a band. The songs were the first to take shape in a new direction that allowed us to explore our sonic capabilities and open up new possibilities for us creatively.

This EP represents a venture in to songwriting without the limits and constraints that we had previously placed upon ourselves. Through experimenting with our approach we were able to shape a sound that felt right to us. It was the first time we explored new equipment, new techniques and added previously unused instruments in to the equation. A big part of Last Of Eden was about wanting to create a voice for the unheard. Through the development of The People Like People

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

A. Musically we are collectively inspired by and take influence from bands like Oceansize, TesseracT, PG Lost, Incubus, Russian Circles, Rage Against The Machine et al. Our speech samples and videos are inspired by current events in the world, conversations we have had, personal struggles we face or purely from stories we want to tell. A big part of Last Of Eden was about wanting to create a voice for the unheard.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

A. Music is such a subjective experience and it is almost impossible to say what set anyone apart from another. At the forefront of everything we do we try to create music that we enjoy and we feel proud of. We’ve always felt that if we are authentic to ourselves then hopefully that will translate to an audience. Each of us brings different musical tastes and influences to the band which help shape our own take when writing music together. We implement visuals in to our live performances as well as speech samples to try and create an immersive cinematic experience.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Music – Oceansize, Effloresce

Movie – The Network

Books – Anything by Roald Dahl

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

A. Studio and performing live both have their rewards for different reasons. We enjoy performing live in front of an audience as nothing seems to connect people the way that live music can. It’s a shared experience and a chance to loose yourself collectively. We enjoy meeting new people, making new friends and making a connection with people that will hopefully create a moment that we will all remember and take away with us. Studio and recording has its own rewards. All of us enjoy the process of taking an idea from a seed in our heads and watching it grow and form in to a fully fledged record. There is a sense of satisfaction and pride in experimenting and pushing the limits of our creativity to bring a song to life.

Both studio and live performance have a unique relationship in the sense that each can directly affect each other. A song formed in the studio can shape how the song is performed live and how a song is performed live can shape how it is approached in the studio.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

A. The title track from our People Like People Like Them EP was written entirely via text messages. We formed the song remotely by sharing voice memos. The first time we took the song to our rehearsal studio it was already fully formed but we had not played any of the parts together.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

A. Both tracks from the People Like People Like Them EP hold a very dear place for us. The process of taking these two songs from etched ideas in our heads to fully fledged songs became quite a cleansing experience. Not only did the music shape a new direction but it helped shape us and form discipline in us as a unit. It set a template for how we could operate as four individuals in harmony.

The two songs that form the People Like People Like Them record saw us take a much more open and adaptive approach with new textures and melodies being tried in the studio for the first time, unsure if they would make it on to the final record. Some of these last minute ideas have changed how we perform these songs live.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

A. We are currently building towards a full album which will be released through Hopeful Tragedy Records. We are continuing to develop, grow and expand our possibilities as a band. We have plans to tour as much as possible and to take our live show to Europe in 2023.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

Q. What has been our proudest achievement as a band to date.

A. It’s hard to pinpoint one moment but we were fortunate enough to sign a record contract with Hopeful Tragedy Records which has been an incredible experience for us. We have an amazing team behind us who have shown us nothing but love. It feels incredible to have people behind us who believe in what we do, share our vision and have given us so much support.

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening:

Connect with L.O.E:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/weareloemusic

Instagram: https://instagram.com/weareloemusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/weareloemusic

Bandcamp: https://weareloemusic.bandcamp.com