Inspiration Information 002 // Koyo

I’ve long been fascinated by the idea of inspiration, how one artist’s work can spark creativity in an other. This new series, Inspiration Information, looks in to how some of the most interesting and exciting new artists react to inspiration, feed from it and consider how other creators consume and react to their own work.

Inspiration Information 002 features Huw Edwards of KOYO. Their latest single, Before, is out now.

HB: What does inspiration mean to you?

HE: For me inspiration is just something that gives you the impulse to express yourself or do something. It can come from anywhere. From listening to someone else music, to a conversation, a situation or just from people around you. I feel most inspired when I’m playing and connecting with other people.

HB: Can you pinpoint any tangible moments of inspiration in other artists’ work?

HE: With most great bands you can hear that they’re inspired by each other. For example, a guitarist’s playing might be inspired by a rhythm section laying down the kind of groove they’ve been hearing in their head and vice versa. They’re usually the best kind of bands because it just works. I always reference this but check out Christian Scott’s version of the Eraser live at the HSBC jazz festival on YouTube. There’s a moment where the rhythm section change key half way through his solo towards the end. That’s a tangible moment of inspiration.

HB: Is there one piece of work in particular you hold as a reference point when you’re creating?

HE: My ideas usually stem from reference points but they change all the time, even sometimes within the same song. We wrote a song recently and our reference point in the verses was the film Drive, but then for the ending I had this song by Fucked Up in my head. We wrote another song called Ostracised and the vocals in the verses were inspired by Chino Moreno, the drums were inspired by Jon Bonham, and then the chorus was inspired by Tame Impala. For us it’s usually about fusing lots of different sounds and inspirations together.

HB: What’s your favourite moment in a song? I think mine is about 100 seconds in to Concrete Gold by Wu Lyf, when the drums change up. I think about it all the time.

HE: To be honest one of them is probably the key change in that one version of the Eraser I mentioned already. Dave Grohl’s drum intro on Song for the Dead is a classic. In fact there’s a moment on one of our new songs where that was a reference point.

HB: Do you consider other artists’ potential reactions to your work when writing? Do those thoughts differ to how you consider the consumer or critics’ reactions?

HE: Maybe after the fact but not before or during. When we’re rolling with an idea we just let it happen organically and stay true to what excites us personally. Not because we’re selfish, but because we find the more we think about what other people might think, we lose the flow and things end up sounding contrived and worse off anyway. I think it’s important to follow your gut instinct during the writing process, what ends up sounding good or bad to you probably sounds the same to someone else. Just trust yourself and trust your band mates if you have them.

HB: Finally, what would you want other artists to take from your work? Is there a particular manner in which you’d like to inspire them?

HE: Hopefully the sounds we make will just inspire them to make their own music or follow their own dreams and pursue something they’re passionate about and good at. Also, hopefully we can inspire them to come to our shows and buy our records as well…