In today’s A-Z challenge, we find out all about Cairiss as the band take on our famed 26 questions.
A song that made you want to make music?
MW – One by Metallica
Best rider you’ve had?
FB – I can’t remember which gig it was, but we were given a fridge full of Stella once. I was drinking at the time, so I was pretty pleased with that.
Craziest moment you’ve had in the band?
MW – There were Tubs of spilled oil in the “gear storage” kitchen. They didn’t even provide straws.
Deepest lyric one of your songs features?
FB – All of our lyrics deal with pretty difficult emotional subjects, so it’s difficult to pick just one that is especially poignant, but perhaps the lyrics in Retrace “I’ve been silent all along…”
Easiest song you wrote?
MW – Disgraced
Favourite song in your set?
FB – I really like Wildfire! It’s a difficult one to perform, though, as I do a lot of pitch screaming in that track. It’s also always fun to play Disgraced, as it’s the first song we ever released!
Guest you’d most like to feature on your record?
FB – Steven Wilson
Hardest thing about being in a band?
FB – It’s the social media for sure. Promoting yourself as a musician now is just so vastly different to how it used to be. You’re essentially competing with millions of other videos for 10 minutes of someone’s time on their phone. It’s very stressful!
Interesting fact about one of your members?
FB – Ethan has perfect pitch! It’s nuts! He can literally tell you the note a car horn makes as it drives past, or the exact notes someone makes when speaking. Crazy!!
Jokes you have in the band?
FB – We were once trying to formulate an email together to a promoter, and after some discussion, Martin said something along the lines of “ok, let’s just put “Hi Dan…”” And we pointed out to him that the promoter isn’t even called Dan. So now we call a lot of people/members Dan. At one point, everyone in the band group chat was called Dan. It was very confusing lol.
Key to writing a song?
EB – F#m probably.
Longest distance you’ve travelled to play a show?
FB – We’ve travelled pretty far up the north of England all the way from Southampton!
Most inspiring musician you’ve experienced?
We all went to watch Porcupine Tree when they reunited and it was one of the best shows ever!
New band you’d recommend?
MW – Not exactly new, but I recently discovered Lost Society.
CF – I’ve recently been getting into Angine De Poitrine!
Opening for this band would be ideal?
It’s gotta be Alcest. They are one of the pioneers of our genre, and it would be very fitting for us!
Place you’d most like to tour?
FB – Scandinavia would be amazing! But we also have a lot of fans in Germany, France and the US, so there too!
Quote you’d like to pass on to our readers?
FB – For me, it’s pretty simple and not especially poignant, but “treat everything as a temporary experiment” is something I live by a lot at the moment. I’m someone that finds change pretty difficult, and I often struggle with all or nothing thinking. So for me, once I started treating everything as a “let’s just see what happens and we can reassess if we need to” experiment, things started feeling much less daunting in my brain. Maybe that will help others too!
Reason for the title of your recent/forthcoming release?
FB – ‘Wilderness‘ comes from the lyrics in our single Wildfire: “the wilderness I can find, when I leave the trail behind“, which is used to describe the twisting, complex landscape of one’s psyche. It’s just the perfect word to describe the predictable and unpredictable facets of someone’s being. That, and the fact that I did a degree in zoology and spent a lot of my time outdoors alone looking at insects and wildlife. It’s something I have always deeply connected with.
See us live at?
FB – No announcements yet, but definitely plans in the works for a live return. Watch this space!
The old days of music were better than the current, do you agree?
FB – I just think it’s vastly different, and way too nuanced to just condense down to “better” or “worse”. There are incredible things about both eras, and of course not so great things about both as well. In the past, the dehumanising pressure of content creation and social media didn’t exist, but at the same time, women, BIPOC and LGBTQ people were treated even more like garbage. So it’s hard to make a blanket statement really, it depends what aspect you are speaking about!
Unusual merchandise?
FB – All our merch has been pretty standard, but I’ve seen bands selling some pretty ridiculous stuff e.g. protein powders
Variations you’d like to do on any of your songs?
EB – We’d like to do a live version of a song or two at some point!
What do your fans mean to you?
FB – Everything. Our fans are so lovely, and so insightful/emotionally rich. It’s really lovely to connect with them musically or otherwise.
X-rays or any treatments needed for band related injuries?
CW – I once broke my ankle the night before a practice while sober at a nightclub.
FB – I was once hit in the head by a guitar whilst watching a gig, and had to go to hospital and have my head glued up. That was pretty brutal lol.
You’re late for a show, whose fault is it?
CF – Cairiss never arrives late to a gig, we arrive exactly when we intend to!
Zoo animal that best describes the personality of your band?
FB – Meerkats, probably. We’re a tight knit group but also chaotic, which I think that animal encompasses!
Picture credit: Marie Korner Photography