Artwork by @mystupidsketchbook
WHO are they?
Kassio are a four-piece band consisting of Rhiane Hacker (vocals/rhythm guitar), Tom Wallis (lead guitar), Charlie Costelloe (drums) and Dom King (bassist).
Rhiane tells us how the band formed.“I wanted to start up a band and so last year I asked around if anyone else wanted to form one. Tom messaged me along with Dan (former bassist) and we then had to look for a drummer, and eventually found Charlie and officially formed in January this year. We recently changed bassists, who Charlie knew so we’re all friends together in this band.”
“We’re working on an EP very soon. Hoping to maybe release something by August. We have a few friends who help us out with producing our music. Laurence Nelson made a fantastic job producing and mixing our first single. We release everything ourselves. It’s a lot of work managing it all but it’s all part of the fun.”
WHAT are they singing about?
“I write the lyrics which are generally personal experiences that inspire me to write something, from relationships to social comments and those sorts of things. Musically, it’s a collective thing within the band and what we’re feeling at the time, how we think the songs should sound” tells us Rhiane.
“Without Warning is the effects of intimate relationships with people, and in particular, how you can fall so fast for someone that you didn’t expect to happen, hence the title ‘Without Warning’, and you know this isn’t a good thing but somehow you just can’t shake it off. It’s one of those relationships you know after a while, it isn’t going to go anywhere even after those times you’ve spent with each other and effort you’ve made.”
WHERE are they from?
“Myself and Tom have grown up in Somerset, England. He’s grown up in Bridgwater and I’ve grown up in and around places – because I’ve moved from Bristol to Weston to Nempnett Thrubwell to Brent Knoll – and Charlie grew up in Bristol along with Dom” explains Rhiane.
“I think Tom and I would say we haven’t really been influenced by our area particularly. There is a sort of local music scene but they’re more cover/tribute bands. There’s the heavier alternative scene in Bridgwater as well, but we don’t really fit into that, whereas Bristol has influence me more with the music availability there. Charlie’s definitely been shaped by the Bristol music scene along with Dom. He was lucky enough to be around when The Croft was still going, where he saw his fair share of some great shows. There’s such a buzz in Bristol when it comes to the music scene.”
WHY ‘Kassio’?
“We wanted something fun, something that would stick and sounded really cool. It was a case of going through a load of ideas at first and seeing which sounded the best” recalls Rhiane. “I’ve got a CASIO keyboard and someone suggested it and it stuck. It sounded cool enough so we changed the spelling around to make it more of our own (and make it search friendly for people looking for our music than the brand) and here we are today.”
WHEN can I see them live?
“We’re currently in the process of booking some gigs and a possible small UK tour in August.”
HOW can I get to know them better?
Listen & Watch: Soundcloud
Like & Follow: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram
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