Who What Where, the sensational indie rock and pop quartet from Indianapolis, have at long last released their debut EP – appropriately titled The Overdue EP. It’s a blissful collection of melodic, thoughtful, musically skillful songs. Links are at the bottom of the page, or if you’re extra keen to get your hands on it – head over to iTunes to download and listen while you read. We caught up with them for a chat about how the music came to be..
What’s the song writing process like for you guys – does one person write the songs each time, or do you all just jam it out until something happens?
It’s actually a mix of everything! Sometimes I (Ty Stuart, Lead Vocals) will write and Isaac Hero (Lead Vocals) will add to the song or vice versa. Then usually once we have written the core of the song, Ski (Drummer) and Jeremy (Lead Guitar) jump in with their ideas and we create until it’s the way we want it.
The Overdue EP is brilliantly creative, there are some real moments of beauty; the track Conclusion in particular, really sets this immense scene as you listen – a very powerful sound-scape and atmosphere is created. Do you think it’s important to write music as escapism, or is it more about creating something from nothing and expressing yourselves on a personal level?
Thank you very much. I think it’s both. See with Conclusion it’s personal to us. But it might be an escape for the listener. I think when you create something that is both personal but sets a tone for others is when you have something truly special.
Definitely, well said. How do you find the live music scene in Indianapolis, and how important is live music to you as artists?
Live music is everything to us. We love performing live. Indianapolis has some cool spots to play at. Whether it be a big venue or a small venue, each place is really unique. We always see performing as our way to connect with real people at a real place. It’s intimate. Especially when people can relate to your music and sing the words. Its a really cool feeling. You feed off of the crowd and they feed off of you.
Some parts of the EP are particularly emotional and almost acoustic sounding at times, then at other times you guys really rock out with that punk-pop kind of vibe; those fast melodies and distorted guitars. It’s a great variety of music within the project. What do you think brings about this variation? Are you each inspired or influenced by different artists or bands?
Thanks! For The Overdue EP we really wanted it to be an introduction to who we are as a band. In a lot of songs that we have written there is a style of variation that you can hear. The influences of bands like The 1975, and Third Eyed Blind are somewhat prevalent but we really don’t want to sound like anyone else. We want people to hear our music and think that it’s original. We really stick by that rule.
What about dream collaborations.. Who would you love to work with if the opportunity came up?
Matthew Healy from The 1975 I think would be a lot of fun to work with. Ed Sheeran is another great singer/songwriter who really writes beautiful music.
What can listeners look forward to in the coming months, any upcoming shows or events?
Well, we don’t want to give away too much, but we are working on another EP. We really want this one to resonate with people first though. Were also lining up a few spring and summer shows currently. 2016 should be really fun year for the band!
Huge thank you to the band for taking the time to chat to us. Head over to Spotify or iTunes to download The Overdue EP. Follow Who What Where on Facebook and Twitter to stay locked in.
