Introducing:
Realms
For Fans Of: Funeral For A Friend / Underoath / Fightstar
Given that Realms are a ‘post-hardcore band from Yorkshire making music for people who never grew out of their emo phase’, could they be a more perfect fit for The Alt Club? Their EP’s – the most recent being 2020’s Burn The Orchard – give us a real sense of the 2000s American post-hardcore scene where abrasive punk and more tender emotional elements clashed. We chat to the band about their latest single, ‘Original Sin’ and more.
Words: Renette van der Merwe
Interview
Tell us a little about yourself. Where the name came from, how long you’ve been going for and anything else new fans would want to know.
Karl (vocals): We really wanted a one-word name like Nirvana or Placebo. We were originally called Enemigos after a letlive song but it was kinda awkward and Matt popped up with Realms after originally saying if he owned a nightclub he would call it that and it just kinda stuck.
We’ve been going for like 5 years now, at least as realms and with our main core line up. We’ve swapped bassist quite a few times but this iteration is the longest we’ve had for a while. We dropped our first EP Echo Chamber in 2017 and that was our first real step into the world.
We are currently in the studio and hoping to drop some singles soon with some shows planned later in the year!
Can you recall your very first memory of music?
Karl: For me it was my grandad: He was pretty eccentric but I’ll never forget the first time he gave me his headphones and put his War of the Worlds vinyl on. It was so fucking cool to hear something like that. I don’t think it’s my first memory of music but it’s my most prominent. That and jamming to ABBA.
Matt (guitar): I don’t know if this is my first memory of music but the first artist I can remember liking as a young kid was probably Michael Jackson. My mum was a fan and I think I remember his music being the first that I really paid attention to.
Who’s on your wishlist of artists that you’d love to collaborate with and/or open for on tour?
Karl: For me, Jason Aalon Butler is on the top of my list to collab with. Every song that man touches just gets elevated to another level. I would love to collab with Glassjaw as well because they are just so seminal to that specific sound they produce. Would be cool to see what we could come up with. For touring it would have to be Funeral For a Friend or Fightstar, 2 mainstays in British post-hardcore that have had a huge influence on the band
Matt: Karl has pretty much the same answer as me haha. I think I’d actually like to collab with Travis Barker. The man is everywhere at the minute and everything he touches just seems to turn to gold. I feel like a collaboration with Realms would really put his talents to the test haha. In terms of touring, I’d like to tour with Don Broco. They just seem like good lads and like they’d be a good laugh on tour!
Speaking of live shows, what’s your favourite story from a show so far?
Karl: Without a doubt, it has to be the time our bassist Jordan got stuck in a room in the back that was behind the stage looking for something but couldn’t come out as people were performing on the stage in front of him. Seeing his little head pop out the back never fails to crack me up
Matt: Another cool memory from shows would maybe be the time we played an outdoor festival near Barnsley. We had never played outdoors before so we got a bit excited and went hard on the summer vibes. We all wore loud, summer shirts and sunglasses. It was a vibe. There’s some photos or videos on our socials somewhere haha
Your video for ‘Original Sin’ came out in March. What were some of the most fun and also the most challenging aspects of recording it?
Karl: Recording a video is always fun especially when we are clowning on people. I think the best thing was how much I looked like an emo Boris Johnson which was pretty apt at the time and how it all came together was ace. Booty did a great job on it and we look forward to seeing what we can create next time.
The challenge would have to be wearing the gas mask and having the fake blood on us, it was so cold and gross plus we had to do it right at the end of shooting and it was just weird. Miming songs is also a lot harder than you’d think.
Matt: it’s always fun doing a video because it’s another chance to be creative in a different medium than we’re used to, so I’d say the most fun part for me was talking through ideas with the band and with Booty. The most challenging part is maybe having to do so many different takes and moshing/head banging through them all, it gets quite tiring after a while and I’m not very fit!
We noticed a post on your socials about studio time. Are there any details to be divulged yet?
Karl: We are currently working on three singles that we intend to spread out. We are working with Treehouse studios who have worked on so many projects that we like as a collective so we are really grateful to be working at this place and we are excited for the finished products to come out! Hoping this increase in quality will really represent what our band can do and get our name out there
Matt: We’ve tried a few different things with these new songs. A couple of them are sort of yin and yang in that one is really quite melodic and the other is just heavy filth and the third song is really riffy. They’re all quite different from each other and are different from the stuff we’ve done before but I feel like they all have their own identities and are a good progression of our sound.
Settle an argument for us (and the rest of the world) pineapple on pizza?
Karl: Yeah it can go on there, I get why people like it. Hell, put whatever you want on there. It’s your pizza, don’t let other people tell you what you want to enjoy, right?
Matt: I personally don’t like it but I guess I can see why people do, I’m sure there’s weirder stuff that goes on pizzas these days, I feel like pineapple gets a bad rep, it’s like the Nickelback of pizza toppings.
Music
Inspiration
Rising to the challenge, Realms have put together an electrifying collection of songs that best encapsulates the artists and music that inspire them as a band.
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