Artistic Echoes Interview

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For our readers that have not heard of Altinak before could you tell us a bit about the band your story?

 

The name comes from the eastern most star in Orions belt called Alnitak but we swapped the middle letters round to give Altinak.

We formed in 2011 when we were all in 1st year of Linlithgow Academy. All four of us found ourselves in the music room of a local youth club and just hit it off. From the start we wanted to try and write and perform our own material. It has been a great learning experience and we had loads of fun playing small shows, school competitions and some local events. Our first proper gig was in 2015 when we ended up as a finalist in a competition to win a slot at Party at the Palace, no fairy-tale ending, we didn’t win but it did give us the desire for more.  We are now all 18, still together and still writing so it feels like we have been doing this for ages.

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Who would you say inspired you to get on stage and perform? 

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No one really, we just wanted to write and play our music. All our songs have a story, take for example, Australia. Mary wrote this as a letter to her brother who was on his gap year and would be away from home for the first time in Australia at Christmas. We know the story, we know the emotions, we created the tune and that’s why we all love playing it – we just hope it strikes a chord with the audience.

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Are there any bands that have really influenced your music that have stuck with you throughout the years? 

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Arctic Monkeys, Bet You Look Good was our first main cover and we do still drop it into our live set now and again. As a band we all love Circa Waves, the four of us went to see them live in Glasgow where they were supported by The Academic. Then when we saw The Academic were touring we bought tickets to see them only to be asked a week later by the promoter to be their support – which we have done twice now!

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Could you tell us about the winning ReverbNation track “Kick Off”? 

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Mary, our vocalist, had lost her keys and it was causing her loads of worries. So, the rest of us were winding her up jamming the phase “Mary lost her keys and can’t go home” which we all turned into a song about every teenage party we had been to. It’s amazing to hear the words sung back at you when we play this live and we know it’s becoming something of a “pre-night out” anthem with our friends.

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What is the most interesting place that you have performed at so far? 

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The legendary King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow. They have a staircase where you see the names of bands who have played before you. It makes it really special walking out onto the same stage as Oasis, Twin Atlantic, Biffy Clyro and Coldplay – makes anything seem possible.

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Do you have any stories from touring that you can share with us? 

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So far, we have just played individual gigs and festivals. Sadly, we have just had to turn down our first tour invitation due the one of the band being on holiday. This year we played Party at the Place and at one point were backstage having lunch with ASH and The Lightning Seeds. But when we got our first dressing room with beer in the fridge – now that was special you should have seen the smiles we had.

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What would you say is missing from today’s music industry? 

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Bands like us with an equal male/female mix – with any luck we will be one of the first to break that one!

At Artistic Echoes we are always on the look out for new artists, is there anyone you can recommend? 

Has to be The Academic – these guys are destined for stardom. From the local scene here in Scotland we would say watch out for The Dirty Hepburns and Retro Video Club – we are big fans of their sound and they are great guys to hang out with.

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What plans do you have for the rest of the year and 2018? 

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We are back in King Tuts in January and plan to record some new music in the early part of 2018. We would ideally love to land a couple more festivals this year but our focus is on slowly building and learning from every gig we do.

 

 

"And the (2017 Party At The Palace) lineup – as you might expect – seems to be just about spot on. A mix of the old and the new, with local and international talent gracing the three stages.

On the Breakout Stage Altinak fit the bill on two counts. Previously spotted at a competition to win a slot on the 2015 bill, the local quartet have ‘graduated’ (they have just completed studies at the local High School) to the big(ger) stage, and have a sound that’s grown up too, tight rhythms and choppy guitars making for a nice line in shouty alt.pop – and it’d be no insult to suggest that closing single ‘Kick Off’ may indicate that they have just returned for the Pixies show at Kelvingrove)."

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By Stuart McHugh • Aug 13th, 2017 •Isthismusic?

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" I headed up the hill to the Star and Garter Stage where Linlithgow teenagers Altinak were in action They performed an accomplished set on that second stage, including a tasty cover of U2’s Vertigo. Their own material is pretty strong too. The two girls two boys indie quartet released an EP on Friday. I’ll certainly be checking it out."

 

Jim Gellatly - The Scottish Sun - 15/08/2016