Page 34 - 368649 LP250851 NE Volume Magazine (170mm x 245mm 52pp) November 2022

HOLIDAY IN TOKYO
NEW RELEASE
‘Overwhelmed’
OUT NOW
On All Major Streaming Platforms
As North East indie/dream-pop outfit Holiday in Tokyo release their new single, ‘Overwhelmed’, Lee Allcock caught up with the band to speak about mental health, supporting Mind and more.
Tell me a bit about your new track, 'Overwhelmed', and your reasoning behind raising awareness of mental illness... ‘Overwhelmed’ is a track we've been playing in our
live set from the get-go. Our songs are usually
mental health charity, Mind. We've urged gig-goers to bring cash along to spend on drinks, tickets and merch for all the bands we play with. Not only does this encourage people to support small business, but it provides easy change to go into a charity box.
Your live shows are something else too, moving between danceable indie-pop to atmospheric ballads...
musically fun with a sombre lyrical tone, whereas ‘Overwhelmed’ stops trying to be funny for a minute and says "actually, no, something is not right here." The track is about being indirectly affected by mental
illness. In recent years, the stigma
has slowly faded and information regarding help has come further
into public consciousness. Nevertheless, when it comes into your life it's easy to just freeze and have no idea what to do. Releasing this song, hopefully, might vindicate someone in a similar situation.
I struggle to fathom how we somehow end up with a cohesive set of songs each time weplay.Ourinspirationsvarybetween different members, so each song is something a little bit new. You're notgoingtostartamoshpitatany of our shows, but we hope that we get people doing that "top of the pops" audience boogie with songs like ‘Amoxicillin’, ‘Make My Day’ and ‘Biggest Fan’. As the set goes on, it tends to lean towards the more sincere ballads like ‘White Marquee’ and ‘Overwhelmed’. We like to create a relaxed atmosphere,
like a lounge band at an empty club.
We also hear that you're releasing your debut album soon. Tell me more...
We have no set date for the album as we are all quite busy in our working lives so sometimes struggle to find the time to get together and write/record. We can confirm that it is 1/3 complete and that it will be called ‘White Marquee’. The main theme of the album is honesty, whether it's admitting you were jealous of someone, struggling with body image, wishing you could turn back time or debating whether you should bother with music anymore. In the end, I hope we've written an album that a budding guitarist can listen to and try and cover all the parts. Every song is a joy to play which, ultimately, is what it's all about. We're looking forward to finishing it and putting it out maybe next year.
You can listen to ‘Overwhelmed’ now on all major streaming platforms.
The track itself really delves into the mindset of
somebody with mental illness...
The song is divided into three sections: the reveal, the calm and the storm. In the reveal, person 1 discovers that something isn't right with person 2, commenting on their demeanour and well-being. They offer a helping hand without fully understanding what's going on. In the calm, person 2 tries to comfort person 1, reassuring them that they're okay but just need a shoulder to cry on today. In the storm, the song becomes an instrumental. It crescendos in a wall of guitars and frantic drumming, encapsulating the true feelings in person 2's head, completely overwhelmed with emotion.
And you're also raising money for charity too. Tell me a bit about that...
Starting from our gig at The Globe in Newcastle on the 22nd October, we will be taking a charity box with us for the
“It's easy to just freeze and have no idea what to do”
34 \\ NE VOLUME MAGAZINE \\ IFNETAETRUVRIEW