Post-punk Bristol band Beefywink released their debut album ‘Dance in the Deluge’ last week. We think it’s the perfect way to kickstart your new week.
Take a listen and find out a bit more about the album and band.
What was your inspiration when you began writing the album?
Daizy: This album is an amalgamation of the best songs we’ve written and played live over the last few years. Our songs throughout that time have been inspired by outward and inward forces – we wanted to comment on the state of the world around us while also writing highly relatable, emotion-filled tunes. The title “Dance in the Deluge” refers to facing the challenges presented to us every day head-on, recognising it’s all shit and learning to have fun with it anyway.
Are there any artists that inspire you when writing?
K: We’ve always drawn inspiration from a wide variety of artists and genres, from The Wolfe Tones to Little Simz and The Prodigy. To channel that classic punk/grunge sound, we sought after the likes of PJ Harvey and X Ray-Spex. The rest of our influences have been gifts from the many musical scenes opened up to us whilst living in Bristol. Huge adoration for the likes of Eva Lazarus, TeeZandos and Dream Wife.
Also, there are a ridiculous amount of bands who are releasing music that gives us the confidence to release ours. Big ups to NOVA TWINS, Bob Vylan and PENGshui for being the pioneers they are.
What is key to your sound and how do you make your music stand out?
Az: Our sound is something that is ever-evolving. As we learn more about what is sonically achievable on stage, we implement it where we can and this creates some original sounds. For example, we all have fairly odd pedalboards that emulate that of a synthesiser. This is much more prevalent in our second album due to the fact pedals aren’t exactly cheap and it’s taken a while to build up to something we are all happy with. Going ahead, we are looking to infuse all kinds of EDM genres into what is ultimately a punk band to create techno-punk, dub punk, DnB punk, drill punk, grime punk… the list goes on!
How does your songwriting process work?
K: Usually there are just loads of lyrics lying around because the vocalists’ brains work overtime, so our phones are full of words. Someone will bring a riff or some chords or a beat to practise and we’ll find the right song for it, and go from there. Daizy usually makes the lyrics a bit less of a free-for-all and we might fully strip the song back and rewrite it a couple of times, but there’s always only one rule: Song Is King.
Describe your sound in 3 words…
Raucous, bold, beefy.
How has studying at BIMM helped you develop as an artist?*
Az: Studying at BIMM has made me open my eyes to the sheer amount of talent being produced. Seeing so many people take music so seriously really does whip your ass into gear and also provides a sense of reality to the feeding ground that is the music industry.
Having free access to Pirate Studios is a massive privilege as well, and we fully take advantage of this, booking it out multiple times a week. I also try to get to as many of the incredible Masterclasses on offer as possible.
*Only two out of four members are at BIMM. K-Rush and Daizy Daze both graduated at Bath Spa University.
What’s next for you?
Daizy: We’ve got so much planned for Beefywink in 2021; it’s unreal. Through lockdown, we’ve been busy writing a new album, making a music video, and creating all new merch. We had to cancel plans for a UK tour because of Covid, so we’ll be re-planning that as soon as the world is less fucked.
Although the band is our main priority, we’re all also branching out into other areas of the scene to develop our skills to try and support ourselves and the industry going forward; K-RUSH has just become a presenter for an exciting new live gig streaming app called DIUO, and AZ is beginning a portfolio in video editing, starting with a project with one of the organisers of St Paul’s Carnival.
