Drownd

“A sound and live performance that has been missing for a while,” Joe Crudgington, better known as Drownd in the music scene, responds with determination when asked how he would define his sound. His statements shine for their honesty and contrast with the darkness and enigmatic atmosphere that his tracks give off. Having joined forces on Sinner with Sort Zine, a multidisciplinary studio that offers extreme experiences in film, print, online and IRL, today he unveils his new single, Filth, taken from their debut full-length album (An)Aesthetic, out later this year on Armalyte Records.Although there is a lot of Joe in Drownd, the project acquires a broader dimension when it comes to performances. “When it is taken live I’m lucky to have a full band to front it, consisting of Paul Traveller on drums, Rich Watson on guitar and Sam Forrester on Bass duties,” says the artist, who has learnt to surround himself with like-minded and talented people following his latest releases. A team that works for a common goal, in which we also find creatives from other artistic disciplines that transcend music and who contribute in the search for the sound and aesthetics he pursues.“What the track is saying is that it is better to live in filth, indulging in what takes your fancy as opposed to oppressing these thoughts, urges and feelings which will, in the end, leave you a numb, bitter shell of a human,” comments the singer about his new single Filth, that hit all platforms today. And their fans are in luck, their first full live band show supporting the iconic Scalping and Mandy, Indiana will take place at The Black Prince in Northampton on 25th February - tickets are available here.Before getting into your latest release Filth, could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers? Who is behind Drownd?Drownd is fundamentally just myself, Joe, in that I write, record and produce everything myself within the confines of my studio. When it is taken live I’m lucky to have a full band to front it, consisting of Paul Traveller on drums, Rich Watson on guitar and Sam Forrester on Bass duties – these guys bring what I write to life and give one hell of a live performance.When did your first approach to music come about? How do you remember that moment?I basically became interested in writing music and playing the guitar because of Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine and his incredible and obscure approach to guitar playing and FX used. I then started a few bands with all of us writing together, but I could never really get on with the whole jam kinda vibe to writing music, so I started doing everything myself, plus my main interest is in sound design and arranging the tracks, which I find in my opinion doesn’t lend itself to a jam style format as I prefer to lock myself away in the dark and come up with weird and wonderful sounds.More and more artists prefer not to catalogue their work with labels, or associate it with specific musical genres. But how would you define your music in a single phrase?A sound and live performance that has been missing for a while.Now you join creative forces with Sort Zine , a multidisciplinary studio that offers extreme experiences in film, print, online and IRL. And together you have created a dark mini visual for lead single Sinner. How did this collaboration come about?I’d been a fan of the Sort Zine stuff for a while and loved the aesthetic of it all – it was their work with Naked that really drew me in – fantastic work that both sides achieved there. I just literally drew up the idea that I had and just pitched it their way out of the blue and as luck would have it, they were well into the ideas and working with me which I was really pleased with as it’s always great to have people you respect want to work with you. We met with the pair of them in London and just hit it off straight away, as we were all on the wavelength with where we wanted to go with this and what we wanted to do.We see the result in the form of a music video that uses synchronized and choreographed dance sequences created by renowned choreographer Simon Donnellon. What do you feel when you see the final work? What would you highlight from the creative process?Yeah, we were lucky to be able to pull in some great talent for this vid. Simon Donnellon obviously being one of them and he did a brilliant job choreographing the dancers for sure. I’m very happy with the finished producto. It’s exactly what we set out to do, make it more of a dance-orientated video and less of a generic band style video. As for highlights from the creative process, the whole thing was a highlight in that everyone was so easy to work with and pitch ideas to, it couldn’t have been easier."The lyrics are an ode to suffering," you commented in a previous interview when asked about Sinner. A track that suggests that we all have a sinner within us, a facet that we are not always willing to explore due to internal fears. What message do you want to send through this new release?I don’t deliberately try to make or send messages with my music really, every track is more of a compulsive expression of some feeling, situation or thought that manifests itself in my brain, but this track does deal with some issues I guess. I mean, there is definitely a sinner in all of us, like it or not. We all think and feel things that we don’t understand, nor know if they are right or wrong. Unfortunately, I can't offer any answers but I can whine about things through the medium of music.Sort Zine is led by Matt King and Joseph Delaney. While Matt is known for having worked as a stylist for Brooke Candy or Nadia Lee, among many others, director Joseph has collaborated with Ashnikko and British Vogue. What have you learnt from each other throughout the joint creation process?Ah man, Matt and Joseph - and their entire team for that matter - were a joy to work with from start to finish, and I’d like to think that we’ve become friends through this project. Matt’s styling has always been intriguing and exciting to me and I just liked handing him the reigns and getting stuck in and doing what he does best. And he did a totally stellar job styling me and the rest of the band – he’s given us an image that is mega important and now an intrinsic part of the Drownd look. The same goes for Joseph directing the whole thing, it was so easy and I loved literally every single one of his ideas. And that’s why it worked so smoothly and we came out with a product that I think we were all very proud and excited about. To answer your question, the main thing I have learnt through this process is to surround yourself with like-minded, talented people. If you’ve got this, the rest is easy.Today you are releasing your new single, Filth. What is the story behind it, how different it is in sound from the previous single Sinner?(Laughs) I really hate being asked what a track is about or what it means, I feel that it detracts from the experience of listening to the song. I mean, I've always got what I wanted out of the music I listen to without being told how to feel about a certain piece or why it was written. Don't get me wrong, there are occasions when it is cool to know and you can relate, but I think it's better to use your own imagination, though seeing as you asked, I wanted to put this out as a single after Sinner as I think it showcases a different and more aggressive sound than the previous release. The overall concept, I guess, is again alluding to sin, human nature, etc. But almost trying to embrace it. It's still got the animalistic abrasive lyrics, but what the track is saying is that it is better to live in Filth, indulging in what takes your fancy as opposed to oppressing these thoughts, urges and feelings which will, in the end, leave you a numb, bitter shell of a human. Far better to enjoy things, providing that they are not to the detriment of others, right? We all pay a price for our choices and the life we lead, we just have to make sure we get what we're 'paying' for.In what professional moment are you right now? Do you think you have found your definitive sound?I’ve just finished the album. As for my sound – I’ve never been happier with it, but it will always change and evolve. To stay the same and say that you’re completely happy with how things sound I think is a lie and will just make you sound stale as time moves along.And what can you tell us about your next projects?I kinda hinted about new projects in my previous answer, but I’ve already got a completely different sounding EP written that will come out at some point after the album, I’ve got a lot of arty sort of stuff in the pipeline too working with fashion people and always filming creating weird footage to score with my own music. Plenty on the boil, that’s for sure. WordsDavid Alarcón