Introducing: Collidescope and Their New Single 'Red Flags'

Don't you just feel so excited to hear a new band? I do! So let me introduce Collidescope. Hailing from Newcastle/Sydney, the trio create emo alt-rock music that is fierce and wildly emotional.

The band released their debut EP Old Mistakes just last year, and today introduce a brand new single to the world, signalling another body of work on the horizon. 'Red Flags' is a little bit dancey, a little bit moody, and definitely rocky. Read on to familiarise yourself with Collidescope and let them become your new faves.

Hello! Welcome to Wall of Sound, can we find out about Collidescope's origin story? How did you three get started together?

Peter: Thanks so much for having us to talk about 'Red Flags'! So Shay and I are actually siblings, but unlike a lot of musical siblings, we didn’t really grow up playing music together. We’ve both been playing our whole lives but as kids were in completely different scenes. Shay has more of a pop music sort of background while I’ve spent most of my life in heavy music, which is where Bryton comes into the picture. People know him for being this super-talented metal and hardcore drummer and he and I knew each other from having that similar playing background. When Shay and I started writing together for this band we knew that we needed him on board.

Your new single 'Red Flags' is a strong follow-up from your debut EP Old Mistakes released last year, what did you learn from that release that helped shape 'Red Flags'?

Peter: I feel like we learned a lot about ourselves as songwriters and performers. In music there can be so much pressure, usually self-inflicted, to have a particular sound or a particular look that helps you fit into a certain niche. Writing Old Mistakes and touring it really taught us that we’re at our best when we are being authentic about what we’re creating.

We all love heavy music, we also all love pop music and so when we first started working on 'Red Flags' we just let our instincts take over and write the song for us. The result is something that takes a lot of the ideas that were evident on Old Mistakes, now presented in a way really feels representative of where we are headed as a band.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnjFY8JSHFo/

Identifying people's red flags is a hot topic online at the moment for sure! What red flags influenced this song?

Shay: I’m constantly observing things in case I accidentally get inspired for a song, so essentially no one is safe being friends with me unless they’re okay for a story of theirs to turn into a song! Am I sort of Taylor Swift? Probably.

Anyway, it is really just about people who get so absorbed with themselves that your entire world can revolve around them but you aren’t even considered in theirs. If you’re working hard at keeping someone happy all the time and they are oblivious to it/don’t give you the same back then it’s a bit of a red flag in my opinion.

Your sound fits right in with bands like Yours Truly, who inspires you as a band?

We love Yours Truly so thank you! We’ve been really fortunate this year to play shows with some of our favourite bands including Yours Truly as well as The Beautiful Monument, The Comfort, Eat Your Heart Out, Clay J Gladstone and honestly it’s hard to not be inspired when you’re seeing these bands close out a show that you played on. We also find massive inspiration in the other artists and creatives we work with. Our producer, Mitta Norath, is an unbelievable source of inspiration for this band and has been since day one. Oli and Jack at Dunelabs, who we worked with for this music video, have also been amazing and so inspiring.

Going back to the earlier point about creating sounds that don’t necessarily fit neatly into a box, we all talk a lot about how inspiring we find really big bands like Bring Me The Horizon who are still pushing boundaries with what you can do in alternative music and massively changing the landscape.

This question caused some debate between the three of us because we could have come up with an endless list so here’s some of each of our biggest inspirations in short form.

Shay: Lady Gaga, Vukovi, Fall Out Boy.

Peter: Hellions, Karnivool, Dua Lipa.

Bryton: Underoath, Movements, Stray From The Path.

We're midway through the year at the moment, what does Collidescope have cooking for the coming months?

Peter: We are currently working on our next body of work and people can expect to see some developments coming with that very soon!

Any final words for fans on what to expect from Collidescope in the future?

Peter: We want to continue to develop as individuals, as artists, as a band and we want to bring our listeners along with us on that journey. We write the songs that we write because we love it and there’s nothing better than seeing that resonate with people. The emotional authenticity that people have come to expect from us isn’t going anywhere. The exciting part for us is how we choose to present our ideas and experiences.

We want to thank everyone who has been with us on our journey so far and welcome everyone who is joining us for 'Red Flags'. The song is yours now and we hope you love it.

Interview by Ebony Story @ebonyrose.s

Collidescope is Shay Alison on vocals | Peter Perry on guitar | Bryton Wakely on drums

Find the band on socials: Facebook | Linktree | Instagram

Stream ‘Red Flag‘ here