Gatvol
New Single: Random Fear
Release: Digital - 02.08.19
         Video - 30.08.19

 

Hailing from Guildford, Surrey,  alternative rock outfit Gatvol is a musical project of 5 ambitious minds with a creativity that’s not limited to the confines of an expectation or genre. The band began to be formed just less than two years ago, and not so long after they played their first gig in the Spring of 2018. Since then, they keep progressing without looking back.

They have already released three stunning singles in their short time as a band, Gatvol are stepping up with their new single, hard-hitting ‘Random Fear’.  This song is crafted with so many elements. It is funky, melancholic and clearly more progressive than other songs they have recorded. Also some tasty riffs, tense screaming and flawless harmonies are noticeable.  I must say that it’s epic at the midway point. To support this new song, the quintet just released their debut video. The simple but rather mysterious beginning to the video is totally appealing to me, and you will be glued once you watch it all. Gatvol succeeded my exceptions by creating a fresh, unique sound and atmosphere. They are going to go far for sure.

 

 

Just after ‘Random Fear’ was released, I had an opportunity to talk to Sam, the front-man of Gatvol. You can get to know the band better!

Hello! Thanks to talk to us today. Who are we having here?

It’s a pleasure! You’re with Sam today!

Sam, first of all, you have just released the new single ‘Random Fear’. How would you describe this song in your own words?

For me, the song is all about perception and perseverance. The song holds a big emphasis on the struggles connected with a lack of fulfilment ‘Doing all the right things but never feeling personally satisfied.’

Okay. I suppose lot’s of listeners can relate to your lyrics. I believe it’s available for streaming right now. Where can we find the song for downloading? All usual major platforms? Haha

Yes! It’s available on all of the standard platforms, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer etc… You can download the song from iTunes.

Great! How do you normally go about writing your songs?

The songs will usually start with a guitar riff that we want to elaborate on. That will then get jammed by a couple of the guys and further developed. Typically, the vocals will come last. Then we’ll spend a pretty long time tweaking the structure and all the nitty gritty bits during rehearsals.

September will actually see us moving into a band house together! So this writing process may change a little as we are in such close proximity.

Oh, that sounds exciting! Can you just talk through how you all met and became a band?

Essentially we all met through university. Myself and Tom (Guitarist, Producer) met each other when we moved into the same share house for uni back in September 2017. After a couple of weeks, we started writing together for a bit of fun, and then that writing didn’t really stop.

During a module called ‘chart reading’, I noticed Tyler (Drummer) was killing it on the kit, and I asked him if he wanted to come for a jam with Tom and me. Then sometime around Spring 2018 we played our first gig. Pablo (Guitarist) was in the audience and asked to get in on the action – He fitted straight in!

After a change-up to the roster, with us parting from our bassist earlier this year, we had our good friend Dani (Bassist) step in to cover for our remaining shows. Once again, he fit just like a glove and became a full time member of the band. 

Awesome!
Why is it Gatvol (as your band name)?

Gatvol has some funny translations from its roots in Afrikaans. “Full of shit”, “Shit hole”, that kind of thing, haha. But we use it as an expression of being ‘Fed up’.

Hmmm I wonder who looked Afrikaans translation haha.
Who are your influences? Does everyone in your band listen to similar music or musicians?

Good question! Ummm, it’s all over the place really. We’re all pretty diverse in our inspirations. I think we all have an appreciation for anything that’s somewhat moving? Recently we’ve been getting inspired by much heavier material which is cool!

To name some bands, Periphery, Monuments, Heart of a Coward, The Mars Volta, Nothing More, Dance Gavin Dance…

But it’s not uncommon to go into a room and hear Snarky Puppy, Junichi Masuda or Take That, haha, I don’t know.

I listen to all of them!
Well, what should we gig goers expect from your live shows?

Expect a show! We’ve spent a lot of time this year crafting our live sets to be more than just ‘a collection of songs’. The songs we play are special to us beyond their technical merit. So you’ll see us sweat out and dig in, really trying to convey something that the audience can relate to.

I would love to come to your show soon! Oh, Guildford is really hot with bands right now. Can you tell us a bit about your local music scene there?

It really is!! There’s some killer bands in Guildford right now. And they’re all super supportive of each other which keeps it all alive. It’s always changing and I know that there’s a handful of emerging bands that I’m really excited to go and check out over the next few months!

I’d say that if you really want to get blown away, then you’ve got to check out our friends: Xero (Who just played Bloodstock), Versa (Relatively new band with buckets of talent) and Boodrush (Who just played alongside Tesseract in Romania). There’s literally so many bands killing it here right now that you’ve got to come down and see for yourself! 

I haven’t been to Guildford gigs for a few years now. I must make myself get down there soon.
‘Random Fear’ is your 4th single. Are we expecting an EP or album following this single?

Yes! So, this is yet to be finalised… Essentially we have an album’s worth of material but need to book studio time for drum recording and all that good stuff. 

Super! Can’t wait for all that starts! What will be coming from Gatvol next?

We are headlining a Guildford Freshers date at The Star Inn on September 4th with our friends Versa and Break Fifty. This is definitely one to see! And it’s FREE ENTRY.

Sounds good to me!

On September 8th, we are down in Worthing, supporting our pop-punk friends Lock ‘N’ Throw on their single release.

And, you can expect a ‘Live Music Video’ for our next single which is expected late October.

Fantastic!
Our times’s up. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Our debut music video for our latest single ‘Random Fear’ will be available on YouTube on Friday 30th! Check it out!

For information on gigs and to join the events, to keep up to date with us, etc etc, you can find and follow us on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/gatvoluk.

Thank you for your time! You’ve been great! Good luck!

Thank you very much Teri!
Hopefully speak to you soon! (smile)

–  Teri Morris

 

Useful Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gatvoluk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gatvoluk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gatvol_uk
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rA4RvSbMO9aBQnt0apnbC?si=JDpBSY9xRwOYYd3vNail6w
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChlMK2Taa5ajC1yl9wm9vig