With the launch of a new band, Solitary Bee, from the same people who brought you, It’s Karma It’s Cool, I sat down with Jim Styring to unravel where one band starts and the other ends and their plans along these parallel sonic lines.
DAA: Firstly, can you explain the decision to open a new musical front with Solitary Bee?
Jim: It’s something Martyn, Mikey and myself have talked about for a while. We’ve always had another side to our writing and we didn’t think these new songs would fit with the IKIC sound. We had a little time before we began rehearsals with a new IKIC drummer, so it was the ideal opportunity to work on them and get the drum machines out.
DAA: How important do you think it is to separate the different types of music you make into It’s Karma It’s Cool tunes, and Solitary Bee songs?
Jim: I guess there’ll be a crossover of the two bands; there’s bound to be similarities, but we just wanted to avoid any confusion amongst the It’s Karma It’s Cool followers. Solitary Bee has a more introverted sound, and my lyrics are a little more personal. The Solitary Bee songs lean a little more toward pop: It’s Karma It’s Cool, plug the guitars in and turn them up.
DAA: Will it be a case of writing specifically for one project or the other, or do you expect songs to naturally fall into the orbit of which band they best suit as they come up?
Jim: We pretty much write separately for both bands. A lot of the new Solitary Bee stuff came from keyboard ideas and sounds; the IKIC songs always start with a guitar idea. We’ll be sitting down very soon to start work on new It’s Karma It’s Cool songs.
DAA: And what will this mean for It’s Karma It’s Cool?
Jim: Business as usual for It’s Karma It’s Cool. We have a run of shows coming up this summer, including a semi-acoustic set in Lincoln HMV record store in April and the Liverpool International Pop Overthrow festival at The Cavern Club in May. We’re currently in the rehearsal studio with a fantastic drummer (Adam Jolivel-Perkins) who’ll be joining us for these shows, and there’ll be some brand-new IKIC music out later this year.
DAA: Are there plans to perform live as Solitary Bee, or do you see it more as a studio outlet?
Jim: I would hope at some point we’ll take the songs out and play them live. It’s all about finding the time. As I’ve mentioned, at the moment, we’re focusing on getting It’s Karma It’s Cool gig-ready for the upcoming shows, but who knows? We’ll have to work out how to present the Solitary Bee songs in a live setting and do something a little different with it all.
DAA: Or does it mean that each band now comes with its own built-in support act?
Jim: I’d not thought about that, Dave! Yes, we are completely self-contained now. Our own support and headline band every night!
DAA: So what does the future look like, and what are the immediate plans for each band?
Jim: Solitary Bee will be releasing a second single in mid-April. Once again, it’ll be taken from our forthcoming EP, ‘Bloom’, which will follow soon after. And as I’ve said, It’s Karma It’s Cool are currently rehearsing and putting sets together for the summer shows. We’ll be playing the songs that folks will expect, but we’ll also be playing songs we’ve not performed live before. There’ll be a few surprises…
DAA: Thanks for taking the time to talk us through these new developments, and best of luck with both bands and everything else you are doing.
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