GRACEY, from Mok, a Brighton-based new wave six-piece, speaks to Makky Hall about the band’s soon-to-be-released visual EP The House.

Gracey also talks about how studying at BIMM Brighton made her realise she could have a career in music, a lifelong passion Which artists have inspired you and Mok?

I personally listen to a lot of R&B and artists such as JheneAiko, Lianne La Havas and James Blake. But there are six of us so there are a lot of different influences. The core influence between us all, I would say, is hip hop and old school drum and bass. Collectively our sound is a mash-up of Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Prodigy, Pendulum, Artic Monkeys, Radiohead and more. I could reel off a list of artists for the next 10 minutes.

Do you feel your rap-infused new wave fits in with the Brighton music scene or does it make you stand out?

Rap has and always will be a big part of the Brighton music scene so Mok isn’t too much of a stretch away from that. But I feel our other influences, the beats we use and the synth along with guitar and bass make us stand out over the other alternative rap acts out there currently.

Which Brighton venues do you enjoy playing in? Do any shows stand out?

We like putting on regular headline shows at The Haunt. We get to invite our favourite bands down and make a big night out of it. Fiddler’s Elbow at the Great Escape was a standout show for us – it was packed, people were standing on the tables and I couldn’t hear for a week after that show.

You are a former student of BIMM. What is one thing you took away from your time there?

I didn’t have the patience for anything else so I was lucky BIMM took me in for a while so I could home in on my singing and realise what I wanted to do. BIMM taught me how to make being in a band a long justifiable thing to do in life – even though I couldn’t sing like Beyoncé my life wasn’t over. Too many people don’t do what they love for a career.

What were the goals for Mok when you formed and in your time together have those goals changed?

When we started off in 2011, we wanted to play show after show and to perfect our performances. Since doing this we have had great opportunities and some great shows. We’re able to now sit back a bit and be more creative with what we are putting out. We’ve been working on a visual EP for the past six to eight months and we are just about to release it in a few weeks.

Our synth genius, Bailo, has been producing and mixing the songs and we’ve worked with local videographer and director Bezann Productions among lots of other local artists to create one big visual playing over our tracks. This visual will give you an insight as to what we are about.

What would you say are Mok’s biggest achievements so far?

Being supported by BBC Introducing South is a huge achievement for us. And being able to play at three in the morning to a sweaty packed-out tent in the summer. And of course, we’re very proud of what we’ve done with The House VP. On the second or third week of November we will be having a private viewing of the VP in a venue in Brighton – message us on Facebook/mok.uk for a chance to attend.

To watch a video from MOK, visit: www.theargus.co.uk/leisure/on_the_radar