Pop punkers Shaded talk about their new music

Pop punk quartet Shaded are releasing their new EP The Better Man In Me on the 1st of September and have announced their next run of UK dates. RUSHONROCK managed to steal some of vocalist Matt East’s precious time to talk about their record, why they decided to self-produce and why bassist Dan Bradberry is crying in his bedroom.

RUSHONROCK – Your EP The Better Man In Me is out on the 1^st of September, tell us something about that. What were you trying to do with it, what were you trying to say on it?

Matt East – This EP was a great chance to show people what we’re all about. We’d like to think there’s more to this band than the ‘generic pop punk’ label that is commonly branded by listeners on a lot of bands in the alternative scene.

RUSHONROCK – Your cover art for the EP is quite emotive, were you trying to capture a sense of serenity while everything is going to shit around you with it?

MA – Spot on! We were aiming for the utopia/dystopia vibe – mainly focusing on the small handful of good amongst a world of bad.

RUSHONROCK – Who are your major influences musically wise and was that incorporated into the EP?

MA – If we were to narrow it down to, say, 4 artists (so one each), I think we’d go for State Champs, Marianas Trench, Brand New and Little Mix. Sso our influences come in a variety of genres!

RUSHONROCK – What’s your plans are the release? Are Shaded going to be taking The Better Man In Me on the road?

MA – We announced a tour for late September with our boys in Wolf Culture which we’re super excited about! That’s all we can announce for now but keep your eyes peeled on our social media sites!

Prophets of Rage – more than worth the wait.

RUSHONROCK – Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got together as a band.

MA – So Callum and I met you through our Uni’s Facebook page over a year ago and we’ve lived together ever since. We then met Dan and Barney through our old guitarist. During our first practice with Dan and Barney everything clicked pretty much instantly and they joined the band literally the same day haha!

RUSHONROCK – I read an interview where you guys said you go to a music uni, has it got more difficult trying to do well with that as well as produce your own EP?

MA – Surprisingly not actually! We’ve somehow managed to stay on top of everything and balance out the band and uni fairly well!

RUSHONROCK – What made you decide to self-produce and was it a smooth process?

MA – Callum is a producer and I have a degree in music production so it was almost a no-brainer for us. We knew what we wanted from this EP so it made a lot of sense for us to just do it ourselves! It took a little longer than we first anticipated but overall it was a really smooth process.

RUSHONROCK – What are you going to do with yourselves now that Love Island is finished?

MA – Don’t. Just don’t. We still haven’t fully come to terms with the loss of our beloved Love Island. We haven’t seen Dan since… some say he’s still crying in his bedroom.