Klyda

“We're not afraid to be ourselves and talk to the audience and dance around on stage. We frequently join mosh pits and get everyone in the crowd involved to make our gigs memorable for everyone there! In fact, in the past we’ve been described as 'The only indie rock band you can mosh to’.”

Up n’ Comin’ NI is thrilled to introduce this week’s band Klyda,  a 5-piece alternative indie rock band. Klyda have all been friends since they were young, all having met at school. The band consists of Annie McKinney (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Mattie Brennan (lead guitar & backing vocals), Hannah McLean (bass & backing vocals), Johnathan Gracey  (lead/rhythm guitar) and Gray Fleming (drums).

Music has been a part of all of their lives one way or another. “Annie and Mattie have parents that are in cover bands and wedding bands so they have been surrounded by music their whole life. As for the rest of us, we started off playing classical instruments such as flute and cello which gave us an insight into the music world, but as we got older, we got more of an interest in rock and heavier music which lead to our uptake of our current instruments.”

The band draws inspiration from a lot of different artists, but were able to narrow it down enough to say lyrically Pheobe Bridgers inspires them the most, but musically their inspiration comes from the likes of Radiohead and My Chemical Romance. “We love the fact all these artists can have a heavy and soft side, speaking on important personal issues and issues in the wider community. We take inspiration from Pheobe Bridgers storytelling-like lyrics and from Radiohead and MCR’s ability to have different genres intertwined in their music."

Klyda was formed in 2022, and have since put a lot of effort into songwriting and getting gigs. “We released our debut Single ‘Closure’ in January of this year with our debut EP ‘Catching Radio Signals’ in March. Our proudest achievement, though, so far is probably winning the 2022 ‘Clash of the New Breeds’ competition. It was the second time we'd ever played on a stage and it's a night we'll never forget. It helped us to develop our musical career and created a solid foundation for us to stand on to make music.”

The band, as a whole, sound quite different to other bands. "We are made up of 3 vocalists and 3 guitarists, giving us a more intense and different sound. We're able to have more melodies and harmonies being played at once, giving us a deeper sound and texture compared to other artists."”

“Know your worth. It’s common for bigger companies to take advantage of smaller bands (something we have unfortunately been exposed to in the past). Knowing your worth and knowing when someone is truly looking out for you or just taking advantage of you is one of the most important skills in the music industry.”

The band write all of their own music. When they first started out, one of them would write a song, bring it to the band and then the rest of the band would learn it. Things have since changed. “We now take songwriting as a band job not an individuals, we often take time, even days, spent together to write songs as a group. We feel it helps a song to expand and reach its full potential if there are multiple people working on it who can provide a multitude of ideas rather than just the one. Whether it's a group of two, or all of the band working together we feel a collaborative effort on music is the best way to go." 

In the formative stage, this band wrote music as you would expect, describing themselves as “a stereotypical 4-chord indie band. But since then we have begun experimenting with our sound and have been told 'mixing music genres is our bread and butter' pulling inspiration from alternative and heavier genres such as shoegaze to broaden our sound. We now still classify ourselves as indie but lean towards a more indie/alternative label.”

Drawing a lot of inspiration for their song lyrics from their own lives, the band says, “Our debut single ‘Closer’ is about what it feels like to be rejected by someone who 'isn't ready for a relationship' but then ends up in one with someone else soon after. We feel that it's a great and healthy outlet for emotions to draw inspiration from your own life and allows you to express them in a way talking can't.”

“Learn on the job, none of us know what we're doing. Learning new things, such as what's a good deal for merch or how to fix your own guitar, is incredibly important for bettering the band.”

“We gig as often as we can!” Although the band love to play gigs, it has to be said that for the vast majority of their careers, they have all been under 18, limiting their options as they couldn’t play in most bars.

There are, of course, gigging options outside of bar gigs, including the Stendhal Festival, which the band describe as their most memorable gig. “It was our first ever festival gig and some of our first ever festival experiences. We had an early set on a small stage so we assumed a small number of people would show up but we ended up packing the entire area. We feel we played class and the sound quality was incredible. Having so many people see you so early in a field was an experience we'll never forget!”

So, what’s next for Klyda?

“We have quite a busy summer this year including playing Belfast Pride headlining the Nerve Centre in Derry on the 24th of August and playing festivals such as Coaster in Portrush and Gazefest in the Oh Yeah Music Centre. Our newest single was released on the 19th of July ‘Let Down’ and we hope to be back in the studio this autumn to record some new tracks for you!”

Follow them and keep up to date with all their songs, events and gigs: 

Spotify: Klyda

Instagram: klydaband

TikTok: klydaband

YouTube: klydaband