Music Q&A: Koyo

What informs your music and songwriting?
Life experience. Life lessons, usually hard ones. The things going on around me, my observations and perceptions. Musically a lot of different influences go into it. Between the five of us we’re very eclectic. Everything from jazz, to hip-hop, to metal, to rock and electronic gets channelled into our songs, even if it’s just a small element that’s inspired us. We strive to stay open minded. It makes for more interesting music.

How have you evolved as a band over the years?
We went from recording songs in a bedroom to recording and releasing our debut album to critical acclaim and touring around the country playing Reading and Leeds and this year’s Download festival.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
We’re getting stuck into our second album. We already nearly have enough material for an album but we want to keep exploring and pushing ourselves as much as we can.

What’s on your rider?
Water, beer, fruit and usually hummus. We get what we’re given, to be honest, although we do usually feel disappointed if there isn’t any of the above.

Tell us your most embarrassing or surreal experience.
Probably the time I turned up to play Reading festival and forgot my guitar. Luckily our tour manager came to the rescue five minutes before we were due on stage.

What song do you wish you’d written?
Changes by Bowie or River Man by Nick Drake. Hard to choose.

What’s your worst lyric?
Probably something I just wrote that will never see the light of day!