Artemis is an exciting new band from Southampton.
They kindly agreed to answer some questions I had for them.
(Photo: Ryan Manning)
Me: Who's in the band and when did you form?
Artemis: "The band consists of the four of us, Yianna on lead vocals, Frankie on lead guitar and backing vocals, Hannah on bass guitar and Fenella smashing the drums. We met at Solent University, met up for a pint and the rest is history."
How would you describe your music to people who haven't heard you?
"We identify as a mix of alternative rock with elements of punk and post-punk. We’re not 100% sure yet, we just write what we’re feeling, and we’ll develop our sound category in due time."
Who are your musical influences?
"As group, we take influence from bands like Paramore, The Runaways, Bring Me The Horizon and VUKOVI."
Obviously, 2020's been something else. What did you have planned that's been affected?
"We had a bunch of shows lined up for Easter along the south coast in places like Bournemouth, Portsmouth etc, that got cancelled. A music video for Reckless was in discussion so cancelling that as a whole was pretty disappointing. More recently we’ve been able to record acoustic sets and film interviews and a mini documentary."
What's been the highlight of Artemis' existence as a band so far?
"Playing O2 Academy Islington last June was a huge highlight as we sold out the venue. Recording at The Ranch Production House for 3 days was a blast a super sick experience and playing in the New Blood competition for Isle Of Wight fest."
How differently would you say you get treated in your band endeavours compared to your all-male peers?
"It’s more a case of how you get spoken to as an all-female group. We’ve had quite a few patronising and condescending comments regarding our instruments and how we want to sound like. However, we never let them affect us and instead let it fuel our performance. It definitely sucks getting little unwanted comments from guys but we always push past them."
What is the song "Hold Me Down" about and how did it come into existence?
"Hold Me Down was our first ever song we wrote! It took a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly how we wanted the track to sound but it definitely paid off to be patient with it. The track is all about the barriers in life and how some people will try and hold you back, but you have to put you and your emotions first."
What is your favourite song of all time?
"That is the hardest question in history. Frankie’s favourite has to be 'Caught in the Middle’ by Paramore.
Fenella’s is ‘Break On Through (To the Other Side)’ by The Doors.
Yianna’s favourite is ‘Piano Man’ by Billy Joel.
Hannah’s fave is ‘Baba O’Riley’ by The Who."
What can we expect from Artemis in the future?
"Welllllll, we’ve got two more unreleased tracks that will be making their way to everyone’s ear’s shortly. On the 9th of December we have a live-stream gig at Cargo Rooms in London which is gonna be such a cool experience. We’re also soooo excited to be playing Vesterbro Rock festival in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 2021. Watch this space, big things are coming!!!!"
Thanks to Artemis for answering my questions. You can find their music and connect on the internet via the links below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGBgFu3PeDNf_GhQMy6UAAg
https://www.instagram.com/artemisukband/
https://www.facebook.com/ArtemisUKBand
https://soundcloud.com/artemisbanduk
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7GRhY4a9YQC9C3YIzmujQw