Our regular run-down of as many of the Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! Tribe Of Ghosts play the SOPHIE stage on the Saturday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re all from the south and based in Brighton. We were all drawn to the city to study music and have known each other for nearly a decade now. Brighton’s music scene is diverse and so ive, it’s the perfect catalyst for genre blending bands like us.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’ve been playing and writing together in various forms since knowing each other, but Tribe Of Ghosts officially relaunched in 2022 with all our songs either completely rearranged or rewritten entirely. Our first live performance back on the scene was just over a year ago. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of shows, some of our particular highlights including Bloodstock 2022, Uprising and ing Imperial Triumphant.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Tribe Of Ghosts is a name that has come to reflect our experiences of modern society – it symbolises how we feel in a world that’s falling apart and a society brimming with deceit and degradation.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We like to think that our music is a marriage of beauty and chaos. From our instinctual melodramatic songwriting style, love for brutal metal and our infatuation with electronic sound design, we coined the term ‘dystopian music for a totalitarian world’. We combine elements of industrial, post-metal, hardcore, hyperpop, synthwave and sludge. It allows us to express all areas of intense emotion in our music and to completely lose ourselves on stage.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Our live show is cinematic in sound and absolutely feral in performance. We quite literally throw ourselves into every gig and the entire venue becomes our stage. To the point where Adam’s guitar usually ends up half broken in the middle of the crowd by the end. Amongst our angst, our live show is all about catharsis and connection. It’s a powerful moment when the audience resonates with our music and it’s such an honour to view that in person.
Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
We played last year on the New Blood Stage after winning the Brighton region of Metal 2 The Masses (the final being our third show since our relaunch). It was an incredible opportunity after our relaunch last year and we had an amazing time. We couldn’t wait for another opportunity to return, but we definitely weren’t expecting that opportunity to be only a year later and on the SOPHIE stage.
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How/when did you find out that you’d be playing the SOPHIE stage?
The wonderful Simon Hall gave us a call in September last year asking for us back for Bloodstock 2023, we were absolutely gassed and jumped at the opportunity. We were originally booked for the Thursday opening slot for the festival, but due to some rescheduling solutions, we’re now performing on the Saturday afternoon. We’re so excited to be performing right in the thick of the weekend for our biggest performance to date.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
For those who have seen a Tribe Of Ghosts show before, it’s going to have all of our hallmarks including huge melodies, crushing instrumentals and enormous electronic soundscapes, but we’ve planned something very special for our return to Bloodstock and we cannot wait to show you what we’ve got in store.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
For us, we’re desperate not to clash with Employed To Serve, but we’re also extremely excited for Knocked Loose, Meshuggah, Urne, Seething Akira, Triptykon, Skynd, The Grey, Bossk… There’s so many that we’re excited to see, it’s a stacked line up this year!
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment, we’re releasing our next single “HIVE” on the 31st of July and we’re so excited to show everyone what we’ve been up too! We’re also finishing up the mixing for our debut album and working with Dark Mother Management on giving the album the release it deserves. There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes that we’re itching to unveil when the time is right.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Adam: I’m a walking liability at all of our shows, so I’ve definitely done something stupid! One of the coolest things I’ve seen was when we ed Imperial Triumphant and they cracked open a bottle of champagne and poured it into the crowd whilst 1930’s jazz was playing in the background – followed by the most mental extreme metal I’ve ever seen. Absolutely loved it.
Beccy: Probably watching Adam do something stupid! There’s a lot of wild shenanigans in the Brighton scene due to the punk undertones that infects a lot of bands in the best way possible. So lots of stage invasions, crowd surfing, the odd flash is all very normal to us.
Ben: I’m going to go with Adam as well, he always finds new creative ways to injure himself or guitar on stage.
Danny: Cirque Du Soliel, properly wild.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Adam: Not so rock and roll, normally a glass of water and a honey tea if I can, but I do love myself a good whisky before I get on stage to get fired up alongside the energy build up!
Beccy: A lot of water. I’m usually so pumped with adrenaline I don’t need much else before performing on stage.
Ben: a pint usually,
Danny: Lemon Fanta all the way.
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Tribe Of Ghosts: facebook | instagram | spotify | bandcamp| youtube
