RECENTLY formed Squid have just come off the back of a hit performance, the special Record Store Day edition of  Spectrum at the Brighton Dome.
Here the band introduce themselves.

We met as students living in Brighton. We are Ollie Judge, Anton Pearson, Louis Borlase and Arthur Leadbetter. Louis and Anton had been experimenting with instrumental performances but upon being offered to put on a night at the Verdict Jazz Cafe in Kemp Town we all decided to write a set that we would play there before we had really started Squid.

We take influence from post-rock bands such as Godspeed You! and Black Emperor. We have found that a range of styles across artists such as Stereolab, John Martyn and Bill Evans have been shaping our music, as well as each other’s performances within the band. 

We are definitely still developing a sound that is coming out of what we play on stage. Before practising and working out ideas we never know whether a drone piece or a more rhythmic tune will be the final product. 

Anton’s guitar style is unorthodox, he creates thick textures through his careful use of effects and swell techniques. The folk background of Arthur’s cello playing works interestingly within some of the more electronic elements and you can always get a great, harmonically rich drone out of a cello. Ollie’s vocals and electronics make it really fun to play live and definitely there’s an element of unpredictability in the performance elements. Louis’ multi-instrumentalism allows for explorative composition, his background includes jazz influences and this feeds unusual techniques into our music. We run a a night called Small Hours at The Verdict in Kemp Town every couple of months. . 

We just self-produced and released our first single. It’s called Perfect TeethPerfect Teeth. We’ve also got a live recording of our first gig at The Verdict, which showcases some of our more jazz-leaning compositions, it’s a bit further away from what we’re doing at the moment but it has laid the groundwork to what we’re working towards. 

We’re finishing our university degrees in the coming weeks, and the summer is devoted to recording and playing more shows. There’s a remix of  Perfect TeethPerfect Teeth coming out from an ambient-electronic artist, Bruised Skies. We’re looking forward to hearing that but mainly excited to becoming a part of the Brighton music community, there are so many good bands around. 

Find out more
www.facebook.com/squiduk
www.soundcloud.com/squiduk
www.squiduk.bandcamp.com