Kat Harlton
Out of Toronto, Canada comes new project Quietype, a blend of soulful R&B melodies with rock sensibilities and hypnotic electronic textures. The trio recently released a couple of singles “Hold Me Down” and “Caroline“, with plans to release their debut EP later this year.
We had the opportunity to chat with the band and talk songwriting, collaborations and what’s next.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your debut single “Hold Me Down”?
Quietype: Our debut single, “Hold Me Down”, is about the joy of falling in love — that relentless desire to feel closer to someone. We tried to create an atmosphere that reflected those electric moments that mark the beginning of a new relationship.
Kat: For someone that has never heard your music before, how would you describe it to them?
Quietype: We want to take listeners on an emotional journey, both lyrically and sonically. It’s not so much about the genres we play as it is about that emotional journey. Our music is a weird pastiche of rock, R&B, and electronic music — we’re as likely to be inspired by Kings of Leon as we are Bon Iver.
Kat: Can you talk about your songwriting process, does it differ from song to song?
Quietype: For this EP, we spent the better part of a year writing and demoing new music, flipping versions of songs back and forth amongst ourselves — changing a verse melody here, adding a new guitar line there. Jon and Jordan handled the majority of the writing, while Mitch took the lead on the production end. Oftentimes a song will be completely transformed in the production process. “Caroline” started out as a weird little electro-pop beat, and “Always You” was initially a sombre folk tune.
Kat: Is there an artist you’d like to perform with, that you haven’t had the chance to yet. Or a song you’d love to do a cover of?
Quietype: We have a very eclectic taste in music. One artist we all love, and are heavily influenced by, is Bon Iver. We recently put a funky, electro/R&B spin on one of their recent singles, “Hey, Ma”.
We’d also love to collaborate with some of the incredible local talent that’s coming out of our city right now — Jessie Reyez, Daniel Caesar & Allan Rayman (to name but a few!) are all huge inspirations.
Kat: What’s next?
Quietype: This year we will be releasing our debut EP and fine-tuning our live show. We are currently working on our sophomore record. We can’t wait to share all of the new music we’ve been working on.
For more on Quietype visit: www.quietype.com