Revenant Talk New Single, New EP And More

UK rising rockers Revenant are excited to announce their sophomore EP ‘Best Medicine’ due for release on Friday 11th April 2025 on CD/bundle/digital, We sat down with Matt Hudson to learn more about them and their new music:

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

Sam and myself (Matt) met when we played in a previous band together and we hit it off straight away. We connected through our playing and both seemed really comfortable around each other. Sam said to me that I am the only guitarist he has enjoyed being in a band with…I’ll take that. We decided we wanted to form our own band with Sam up front (I had to convince him to sing) and I drafted in Robin on the bass over a pint in the pub. No audition, he was in. I knew he could play. Carl was the last piece of the puzzle when Sam asked him if he knew any drummers, he did…himself. Revenant was born.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

One of my earliest musical memories has to be putting on my dads headphones when I was about 4 or 5 and it must have been at full volume…DEEP PURPLE – MADE IN JAPAN! I then discovered pop music, had a big love for acts like Take That, Backstreet Boys, Michael Jackson. I was young at the time and just loved harmony and that’s what was big at the time. Then my dad put on ‘Live and Dangerous’ by Thin Lizzy and that is when I asked for a guitar!

 

You have the new single ‘Best Medicine’ which is out now. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

Ultimately Sam and his fiancé, Sarah. Sarah helped pull Sam out of a bad place in his life and now they are happy and expecting a baby together. We like to write about our truths in Revenant and ‘Best Medicine’ is a love song, but it was never going to be a soppy ballad.

 

The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?

We wanted to be in an empty venue, play the song and leave, no frills. I have a friend, Phil, who is a videographer by trade and we trust him with our video, he hands it back, if we like it, great! If not, he’s good at making a tweak here and there. He does it for a living so we let him get on with it.

 

In addition, your new EP ‘Best Medicine’ is released on Friday 11th April 2025. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

The EP is full of tracks that we have been playing live for a while now, we decided these 5 fit best as an EP and we went in the studio and knocked it out in two days. We don’t mess around.

 

Where did you record the EP and who produced it?

 

We recorded the EP at Studio 91 in Newbury. We produce ourselves, we know what we want it to sound like before we go in but then it gets handed to mixing and mastering legend Dave Draper who’s worked with so many legends and he really makes it all come to life.

 

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?

 

A friend of the band, Darren Evans, came up and played the saxophone on ‘Least I Can do’. We wanted him to give it a bit of a ‘Springsteen’ vibe, he turned up, warmed up for about 5 minutes whilst we got the mic’s ready and then did it one take. Absolutely phenomenal player.

 

Do you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the EP?

 

Believe it or not…I am lucky enough to own Gary Moore’s Marshall JTM 45 that he used on the ‘Still Got The Blues’ record. All of the rhythm guitars on the EP go through that. Guess I shouldn’t reveal where I live as people would clamour for that…

 

Which of your new EP tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

 

Happiest – ‘Best Medicine’, it’s a love song. Angriest – ‘Runaway Rage’, which speaks for itself. Most reflective – ‘Miss You’, about losing a loved one reminiscing on the times we have with those people and speaks some truths about life.

 

Who created/designed the EP artwork?

 

Sam has an artist friend and came up with the medicine bottle idea. We took them to a photoshoot we had with the legendary Rob Blackham (Blackham Images) and then I edited them to give them a darker feel.

 

Was it a difficult EP to write?

 

Yes and No. Sometimes you get lucky and songs just fall in your lap. ‘Miss You’ was one of those, Sam sent me a voice note of it as a demo and other than taking it into the studio and adding a guitar solo it’s basically the same thing. He thought it was going to be a full band song, but no need to overdo it. The song ‘Best Medicine’ took about 2-3 months to really get down as we really worked on the hooks. I wrote ‘Least I Can Do’ and I had the guitar chords for ages but never had any good lyrics, then my fiancé got pregnant and the song came to life. ‘Runaway Rage’ was written in Sam’s previous outfit so we just gave it a Revenant sound. ‘Public Service Announcement’ was written in an hour. It fell out of the sky. We wanted a live opener and it had to be first on the EP.

 

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

 

People remember a hook or two that we sang and want to listen to us again. People tell others about us.

 

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

 

I’ve just bought a Flying V, it’s awesome to play and sounds amazing!

 

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

 

Newbury. Five words? Don’t bother going to Newbury. Unless it’s to see us play a show…

 

How do you look after your voices?

 

Sam will warm up and take some Vocalzone before the gig, I don’t really warm up but I will take one of those or two…Vocalzones of course but I find beer helps. The biggest thing is staying away from ill people and not overdoing it at rehearsal. Your voice is probably the biggest thing to focus on in soundcheck.

 

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?

 

I’ve never read a non fiction book in my adult life. It just does not interest me. I reckon I would be good at writing the score for a rom com, Netflix and Amazon, hit us up.

 

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

 

I grew up on 70’s/80’s guitar bands with grit. None of that glam hair stuff, no time for that. Thin Lizzy and Metallica would be my foundation. I’m a huge Oasis fan, I’ve always loved how Noel can craft emotion into a song. I also listen to a good amount of country artists like Jackson Dean, Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs.

 

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025?

 

Yes! Too many to mention at the moment but some big ones are: Newbury Corn Exchange March 14th, Tuesday Night Music Club in Coulsdon April 29th with our pals AK & The Red Kites and a BIG ONE AT Maid Of Stone Festival July 19th…check our website for MORE!

 

What makes Revenant happy and what makes you unhappy?

 

Good communication makes us happy, we are very good at making sure that all four of us are on board with the direction we are going in. We are unhappy when we are not working on new music or booking gigs etc, you have to keep moving forward.