Tiyto are a four-piece band from London mixing atmospheric rock with intricate synthwork and soulful influences. Following their first ever release as Tiyto, I spoke with brothers Stuart and Robert Waters whose song ideas developed into their musical style today. Following is an excerpt of that wonderful correspondence!
A Different Time is Tiyto’s first release together. How did you guys meet, what led to you coming together to create music?
Stu: Yes you are completely right, me and Rob are brothers so we have known each other for a little while. I then met Max through Rob and then Jake through Max.
I always wanted to make this project have live instruments as I feel having all-electric drums and instruments within a track would make it sound too generic. Great drummers are hard to come by, so I was very fortunate to have one of the best going as a brother!
We all have very different musical tastes and inspirations, but we all love music and are passionate about creating. We all complement each other brilliantly and all bring something different to the table.
and what are your influences, that you feel mould the band’s style?
Stu: I have always loved RnB music, especially when it has a darker feel to the production. I feel as if it really brings the emotion out in a voice. However, I often feel like it misses some of the punch that rock brings. I always wanted to mix to two genres together and have
Vocally I am inspired by artists with smooth voices such as Craig David and Eric Bellinger, production-wise by The Weeknd and The Neighborhood and then I love the crunch and oomph from bands such as Artic Monkeys for the guitars. Every song has different influences though, which you may hear when the new tracks come out. Some strange combinations in there!
How does this translate for the band? what is the assembly line for the production process like?
Stu: So the tracks normally start off by either singing an idea that comes to my head randomly or when I sit at a piano and play about with ideas. Then I take my ideas to my studio (my bedroom) and build up a track of the instruments and I record midi guitar with my general ideas. Then the vocals are always written afterwards, and the topic depends on how the sounds of the track develops. Which then Max brings to life magnificently. He will tell you that some things I write on the piano are not always transferable to guitar and he probably hates me, but he does an amazing job! The same goes for the drums, Rob is incredible, so i just leave him to create whichever drums he thinks works. Jake then works on replication the bass and bringing his own spin on things. Then when we get to the studio we really develop the track with all kinds of production across synths, guitars and vocals.
A Different Time is so complex and bittersweet. How did you conceptualise this love song that’s so full of yearning?
Stu: Originally when I first started writing this tune it was going to be a love song. But as the production of the track developed I felt it was starting to sound way too dark for a love song. I thought the big snyths and bass brought out more of a sense of dread, so I changed the lyrics to be about desperation. The lyrics “name a time, name a place” came to me straight away when writing the chords and I wanted them to be brought into different elements of the track.
The song is really evocative of wishing for a different set of circumstances. How did you create this ambience? How do you translate something so profound into the language of music?
We wanted to give this track a bit of a Trap beat feel and include some fast-hitting hi hats with both the live drum kit and the electric drums.
I was completely unaware that guitars could create such tones until Max was playing around with ideas at the studio. The tones really brought an atmospheric vibe which fitted so nicely around the synths. The build-up of the track really shows the desperation the person is feeling to win back their partner. Let me prove, that I’ve learnt my lessons is letting them know that they know they have done wrong and they instantly regret their actions and will do anything to win them back.
The song’s been out for a month now, how do you feel it has been received? Are you guys happy with the track?
Stu: Releasing a first track is always a bit scary as you don’t know exactly how everyone will feel, but we are really happy with how the track has been received. The recording and production from Sam and Tom at Studio 91 was incredible.
You guys seem to have really found an incredible sound, melodic but heavy indie psychedelia and some synth-y stuff. Is there a desire to keep pushing the boundaries?
Stu: A lot of our tracks are different in terms of tempo and style and each have different influences; however, there are always certain core principles which go into each tune. So, all tracks have the synths, guitar riffs and catchy choruses. We want to mix things up but want people to eventually recognise a Tiyto tune when they hear one.
What’s on the horizon for the band? Where do you see your future taking you? Is it live shows, will you guys work on an album maybe?
Stu: We have our first show booked at the Amersham Arms on July the 9th which we are buzzing about. With all of the lockdown restrictions, it will be amazing to finally play live!
Due to covid-19 it has taken us two years longer than expected to release our first song and book our first show! For this reason I’ve had a lot of time to write songs over lockdown. Realistically we could already record an album with all of the material we have, but we want to take our time and keep on writing so we can make it as good as possible.
what could you say about the journey? What kind of advice would you give yourself a few years ago when the pandemic was holding you guys back?
Rob: The main bit of advice I’d give myself to make sure you surround yourself with people who share your passion! That’s the best way to keep things moving. Also, just to get on with it! Nothing is ever perfect so you can wait around forever.
Soulful yet agonising, cinematic yet so intimate – this song is a product of its eclectic influences and definitely has something few and far between in the indie scene. Make sure to give it a listen, and do check out our curated playlists here for more.