Introducing the Band… Sacred Noise

Sacred Noise, one of my ”22 for ‘22” recently released their second single Part of Me, and are due to play their debut live gig in Glasgow’s Bloc+ on Thursday this week (24th March).

Unfortunately, having followed the band since their inception, I am missing this debut as I am out of the country with work… That doesn’t stop me encouraging the rest of you to throw caution to the wind and get your glad rags on and head over to Bloc+ on Thursday for a cracking night’s entertainment.

Sacred Noise indulged me and agreed to answer a few questions by way of an introduction to the band and their music…

Introducing the Band

GQ: I feel as if I’ve been on a journey with you as a band, following your social media for some time and hearing you grow. Tell me more about the inception of Sacred Noise. Who was there at the start, where did you get the name from, how did you meet/decide to start the band?

Sacred Noise: I (Anna) started the band at home during lockdown. I was privileged enough to have a job and time enough to spend some on music. It was initially something to do, but evolved into an intense emotional release. I was contacted by a record label and put in touch with a few singers. It seemed like fate that it was Kirstin that was the first to reply and when we met (virtually), we clicked! 

The name comes from how important music is to us. Each time we write something, play together or perform I better understand how special the process is. It’s less that we create the music and more the music exists, but we harness the energy and mould it into something that makes sense to us. The songs we record and you hear.  

GQ: What is the current line up of the band? Who does what? 

SN: The lineup is:

• Kirstin: Lead vocals and sometimes guitar
• Anna: Guitar, sometimes vocals
• Sam: Bass
• Robbie: Drums

Inspiration

GQ: You recently released Part of Me, your second single following up Taste in Men. Where do you draw your inspiration from both lyrically and musically?

SN: Musically we have some pretty diverse influences, though the overlapping ones probably sound the most like we do. 

In alphabetical order:

• Biffy Clyro
• Fiona Apple
• Foo Fighters
• Kate Bush
• Nirvana
• Pinegrove
• Placebo
• QOTSA
• Red Hot Chili Peppers

Maybe you’d disagree, but we’d say you’ve only heard a drop in the ocean. Music is pushing boundaries and though we are in our infancy, only dipping our toes in the water to date, we’ve got big plans to deep dive in.

Lyrically we write to externalise the parts of ourselves and our experiences as a means of catharsis. Maybe you can hear that fairly obviously in Part of Me. It’s a song with two vocal lines, one written in response to a painful event in the past, the second written as an emotional response in the present. Hopefully that’s more mysterious than vague a description. 

Live

GQ: You are playing your debut gig in Bloc+ on the 24th of this month, how are you feeling about playing your first gig?

SN: So writing this the weekend before I’ll list some of the feelings:

• Nervous
• Intrepid
• Anxious
• Excited
• Did I say nervous already?
• Really fucking excited
• Proud

The last one has given us a lot of satisfaction. We do this because we love making music and when you’re in that moment you’re creating something beautiful, it’s like being in another world. We’re all so proud to have achieved what we have in such a short period of time.
What a great venue too! We’re so excited that our inaugural and headline gig is at Bloc! 

GQ: I’m missing out on the gig due to work…what future gigs have you planned?

SN: There’s nothing concrete planned yet, but being the perfectionists we are will probably get back into the rehearsal studio and dissect what worked, what didn’t and respond.

Hopefully we’ll start playing shows all over the city, aiming for support slots at bigger shows and after we record our first EP/LP a tour doesn’t seem too distant a horizon. 

Music Industry

GQ: Despite all the press, and focus on moving towards a more inclusive music industry, and despite a ton of talent out there, there are still many festival line ups that lean heavily towards male centric line ups and too many stories of sexism and abuse. What are your thoughts on this? What do you think needs to change? 

SN: Our thoughts are yes, yes and yes. I mean you really don’t need to speak to many women or non-binary people to see how rotten and deep the branches of that particular creeper go.

Rather than speak for them, here’s some people and places we’ve learnt about and from:

There are bands formed directly aiming to educate and equalise: Hen Hoose, Brat Coven and Uninvited to name a few.

Organisations and charities like Scottish Women in Music (SWIM), The Bit Collective, The Trans Creative Collective. To support a shift in those coming through and make sure those at risk at protected and supported.

It’s not just about the stage either: when women only make up less than a third of those behind the scenes, who’s pushing for us in the backrooms and the places the festival rosters are decided?

It’s not enough to say “I treat everyone the same”. This is the difference between equality and equity. An uncomfortable truth is that many of us are like an elephant sat on the tail of a mouse saying we’re not part of the problem, so we don’t need to budge. Getting the elephant to shift is what’s needed and takes a lot of effort. 

Ones to Watch

GQ: Obviously I am touting your name about as much as possible. Who else do you think we should be excited about in 2022? 

SN: Bands we know and love at the moment:Lucid Hound, Atoll Blues, Goth GF, Lionadh band & Outblinker

GQ: Finally, what is next for Sacred Noise after Part of Me?

Hopefully we’ve answered this already, but obvious next steps are: headlining the main stages of Trnsmt, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, etc etc. showing off our pads on MTV cribs and doing Hollywood cameos before our own updated remake of The Pick of Destiny! 

We like to think we’re realistic.

Thanks a million to Sacred Noise for talking to the Ginger Quiff on the eve of your first Glasgow show. I’m sure you’ll blow the roof off. And as to your last comment. Wet Leg exploded afetr just 2 singles so never say never…

Get yourselves along to Bloc+ on Thursday night and in the meantime, enjoy the bands music, and maybe even buy a t-shirt from the band…

Website (includes further links to the band’s music)

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