After cracking out a bold and adventurous array of releases over the last few months, including his impactful debut EP ‘Guess I’m Keeper’ last year, fast-rising artist Keeper is back once again with his explosive new single ‘Here We Go’.
Blending a heady mix of pop-punk and alt-rock tendencies throughout his newest offering, he is cementing himself as one of the more exciting names on the rise right now. Jam-packed with killer riffs and soaring hooks, ‘Here We Go’ is another strong example of his impactful sound to date.
So with the new track doing the rounds, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and influences over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
So,
My musical journey started off with the piano.
Couldn’t tell you the age.
I just remember being really young.
Off the top of my head…I wanna say maybe 8 or 9.
I stuck with that for maybe 2 years before my teacher moved to Australia.
After that. I never really touched it again.
All my piano skills have completely left me.
I’ve got absolutely none.
And that sucks.
It sucks a lot, to be honest.
The piano is such a vital instrument.
If you’re doing this bedroom artist type of thing, it’s essential that you at least know where the keys are. But I don’t.
I’ve gotta keep googling them every time I wanna use the damn thing. Pain in the butt. But I get it done. If not really slowly.
But in terms of falling in love with an instrument.
I think it has to be the guitar.
That’s my main thing.
I love playing. It’s my go-to to write. Everything I ever does starts off with the guitar.
I think I’m pretty good at it too. I’m definitely not amazing, but I would feel comfortable saying I’m well above average. I can do the whole Polypiha thing… just a Lil sloppy…
I didn’t always have that connection.
It took me a Lil while to find my footing with it.
My parents had to always make me practice in the early days.
It sorta felt like homework. And I HATED HOMEWORK. I still do.
They really had to shout to get me to do anything.
I think it was mostly because my music taste hadn’t really started to come through.
It wasn’t till I was 15 or so, that I discovered Paramore and Lower Than Atlantis. but that ties into the next question
What was the first band or artist you enjoyed when you were younger?
Rage Against The Machine.
I didn’t understand any of the songs or their meanings.
It just felt cool.
My dad had given it to me one day.
He went, “don’t tell your Mum”.
And I listened to it every single day after that haha.
I used to blast it. Even that certain bit in Killing in the name of.
Mum found out very quickly who had given me it.
I wasn’t gonna lie.
It was too cool to be kept a secret.
A forbidden fruit.
Something only I was allowed.
Which, now, is obviously dumb. It was a huge success. A super well-known album.
But to me.
It was mine and mine alone.
It didn’t shape me musically till much later, however.
The artists/ bands that really did that, were guys like Paramore, Lower Than Atlantis, Nirvana, and Bring me.
Besides Nirvana. These were guys who were a few years older than me.
They weren’t these far-off distant rockstars.
They were mostly kids who decided to form bands with their best mates.
It felt honest and real.
Actually.
It felt obtainable.
That could be me up there. Playing music with my friends and traveling the world.
That was the point I really started delving in.
Practicing every day. Discovering new bands and genres. Checking out live shows. And moshing till be face was covered in blood.
What was the first album you remember owning?
I’ll change the question a bit.
Just as I’ve sort of accidentally answered it already lol.
The first Album I remember going out my way and buying was from a local band.
They had recently blown up, and had been playing on all the radio stations up and down the country.
Every time they came up, my parents would say, “Listen”! Listen! It’s Hard-Fi, they’re the boys from Staines!!!”.
This was the coolest thing.
I had never met them before. But god was I routing for them.
A bunch of local guys. Near me!!! Playing on Radio 1!?! Amazing!.
I loved them. Which is funny, as it’s not really my thing now. But the nostalgia still hits when I go back and listen.
So picture me. 8 years old. Having received my first CD player as a birthday present. Walking down to HMV with Grandma on holiday in Eastbourne.
Scowering the shop floor until I found “Hard-Fi, Stars of the CCTV”.
It’s a vivid memory. I can picture it all, even the emotions.
I remember being so excited. I couldn’t believe it honestly. This was my cd. Mine. I had chosen. I bought it. And I WILL PLAY IT.
I’ve still got it now somewhere. Hidden away. probably in my cd book.
It’s a good memory.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Took me a while to come up with an answer tbh.
Ima chose one of my mate’s tracks.
His artist’s name is Only Friend.
The track in question is “Co Co-Dependency”.
I am so jealous of this person.
He is honestly a music God.
His voice is incredible, and out of all his amazing tracks, I think it’s most apparent in this one. Probably doesn’t help that this was the first song I heard from him lol.
But moving on. Hahaha.
This track is a banger.
It really is.
It’s so powerful, that when the “beat drops” it feels like a punch to the head! The vocals work seamlessly around the instrumentation. It’s not thrown together, but rather meticulously placed.
The harmonies are thought out and sound incredible. It’s a joy to listen to it every time I have it on!!
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the
moment?
I’m going through a sort of 2000 emo thing atm.
I think it’s partly due to the “When We Were Young” festival. Having all those OG bands on one lineup. Spotify creating playlists around it too hasn’t helped
It took hold of me, and hasn’t let me go for the last week.
I often find myself screaming along to tracks like “Feel Good Drag” By Anberlin, or “The Kill” by 30 seconds whilst driving to my 9 – 5.
