Like last year, our #1 track of 2015 was one of the first to make itself known to us, Asylums‘ ‘Wet Dream Fanzine‘ leading our New Music Guide back on January 31st.
It’s carried on putting a huge smile on our face ever since, as has the EP of the same name which in the subsequent Presents feature we said contains, ‘Plenty of powerful riffs coupled with swaying melodies and drums that sound like a raging maniac must be on the sticks’.
“I keep titles, thousands of them,” vocalist Luke tells us of the track. “I habitually make lists of my favourites and pin them to my wall, when a song starts forming there is often a gut feeling that a certain title compliments a particular bit of music, and that’s how Wet Dream Fanzine got started.”
“After you make that connection the imagination normally kicks into overdrive; dreams of old 70’s hustler magazines, feminist literature, male misogyny and lethal sweeteners in soft drinks all became related and unrelated themes. Then we get together jam, kick the song around a bit, discover musical embellishments then sit back and let the paint dry.”
And with them on top of our end of year countdown, what do positive reviews mean to the band? “It’s really nice when people like what you do, be it a passionate reviewer or a stranger at a gig who just happens to catch your set,” he continues.
“I think the key is to make the art you want to make for the love of doing it, the rest is a bonus.”
2015 started with the ‘Wet Dream Fanzine’ EP and has ended with a host of high profile support slots for the band, including stints on the road with Ash, The Enemy and Reverend & The Makers. Not a bad twelve months all told.
“I used to dream about doing exactly what Asylums have been doing this year when I was at secondary school, staring out the window, not listening,” Luke says. “Being in a band is still the classic escape from normality, whatever you do to earn money no longer defines you. It’s been a extremely enjoyable year and we are grateful that we have a platform for expressing ourselves.”
Our congratulations and thanks go to Asylums for leading Live4ever’s best tracks of 2015 – what now for 2016?
“We are going to put some cool new videos and tracks out, tour a bit, then drop a debut album, then tour a bit more, nail some festivals,” Luke concludes.
“We also have some exciting new bands called BAIT and PETTY PHASE lined up for our own label Cool Thing Records in 2016. Best not plan it all out, where’s the fun in that.”