Ahead of bringing their post-punk racket to Corp this month, bandmates Dougie Poynter and Todd Rodrigo give us the lowdown on all things INK.
So you guys announced the INK. project back in March, and now we’re straight into a headline tour. How did it all fall together?
DP: INK. is proof that sliding into someone’s DMs on social media can pay off in many ways. I’d met Todd out and about in London – he was a performer at The Box – and we got on well, so I thought it would be fun to write some songs with him. We met Corey through a mate of ours – and now we are here on the grandest ship in the world drinking Champagne with you fine people. That’s a Titanic reference, by the way.
TR: We bonded a lot over an artist called Ralph Steadman. Each piece of his work is born from a random splatter of Indian ink on a page before deciding what he will illustrate. We saw the parallels of that notion in our songwriting: beginning with a random seed of an idea and shaping it into its own natural conclusion.
You all come from fairly different musical backgrounds. How does that mesh of influences translate into your output?
TR: It’s not something we think too much about to be honest. I like the fact that the guys will turn me onto something I wouldn’t have ever stumbled across myself. At the same time, our tastes cross over in many places too. I wouldn’t want to be in a band with another two of me anyway. I’m already sick of myself.
DP: I think that’s the wonderful thing about it. Everyone’s from somewhere different so therefore can bring something different to the table.
Did you feel the need to try and wipe the slate clean when starting INK., or has your previous work helped shape the music you’re making now?
TR: When Dougie and I started writing, there were no intentions or preconceived ideas so it felt like a clean slate as we weren’t intentionally reacting to our previous work. That being said, I think that everything in the past shapes who you are and what you’re doing so it inevitably has and will continue to do so.
DP: I hate wiping. Not literally, that’s gross. If you wiped your history clean then what would you be bringing musically? I think it all adds up to something positive.
The debut EP ‘HEAVEN’ is out now. Tell us a bit about the process and themes which crop up in the tracks?
TR: I think we were both surprised about how personal the content of the songs turned out to be. It was definitely a cathartic process for us. I think a theme of anxiety is cast over a lot of it; we found common ground there which led us to dig it all up.
DP: Yeah, there are quite a few references to the darker side of the London night life. There’s one song that’s about me being an addict – before I got into recovery – and how low things really got and Todd really helped me articulate that into lyrics.
As a whole, what are you hoping to bring to the table as a 2018 guitar band?
TR: We’re all huge fans of guitar bands and we really just want to live in that world before we recline into an armchair with a pipe and slippers.
DP: I try not to over think things like that. I just want people to come to our shows and have fun or hurl abuse. Whatever makes them happy.
INK. play Corporation on 14th May. Tickets available from corporation.org.uk