Living out my best life in the 20mins it takes me to drive to work haha.
We all do it.
So I don’t feel too bad about admitting it.
I don’t have Spotify premium. I try hard not to spend money when I don’t have to. Especially in the living crises atm.
So as a result, I’m unable to select songs. I have to let the shuffle gods decide my fate.
And thanks to that damn festival, they have been kind. Very Kind.
No doubt a bit, later on, it’ll go back to the usual 4 tracks.
But for now, I’m living the dream!!!
If there was any moment in your career you could relive, what would it be?
My career as Keeper is quite young. While the project is 3 years old now. I was only really able to upload for 2 of those. Like most people, I was stuck in the Covid world.
so I feel like I haven’t experienced enough yet as an artist.
But say you had a gun to my head, and I had to choose.
I think id say those super early months. It just felt so exciting. I love writing. It’s my favourite part. and that’s all we did as that’s all I could do.
I was super fortunate, I recognize that.
A lot of people struggled immensely during that year. And while it sucked too. I don’t think I’ve experienced as much musical growth as I have done in those first 4 -5 months.
It felt like I was actually moving forwards for once. Not stuck, waiting for something to happen.
That’s the trouble with bands. Is that often It comes down to someone else?
You might be gearing up, and ready to go. But if your bandmate is lagging behind. It becomes impossible to do anything.
That’s the joys of the solo life.
all you have to convince to start moving is yourself. Everything else follows.
Which artist would you most love to share a stage with?
Hmm,
That’s a hard one.
Jason from Fever 333/ Let live.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more lively frontman in my life.
Loads of bands do the whole crazy guy thing.
But NONE. NONE. Do it like him.
He is a force of nature If I’ve ever seen one.
refuses to sit still. Always moving, hyping up the crowd, jumping off stages, climbing ceilings diving into drum kits.
No one does it like him.
And his energy is in the music as well. You can hear the passion in his voice when he sings/screams.
He loves what he does. And it’s so apparent.
It actively makes you hyped just listening to it. And that means your live show is gonna be insane.
If you’re trying not to crowd kill at home listen into a wav from Spotify. Imagine what your gonna do at a gig when that wall of sound comes crashing on you.
As someone who’s seen them a few times.
Trust me.
It’s insane.
And is there an artist you would love to collaborate with as well?
Hayley Williams.
That’s it.
Literally the queen of rock.
A track with her would be the death of me.
I have looked up to that damn band for years and years.
I would probably have a heart attack if any of came up to me.
I would certainly not survive a song. But OMG I WOULD LOVE THAT.
I am well aware that the queue for that feature, is probably one of the longest in the world. The amount of musicians that the band has inspired is insane.
They have no bad songs. It’s impossible. Scientifically impossible in fact.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
That’s a hard question.
I love the writing part of music myself.
The creativity that goes into writing.
The time the effort.
Even the doubt, the whole process I live for.
But gigging is great too.
Unfortunately, I’ve not had much of a chance to actually do that a lot with this project so far.
And that kinda sucks.
I’m working on it. Got some coming up. Looking at getting myself booked for a few others too.
But I’m sure when I finally can. I’m gonna love it.
Getting to play these songs I worked so hard to make and hearing them as they’re meant to be heard… Live.
That’s honestly incredible.
I long for the point when people know my lyrics better than I do.
(Funnily enough, that’ll be pretty easy. As I hardly remember them haha)
Screaming them back to me as the show goes on… That’s the dream.
And I hope Ill get that with Here We Go. We really tried that big sing-along chorus.
I think we did. That first line slaps. I know you can’t say that with your own songs. But I think it does. And hopefully, it will.
I’ve got a gig Friday the 11th. Well find out then I guess haha.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the release part too. But I also find it super stressful. I think it’s because you work so hard on something, then finally you’re able to show it to the world. See what people think.
Get deserved criticism and some undeserved. It’s a very vulnerable time But it’s exciting and you need to do it, otherwise, what’s the point haha.
The feeling you get when someone actually takes the time to listen to something you spent countless hours working on, is insane.
Plus, I wouldn’t be able to get to that singalong stage if I didn’t release the damn songs haha.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Make 100 songs, then 100 more, and then 100 more.
It takes awhile to make any sort of progress in music.
From actually getting good and making good tracks, to growing a fanbase.
The whole thing is a slow and drawn-out process. But you gotta love the journey.
Try not to rush, focus on small achievable steps rather than big goals.
At the end of the day, small steps are still progressing. And it really allows you to see how far you’ve come and how far you’ll grow.
I’m guilty of this too.
It’s hard.
You wanna do so well. You’ve worked so hard on something, and to see it not do what you thought It could do sucks.
But you’ve made progress. You might not be able to see it, but you have.
Either you’ve made a new die-hard fan, or you’ve gotten better at writing. Progress is still progress and you should be happy with that.
We’ve all been at the start. It’s the choosing not to give up that makes you. sometimes it takes a Lil longer, but you’ll get there if you keep your head down.
This is mostly telling myself, rather than somebody else lol.
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Keeper’s new single ‘Here We Go’ is available to stream now. Check out the new video for it below.
