For those unfamiliar with Sinka, could you outline how the band came together and what sort of musical influences the band members each bring into Sinka’s music? 

SINKA is a 3-piece rock trio from Watford, made up of Shaun Sewell-Sears on vocals and guitar, Matt Smith on bass, and Jack Wright on drums. We all met at various times during school/college, with me and Jack going to the same high school, then meeting Matt at college where we all studied music.

A few years and several projects later, Shaun and Matt reunited to create the foundations of the band, and then in late-2019 we brought in Jack and made him learn the drums a few weeks before a gig!

Have the band been pleased with the reaction to the debut EP?

From what has been released so far, yeah. Couple of fab reviews, including your own which are always welcome! It’s quite an ambitious record which usually always makes it tough to find fans, so to hear people are enjoying the songs as much as they have been is all we could hope for!

When recording this EP were the band able to get in the same recording space at all or was it all done remotely? Did the songs and lyrics flow easily, or was it harder given normal life paused for much of last year?

We met with the producer between lockdown 1 and 2 last year, and so it was relatively normal as far as recording sessions go. The only hinderance was having to wait to finish some stuff due to more lockdowns, which we then were later able to complete and leave it with Elliott to mix in isolation.

The songs were all ready and waiting in a Dropbox folder far far away. We had around 20 to pick from and decided on the 5 tracks very quickly – naming the EP after the chorus’ opening lyric on Skies. From there it flourished, and we had the artwork created by a friend around the space theme, and just generally got in zone – not letting the outside situation shake us too much.

Is there a healthy music scene in and around Watford? Do you think rock music is still relevant and in a healthy state in 2021? 

Absolutely, there’s plenty of bands coming through Watford and surrounding areas. We have a few venues just a stone’s throw away from one another, and so always that gives us plenty of excuses to perform live.

Rock has never not been relevant, it just isn’t what the mainstream music industry is pushing. They want soloists because it’s easier for them in every possible way, and with the abundance of bedroom pop producers it’s never been simpler for them to continue that trajectory. On the state of rock music right now I really think that with bands such as Bring Me The Horizon, Architects, Slipknot, Biffy Clyro etc we are seeing evolution within the genre, and it’s reigniting the love for heavier music. It’s really exciting and I hope we can be a part of that.

What has kept the band going through the past year and any other artists we should be listening too?

The music, the listeners, and the desire to succeed. We’ve had to take COVID on the chin as much as any artist can, but we’ve also been incredibly lucky that we have been able to finish our own rehearsal studio and record 2 EPs in the past year. Right now it’s the thought of playing live and just enjoying those moments, and not taking anything for granted. This year is a lesson for everybody.

I have been listening to a lot of Enter Shikari again recently. I’m just completely absorbed into their unique sound and energy, it’s inspiring to see a constant evolution given how long they have been doing what they do.

Having now released two EPs during the current pandemic/lockdown, have the band had any chance to play these songs live, even as a live stream?

The previous EP was songs we were already playing live, so they were on the setlist for Camden Rocks and tons more, and we actually played an early version of Skies then too.

We’ve created our own studio now, so when we have been allowed we go and rehearse the tracks ready for gigging them. We also did a livestream a couple weeks ago where we played Messiah as well as an exclusive track we’re still working on that isn’t on this EP, but it was a little ropey from how fresh we all were!

We should be able to debut them on a stage very soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

What, apart from a return to live music, are the band most looking forward to after lockdown eases by June?

I think it’s just feeling free again – being able to go to a pub and see someone face to face, or go out to places we haven’t been in over a year. Being in a band is really hard work, like so much more than people realise, and to be able to just take a breather in the free world would be nice right now.

Message for your fans and where can we order the EP from…

Chin up, things can only get better from here – we hope to see everyone at our first gig back which is being announced soon!

The EP will be available on all streaming platforms on the 16th April, but there will be some physical CDs going up for sale. Follow us on socials @sinkaband to be in the know for these – you can get the limited artwork poster from https://sinka.bigcartel.com