BXRRELL Talk New Single, May/June 2024 Headline UK Tour And More

Apr 18, 2024 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Photo Credit: Supplied By Artist

Who is in BXRRELL, what do they play and how did you meet?

BXRRELL are a 3 piece pop/rock band from the U.K., Sophie Burrell on vocals and guitar, Sped Spedding on guitar and Simon Uselis on Drums. Sped is the glue, originally connecting with Sophie via social media and Simon through the London “circuit”, we found ourselves in a position to start writing together in 2020…and now we’re here!

Your new single ‘White Noise’ is out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

I (Sophie) wrote White Noise off the back of an experience I had a couple of years ago. When I was new to being a content creator I had a brand share a video as an advertisement of me, without me knowing. I stumbled across it on Facebook and went to the comments to find heaps of super negative comments from men criticising my appearance, playing, everything. I struggled to wrap my head around why they were being so horrible to me, all I was doing was playing guitar. I’d never experienced hate in that volume before, I sat on it for a few days and decided to turn it into something productive and thus, White Noise was born.

Where did you record the single and who produced it? We record guitars remotely and then come together with our producer, Luke Targett for vocals, drums and production to tie it together!

The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it? The video was directed by Matty, Clearway Media. We thought having a set built from multiple different TVs, old in age, displaying White Noise was very symbolic. Simple yet effective with helping us to communicate our message with the song, visually.

Who are some of your musical influences? Our biggest influences include the likes of Paramore, Billie Eilish, Biffy Clyro, Muse and Royal Blood.

Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?

We have our debut headline tour coming up at the end of May and beginning of June!. We’ll be hitting 6 UK cities, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, London and Bristol. We’ll be bringing a bunch of unreleased material with us alongside our current releases, it’s going to be sick!

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

That’s a great question. Honestly, no idea. We spend so much time writing and playing guitar we have little time left for reading hahahahahaha.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

We hope that above all, people enjoy our music and spending their evenings with us. BXRRELL is about feeling a sense of unity, everybody is going through things in their lives but we hope that when they come to a show they feel included, loved, understood and able to let go of whatever it is they’re struggling with for an hour or so whilst we play and dance with them!

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Sophie endorses PRS guitars, they come with her absolutely everywhere and she’s obsessed. Sped likes to use a variety of gear, you’ll catch him with a Gibson Les Paul, Fender Strat, PRS or Hagstrom. Simon’s kit is a Gretsch, which is also his baby. When you come to a BXRRELL show you can expect a wide soundscape, rich in versatility, we use a lot of effects which get sprinkled over the top to make us and the audience feel fully immersed in the sound.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

We’re actually really spread out! Sophie is based in Southampton, Sped in Manchester and Simon in Lithuania. So I guess we could say…far and wide? Hahaha.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the single recording sessions? White Noise actually went through quite the metamorphosis through its time from the first demo to the single you hear now. Honestly, hearing it finally take shape with its final form was one of the most magical moments we’ve had together in the studio. I wish I could share how it felt but you would’ve had to have been there and been through the same journey with the song that we went through to get what I mean.

Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective? Out of our released tracks, happiest probably UFO…because it’s fun! Angriest, Dare To for sure and most reflective, probably White Noise because it’s got a lot of depth in its meaning.

How do you look after your voices? Sophie likes to warm up with her singing straw before the studio, shows, rehearsals…anything with singing!

Do you have any plans for further music releases such as an EP or an album?
Absolutely. We have an album’s worth of material sat behind the gate right now, our plan is to drop our debut album later on this year!

What makes BXRRELL happy and what makes you unhappy?

The key to making and keeping BXRRELL happy is a plethora of good tunes, chocolate, deep conversations accompanied with light-hearted banter. What makes us unhappy is when we find out people haven’t bought their tickets to our tour yet, what’re you waiting for?! We want to see you!