British metal band, Graphic Nature, create simmering musical suspense and neck-snapping brutality with their latest offering ‘new skin’. Their first release since signing to Rude Records earlier in 2021. Ever since these guys came across my radar, I knew that they’ve got something special going for them. Today, we’d like to dig a little deeper and learn more about the beast that is Graphic Nature.
HOW DID GRAPHIC NATURE COME ABOUT? DO YOU MIND GIVING US THE INSIDE SCOOP ON HOW THE BAND WAS FORMED?
Graphic Nature began as 5 people who shared the same vision, we knew what we wanted from this band and just put our heads down to work on creating the sound we have today. We’re a collective of musicians that have refused to give up what we love doing.
AESTHETIC AND BRANDING ARE STANDOUT ELEMENTS WHENEVER I THINK OF YOU GUYS, IS THIS SOMETHING YOU GUYS GO ABOUT INTENTIONALLY, OR DID IT COME VERY ORGANICALLY?
Our aesthetic was prominent from the very beginning of the band. We knew exactly what we wanted our videos and content to look like, we knew what we wanted to wear on stage every night and it just fell into place that way. Most people we play alongside will call us mad for playing in hoodies and layers, but our music is contextually painful and is by far the most important thing about Graphic Nature. Don’t worry about what we’re wearing, just enjoy the music.
HOW DID YOU GUYS COME TO SIGN WITH RUDE RECORDS AND HOW HAS THE JOURNEY BEEN EVER SINCE?
We signed with Rude in August 2021 and they’ve been really supportive of us throughout. It’s a great bunch of people to work alongside and it’s a good feeling to know they trust our vision wholeheartedly.
CONGRATS ON THE RELEASE OF ‘NEW SKIN’, NOW THAT THE DUST HAS SETTLED; HOW HAS IT BEEN RECEIVED BY YOUR FAN BASE AND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS? DO YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE IT IS LIVING UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS?
Thanks! ‘new skin’ has been received well by those who follow GN. It’s also been a great push for new people to get into our music. We love seeing fans from all over the globe sending us love for the music we make. As long as we can make a difference in someone’s life through our songs, that’s our job done.
I think if you have expectations for how a release will do, you’ll only be disappointed. Appreciate the people who support you already and the rest will follow.
DO YOU MIND EXPLAINING THE LYRICAL TOPICS YOU GUYS TACKLED THIS TIME AROUND AND GIVING US A BIT OF CONTEXT?
Our lyrics on ‘new skin’ delve into different states of mental health. Everything we’ve written is through personal experience and is never forced to fit a certain narrative. The words you hear in our songs are words that we’ve written straight from the darkest parts of our minds as we believe this is the most vulnerable but genuine way to get our point across. We all suffer in different ways.
WERE ANY OF THE MEMBERS INVOLVED IN OTHER PROJECTS PRIOR TO FORMING GN?
We’ve all been playing music in previous projects for 10+ years. Like we said earlier, we’re 5 humans that refused to give up what we love doing even when our other projects quit.
THE UK METAL SCENE SEEMS TO BE EXPERIENCING A ‘BREATH OF FRESH AIR’ MOMENT WHERE BANDS ARE TRULY PUSHING THE ENVELOPE AND EXPRESSING THEIR CREATIVITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ON THE FUTURE OF METAL AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THINGS MOVING?
We think being able to take influence from a variety of different styles of music is the best way to progress metal music in a way that benefits us all greatly. The future is bright for metal music and we’ll see how it pans out for new and current bands in the next few years.
BREAKDOWNS OR TWO-STEP FIGHT RIFFS?
Probably breakdowns? Anything heavy that we can just fucking let loose on is where we’re most comfortable.
CAPTIVATING AND ATTENTION-GRABBING VISUALS ARE VERY CLEARLY SOMETHING THAT GRAPHIC NATURE VALUES, HOW IMPORTANT ARE VIDEOS THESE DAYS FOR BANDS AND WHY SHOULD BANDS PUT MORE EFFORT INTO THIS FORMAT?
Music videos have always been important to us. We find that having a visual representation of the lyrical and musical content can really help people to understand our vision a lot more. It’s also fun to explore the darker more uncomfortable side of things by having a literal video of the way we perceive our struggles.
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