Brighton-based three-piece indie rock band Hybrid Kid has been playing for a number of years in various guises and places, including the US, where the band were based for a prolonged stint. Now back on home soil, appearances on Brighton’s Latest TV, The Roadee, airplay on Xfm, Radio, Reverb and many college radio stations worldwide have slowly built them an underground cult following worldwide.
The enthusiasm and energy of Hybrid Kid is an extension of three wayward personalities: Danny (guitar/vocals), Tim (bass), and Mattia (drums) bring a dynamic and experimental edge to this band of seasoned rock’n’roll travellers.
See our exclusive interview with the band below
Looking back, what were some of your earliest entries into music appreciation? And music production?
My sister’s record collection. There was Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, Zeppelin, early Genesis, Pink Floyd, Bowie, Leonard Cohen. A lot of stuff I still listen to today. Late 60s/early 70s was a really imaginative time for music.
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?
I try to find a chord or riff I’ve never played or heard anywhere before, then start from there. I’m sure there’s a chord out there somewhere waiting to be invented.
What gets your creative juices flowing?
The best part is bringing a song idea to a rehearsal and seeing what the rest of the band does with it. Sometimes you end up with something that sounds completely different to how you imagined it would turn out.
As a musician, it becomes apparent that there is a huge difference between the art and the business. Is there anything about the music scene that you would personally change?
It sometimes seems like as long as you’re great at social media it doesn’t matter how good your music is. For new bands maybe not charging on the door would be an idea. Much as I hate to say it but people would rather spend £4 on beer than the risk it on a band they haven’t heard of. If it was free entry they might just wander in.
Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?
Writing songs is hard and sitting in a studio watching a guy working on pro tools can be pretty dull so I’m going for live performing which is where the fun really starts
What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?
I once did a show in San Francisco and was talking to an old guy beforehand who’d seen all the great bands who played there in the 60s. He was saying how going to a gig back then was like going to church, a real spiritual thing for him but things weren’t the same now. Halfway through our set I looked down from the stage and saw him again, headbanging in the front row. I think we sent that guy to church that night.
What’s on your current playlist?
Fontaines DC, Goat Girl also into a lot of folky stuff like Big Thief and Sufjan Stevens
Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you in the near future?
We have a 3 or 4 brand new singles coming out in the next couple of months and are trying to write a song a week with a view to recording a new album late spring/summer.
Famous last words?
I ain’t dead yet
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