The Truman show: (Ricky)

There are a few things that relate to the Truman show in all our lives in some way I think. At the time when I was writing for the E.P, I watched the movie and I somewhat felt a connection. The record relates to it in a similar fashion where just when you think everything is fine and going your way the sense of isolation still finds a way back into your life. Because I wrote more of the music and not the lyrics it was a challenge to convey those feelings in some way. What I wanted to achieve was through the instrumentation and the feeling of the music. When I was writing for the E.P, I felt very much disconnected and introverted from the world. I was constantly in a bubble. The only negative thoughts that I could conjure up there, was the fact that I was away from people that I should have spent more time with. Having those feelings really helped me to work under pressure at the time.

In regards to the Truman show, we see the main character living in an idealistic world of what we see as a normal life. Working a normal 9-5, paying bills and eventually settling down. The story goes, that the ‘creator’ is the one that built this imitated world around Truman, hiring actors to mislead him and make him believe the false reality that he lives in. He feels something is wrong, he yearns for the truth, to seek answers even when there are those that are trying to stop him from seeking it. He even went as far as death to find the truth. To condense it further, the story teaches us to examine our lives and make discoveries about ourselves. Even losing fake people who really say they would be there. The road is daunting, we all have to face it alone. If we keep persistent, search for ourselves and believe in ourselves we will eventually find it and I believe this E.P talks about that. The struggles of life, moving on from toxic friends or relationships. Yet it is also about self-realisation, self-love and also the love for the people that are most important to you.

Hand out of water: (Ricky)

This is a picture I saw posted by a friend on my Facebook feed. I’m not quite sure why it stood out to me, but it did. Things like this give me inspiration. You could say it gives off a Jaws vibe. This sense of fear of the unknown is what our track ‘Haunting Me’ is based on, a sense of drowning in your own mind and fear of the unknown. This picture, like the Truman show, *spoiler alert* is a near death experience. And in the movie when he’s being toppled over in his boat by the waves, trying to escape his imitated world. He wanted out, and at times, so do all of us, whether that be drinking ourselves into oblivion at the weekend or escaping to see some nature, the sense of escape is always there in our lives and I believe it’s healthy to do so!


Blade Runner: (Tom)


For me this movie is so iconic. It inspired me on the songwriting and the artwork, from the story of hope and escape and neon sci-fi imagery this movie has always jumped out at me and continues to hold a lot of meaning despite questionable remakes. It’s great because 1. Because it’s a really cool movie from a design perspective and 2. The meaning behind it is really gripping and interesting. I think the idea of it being a close connection and a reflection of our current cultural surroundings is what interests me the most I guess, but obviously clearly demonstrated in a futuristic way. The movie is based around isolation and discovery, surrounded by selfishness and violence, it’s something that you could say holds relevance with the record.

Minimalism: (Tom)

Quite simply, minimalism as the art form is what mainly inspired me to create the artwork but can also be interlinked with the music in some way. Minimalism is about appreciating the most important things in life, whether that be one small object in an empty space or a person in a crowded place, it doesn’t matter what it is it’s the importance of the singular object or person that holds its relevance and importance that matters most. It’s about not how much you have but what you have.

The Warriors: (Tom)

As you’ve probably guessed by now, I’m a big movie fan. Especially from a time where special effects were difficult to achieve so they had to rely more on artistic merit and creative writing and movie structure to make it more entertaining. I love the way The Warriors portrays this 70’s New York gang/street vibe which managed to find its way into my artwork too. The streets we escape to on a weekend and see friends/loved ones, a place we call home but again holds potential damaging elements to it, this is what inspired me. This movie also again holds an element of isolation, the movie sees a gang from Coney Island framed for the murder of a leader. They are then chased through the dark back streets of New York all the way back to Coney Island where they are matched with their rival gang. It’s the journey home, the relentlessness to achieve and the fight for survival that inspires me the most. Which has a huge inspiration on our song ‘The Fight’. It is also, just a really cool movie.