Ravens Brain

Present yourself to the readers

Hey, we’re Lost on Me, We’re a duo post-punk band from Newcastle/Gateshead in the U.K.
Martin – Guitar/vocals
Jazmine – Bass

What’s the story for DECADE ?

We were referring to reaching our 10 year anniversary in our relationship which was early June 2018. Relationships take a lot of work and we certainly don’t consider ourselves perfect people or role models, so to us making it this far is a huge achievement that we’re proud of and wanted to mark since now doing music together.

It’s not every day you can celebrate your 10th year anniversary by releasing a record. The timing was of it was pretty good.

Who composes ?...How does it work in the duo ?

I write our songs, but Jazmine runs my life haha.

It’s true!

Who writes the texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?

The lyrics come from me, but the topics and opinions stem from conversations between the two of us. Being both a couple and a band, we naturally spend a huge amount of time together and often get quite deep in conversation. As a result, I try to include a message from both together and regularly check with Jazmine if she’s happy and agrees with what’s being said. I personally enjoy relatable lyrics. As a result, I often write about pretty normal things but attempt to articulate the point so it can relate to a variety of different circumstances. With that in mind, we’re happy to let day to day life be our inspiration.

Why the name LOST ON ME ?

The name came from me feeling like I didn’t relate to a lot of the things that influenced people around me a few years ago. I always felt like I was saying to myself, “oh well, another thing Lost On Me.”

What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?

I tend to like a wide range of genre however when it comes to Post Punk/ Goth, I love bands like: - Joy Division, Lebannon Hanover, Veil Of Light, The Twilight Sad, Drab Majesty, Eagulls, Mansun, The KVB, Cold Cave, Double Echo, The Soft Moon, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Chameleons, New Order, Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission, The Cure - Pornography/ Disintegration, Siouxsie and The Banshee’s - Ju Ju & Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights/ Antic’s.

Mine would have to be Joy Division, The Twilight Sad, Lebannon Hanover, The Soft Moon. We have quite similar tastes when it comes to post punk but my music taste in general is quite varied.

What's your best live memory ? And why ?

We’ve only been playing live a little over a year, but playing at Whitby Goth Festival alongside Skeletal Family earlier this year was a highlight. I was really happy we got to support The Chameleons Vox also.

I would also say Whitby Goth Festival. The whole atmosphere in Whitby is always amazing. It’s probably one of my favorite places in the U.K.

In studio, what was the atmosphere for the album DECADE ?...etc.…

We self-record at home to be honest. We foolishly juggled a deadline to meet for our labels release schedule with playing quite a lot of live shows at the same time. We also had a studio booked to assist with the final mix and master and organised a rather big collaboration on the artwork, so for just the two of us to juggle between jobs and other commitments was a huge amount of work. I’ve no shame in admitting the whole process ended up burning us out for a short time.

Although it was quite stressful towards the end working to a deadline, we super proud of ourselves for pulling it off and self-recording guitar, vocals and bass, definitely an achievement for myself as I had never been a part of recording a full record before.

How does it work for the design of the CD ?

We initially saw the picture of the Sun Flower taken by local Photographer/ DJ Mel Butler and knew that was the sort of thing we were looking for. On approaching her she kindly agreed to sell us the photo. From there we compiled a variety of ideas that were artistically influencing us and gave them along with the photo to local Graphic Designer James Reay, who came up with the records full lay out concept. Prior to that I had already previously been casually collaborating with another friend David Henderson on iconography for Lost On Me, so had already constructed smaller additions like our small Wolf Logo and the Decade CD image, which I asked James to include as well. Once having the completed full art concept, Valerio at Swiss Dark Nights wanted to make sure the Art quality was as high as possible since being involved in Graphics himself, so went over the whole thing to bring the quality to its highest, which ended up as the final Artwork that was released.

Did you find a label ? If yes, how do you made the research ?

We’re a part of Swiss Dark Nights Records. I’ve been a fan of the label and its bands for quite some time, so to be able to be a part ourselves is naturally a big thing for us. My first meeting with Valerio came from my previous band Fractions around 2015. We were a real 80’s sounding Synth Pop band sort of similar to Cocteau Twins and I’d heard from a mutual friend he’d listened to our EP and liked it. I’d already been following the label as a fan so couldn’t resist dropping him a message. We never talked about working together or anything, and not long after Fractions split up. Following not having any contact for a year or two, when Lost On Me launched I got back in touch. Several months later he expressed an interest in working with us and now we’re here. Our only motive for approaching Swiss Dark Nights was from the point of view of being fans and wanting to join a label that understood our music and also supports the music we like in our private lives. Valerio has really helped us in getting our record together and we really appreciate the fact he’s taken a chance with us.

With Management and booking, how do you work ? And with whom ?

We do all of that side of thing ourselves to be honest. There isn’t really a secret to it other than not being scared to get in touch with strangers and don’t take any no’s to heart. I guess it always helps looking after those who have looked after you and being nice to everyone. When trying to get shows for your band, there are always going to be people out there that you don’t appeal to. You just have to develop a thick skin and keep at it until you find somewhere that clicks. In that respect we feel like we’ve been lucky in receiving the opportunities we’ve had so far, but don’t mind admitting it took us a little to find our feet to begin with.

What are your projects ?

Are you referring to current other projects or past?? Currently, I’ve just got Lost On Me (April 2017 to present). Lost On Me takes so much time up that even though the idea is tempting from time to time, I don’t have any more free time to commit. I do draw when I get chance though however my only chance tends to be when avoiding my work in my day job. In the past I’ve done a range of different bands/projects.
Here’s some:
Fractions (2014 to 2016) - An 80’s Synth Pop Band.
https://www.facebook.com/fractionsofthenorth
Road To Cairo (2010 to 2013) - A dumb solo electronic project
I did whilst in the early stages of learning how to produce. https://roadtocairo.bandcamp.com/
End Reign (2011 to 2014) - A Metallic Hardcore band I played in for a few years.
https://www.facebook.com/endreign
Lavotchkin (2005 to 2012) - A Metallic Hardcore/ punk band I played in throughout my youth. This band was my baby as a child.
https://www.facebook.com/Lavotchkin/

This is my first Musical project that I’ve been involved in. I studied Music for 3 years but doing vocals. I’m not much of a front person so when I got the chance to learn Bass from Martin I couldn’t resist.

What do you expect from the future ?

We’d really like to play out in mainland Europe. A dream would be to get to play a European Goth Festival such as Owls and Bats or Gothic Treffen. I’d also really like a 12inch Vinyl copy of our next release or Decade. Nothing is in the works for either at the moment but they are definitely goals.

To be able to do a little tour in Europe would also be awesome, that’s definitely my goal for the band.

What's your motto ?

“Drink and die, health is a lie”. I am fully joking on that, but in all seriousness, you only live once. I don’t want to be a person constantly referring to doing fun things when I was young, appose to focusing on doing fun things in life right now.

I’d say mine was “Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t achieve your goals”. Sounds cheesy and cliché but if there is something you want in life, work out a way to achieve it and don’t let anyone try and stop you.

Website to remember

http://www.lostonme13.com/ - We love a website update.

What would you like to say to the readers ?

Thanks for reading. Do whatever you want with your life and don’t let others opinions effect that.