Sunderland’s Red Remedy has been undergoing a period of evolution in 2024. The band is now fully regrouped with a new line-up and a raft of new material in the works. Adam Kennedy caught up with the band for a chat about their new single, line-up changes, and their plans moving forward.
How has this year been for Red Remedy so far?
Interesting …we’ve kind of rebranded. Syren’s the new vocalist, and Rhys is the new drummer, so we’ve been rebranding behind the scenes.
With the new line-up, how did that change come about? Were you thinking about going in a different direction? And how did you all meet?
It’s a different direction, I think, because me [Zach] and Dean are now the only original members. We wanted to take the music in a different direction from where it was going. I like a lot of poppy stuff, and there are loads of pop elements in the new material we’re doing, although it’s just not focused on that. And with Syren, we’ve been to university together. That’s how we met.
I’ve heard your new single, ‘Stockholm’, already. Tell us a little bit about that song and how it came about…
That song was written during a transitional period for the band, so we still had the old line-up at that point. I wrote the tune, and the band was splitting off into different areas. Then I just got the idea. I wrote the lyrics based on a magazine article I read about someone experiencing Stockholm Syndrome. The instrumental was a demo I wrote a few years ago, and I revamped it basically, adding the electronic elements that are in the track.
Would you say ‘Stockholm’ is a good indication of the direction you’re going in now with the new line-up?
I think it’s in a similar vein. A lot of the new stuff is heading in that direction, but with different elements. There are newer songs coming out, more ideas are flowing now, and better lyrics are being written.
Which bands would you say are references for the sound you’re striving towards?
Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the Veil, Hot Milk. Female-fronted bands as well, like Stand Atlantic.
Are there any other plans in the pipeline?
I think what we want to do with the new songs we’ve been writing – especially with the new direction, sound, and vibe – is release a collection of singles over the next few months. We were consistently releasing music last year, and we want to continue that. We don’t want to have a drought. We’ve been pretty silent on social media for a while, and we don’t plan to do a lot of promotion before the single comes out. We want to focus heavily on promotion after it’s released. I think that’s more beneficial, considering what we’ve done before. I feel like if you put all your effort in before the release for weeks and weeks, people lose interest. But if there’s something available for people to engage with right away, it’s much more effective.
You can listen to ‘Stockholm’ by Red Remedy now on all major streaming platforms.
