3 March 2020

SINKA is a rowdy trio of three young wolves from Watford, England. A band with a powerhouse impact, a band with an appetite for titanic tunes, a band with a loud
future. Their newest single ‘SEE WHAT IS SEE’ says it all. This hot-blooded engine
produces a wall-of-pulverizing noise with overwhelming riffage, dynamite drums/bass potency, hell-raising stoner rock choruses, and rumbustious vocals. Next month they release their long-expected debut EP. So, before they conquer the world let’s talk to frontman Shaun Sewell-Sears, bassist Matt Smith and drummer Jack Wright about the
band’s past and present and their towering sonic force.

Welcome! Let’s rock!…

1. When did SINKA hit the scene and what’s the story behind the band’s name?
“The band began at the very end of 2016 whereby a 6-piece group abruptly disbanded, and from those ashes, SINKA was born – armed with our first single ‘You Run’. The earlier iteration of the group was called Sin Kaprice (a name that was formed whilst drinking a Capri Sun under the influence…) so when we halved the band we halved the name too!. Since Jack’s inclusion in December of 2018 we have really been taking our work ethic to a whole other level. And because Jack had never even drummed before joining it was really fun to relearn the songs with him and start making new music again, which is what brings us to the new EP. I think we’d all agree that we’ve never been in such a good place.”

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2. Under the band’s logo on your FB-page I see Roman numerals: M-M-X-I-X.
Why and what does it mean for the group?
“For us, this signifies the year 2019, the year we truly began. As mentioned before we
have been working relentlessly since Jack joined us and it really paid dividends with all
the coverage we received for ‘Fussy’. The logo has since moved to M-M-X-X as this year we hope to be even bigger – with our EP dropping, the single out, and now another releasing on March 13th. We are really excited to see what happens.”

3. How would you describe your sound yourselves and which artists influenced you?
“Some may just prefer to label us alt-rock because it’s easier that way. But our music is fluid and that’s just an inevitable result of each individual influence bleeding into a track. One song could be alt-metal, the next a ballad – there’s no schematic to our sound. We’re also quite heavy in an accessible way and like to meld aspects of different genres into our music. Many people liken our sound to other artists that do this, like Radiohead, Muse, Smashing Pumpkins, Highly Suspect, Biffy Clyro, Arcane Roots, etc. We like this uninhibited method of writing as it keeps it fresh for not only the listener but us as well, there’s
no way we could make the same old-same old and be content with what we’re creating.”

4. Almost two years ago the explosive ‘FUSSY’ single impressed many.
What’s the song about and how came it together?
Shaun: “In many ways, it’s a song about dismissive people. Y’know the people who will
give up before they’ve even tried something? It started off about one of those people in particular but eventually, I came to the conclusion that it’s about all of the bullshit people spread in day-to-day life (thanks to social media). I don’t understand it. All it does is hinder you in so many ways, so as individuals I feel we should strive to alter our mindset and get more out of life. As my family always tell me, life really is too short so stop worrying about everything and give it a go.”

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5. New single ‘SEE WHAT I SEE’ is a smoking steamroller too. So what do you see?
Shaun: “Thanks! I guess I’ll take lead on this one again. I wrote this song as a means of unloading some real dark shit I was going through. As a guy, it can be particularly hard to talk about what’s going on in your head, and I don’t have good emotional management so I will often bottle things up rather than have the conversation. It’s self-destructive and I’m working on getting better at opening up to people. It also has a message behind it that we never know what someone’s going through, so it’s best to be compassionate and try to handle a situation with grace rather than confrontation. It’s hard to talk about those deep-rooted problems if it feels like the other person is attacking you, even if it is because they care and want to help. In those situations, it’s really about having patience and understanding.”

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6. I love the psychedelic artwork of the new single.
Who developed it and has it any significance?
“Thanks again! Shaun made the artwork for this track, and it’s symbolic of the mind embroiled in a tumult of insanity, the spiral indicative of a complete loss of control.”

7. Your upcoming debut EP, out 17 April, is called ‘F.W.Y.K.’ What do
those letters stand for and how many tracks may we expect?
“It stands for ‘Fuck What You Know‘ and will be a 4-track EP,
with both singles featuring on it of course.”

8. What is a SINKA gig like?
“Put simply: Loud, fun and engaging. The room is usually silent and attentive whilst
we play so we like to think we get people listening. Often people say we are thought-provoking and captivating to watch. We’d definitely benefit bigger stages though
because often the space is quite small so we’ll inevitably go down in the crowd to dance, headbang or whatever suits the song. I suppose we also like to remove that pedestal between listeners and band. Music is globally inclusive so why can’t the shows be too?!
It’s more entertaining.”

9. Which artist/band is on top of your list to go on tour with ?
“Biffy Clyro would be amazing to tour with and are the very reason we desired to be a power trio in the first place. Being one of our biggest influences, relatively close sonically (barring the Scottish accent, sadly) and the energy we both emit – I think it would be the show of a lifetime! They also seem like great guys and would be fun to grab a pint with. I’m keeping my fingers crossed one of them see this and give us a shot – been listening since their debut album Blackened Sky and love everything they put out. Speaking of which, their new single is a bit of a banger, right?”

10. The band’s ultimate ambition?
Shaun: “I’d say playing arenas around the world but that’s anyone’s dream. No, we want
to be content making the music we want to make for the rest of our lives, and hopefully inspire others with our music the way that we have been by our favourite artists. I often worry that we won’t get the opportunity to showcase everything we can do because there’s not enough money or time right now to make it happen. It’s frustrating being uber-creative but then being drastically limited by finances. Having said that, we are incredibly grateful for the opportunities we’ve had so far! Playing venues/festivals that we’d go to in our younger years is a really fulfilling experience and we can’t wait to continue this trajectory. I know that playing the Underworld in Camden (London) is on Matt’s bucket list so that’s something to work towards right now. With so much to come, there’s a unified belief that if given the opportunity we will blaze an incredible trail for years to come.”

Thanks for the interview, guys.
May the road rise with SINKA!

Can’t get enough of it…

SEE WHAT I SEE streamable on several platforms right here / SINKA: Facebook

(photo on top: promo for press – via band)