house , just on our doorstep . It doesn ’ t feel like we ’ re generating a fan base , it feels like a friend circle .”
What kind of bands are you most influenced by ?
SH : “ Gilla Band , early Beastie Boys . Me and Jake love Gilla Band . Anything punk , anything really heavy . You don ’ t wanna sound too much like a band or to go out of your way to sound like a band .” KF : “ Anything shouty .” How did you guys get into music ? KF : “ We ’ ve all got different kinds of roots . The guitarist Jake , who isn ’ t here today , we met during secondary school back in 2014 , I think . We started during lunchtimes at school , we just went into the rehearsal room and learnt how to play guitar together as a hobby . We just learnt how to play guitar from there and then moved on to college , which is where I met Robin . Robin wanted to join a band .”
RM : “ I used to be a bassist , I played bass for like eight years and I joined the band with Chris and Jake . And then when we left for Brighton , we were looking to start another band . We needed a drummer , so I was like I ’ ll hop on , and it sort of went from there .”
SH : “ In the past two years I just randomly stumbled across these lot . We have mutuals at home it was really weird .”
KF : “ I just met Shea from a random pub trip that we did , like a year ago because we are locals , he ’ s from Seaford and I ’ m from New Haven . Robin and Shea knew each other through online gaming . So , we all knew each other without actually realising the connection . It was me and Jake , we brought Robin in , and we all collectively brought Shea on board . So , it worked out that way , it ’ s worked out pretty well so far .” Why are you guys called Epsom salts ?
KF : “ We get this question quite a bit . We were sat in our local pub ;
we were thinking that we ’ ve always had problems with picking a band name that didn ’ t sound cringe . I feel like if you just come up with a band name you shudder a little bit or it just sounds too cliche . We were just in the pub throwing names at each other and we went on Spotify as well , to see what exists . I think Epsom Salts has a ring to it .”
SH : “ I remember that we had one before that , that we were going to go with called My Body and we had Epsom Salts .”
RM : “ I didn ’ t clock until someone told me that it was something to do with diarrhea or something or baths that are good for your stomach . Someone told me , why are you called that , and I couldn ’ t say anything . I didn ’ t know it was a thing , I just thought that sounds like a cool name .” What is your creative process ? RM : “ Me , Chris and Jake all come from music technology backgrounds as well in A-levels ; we all know instruments quite well . We all bring melodies and rifts to the table ; we just play with it and then Shea shouts over it and we see what works .” SH : “ Yeah , I just shout over them .” What are your goals for the future ? RM : “ To play more music I think .” KF : “ I think we enjoy that the most . I think performing is the fun part . We ’ re going to get in a recording studio to record a single and get something out on Spotify . We ’ ve got a connection ; Robin ’ s brother is a music producer .”
RM : “ He ’ s an engineer for a company not involved in music but he is trained in technician staff . So , he ’ s going to do some mastering for us . I think our main goal is to just to have fun , it ’ s nice to have music on Spotify and a following , but I just wanna play music .”
KF : “ There is a studio that I work with every now and then who has offered their studio space . So , we ’ ve got all the people we just need to get a time booked and get it sorted . We ’ ve got a few gigs coming up as well , we ’ re going up to Norwich in January , that ’ s going to be quite exciting .
You don ’ t really know how to draw the line between music as a hobby , to music as a career . Obviously , we ’ re not looking to make money at the moment . It would be nice to make a career out of it , I think that ’ s what everybody wants . But , in the meantime , where just really enjoying networking with people , performing and getting on stage and getting our name out there . I think we ’ re doing a decent job .”
Epsom Salts can be found on Instagram @ epsom . salts ; you can find more updates about their upcoming gigs and information about their latest music when it drops .
Photo Credit : Epsom Salts