Indiescoveries: Interview with Stolen From The Sky!

Stolen From The Sky is a band with an infectious and distinctive sound. Their music has garnered early attention and a die-hard loyal fan base.

The new song titled “The End of Me” is a collaboration between Stolen from the Sky and Feminoise. Released in 2024, this track combines their unique styles and heartfelt lyrics and creates a beautiful and dreamy vibe. You can listen to it on Spotify or YouTube Music.

Ghost: Can you tell us about your journey into music? How did you get started, and what inspired you to become an indie artist?

SFTS: I started playing guitar at the age of 13 with the intention of joining a high school band with some friends. I’ve been lucky enough to have had a lot of excellent teachers in my life musically. First, I had one-to-one lessons with a local guy who lived and breathed everything guitar related. He taught me theory and technique and suggested I go on to study music after high school, which I did at a contemporary music school in Birmingham, UK, that specialized in rock music. That’s where I started really learning drums as well because there was always a kit around to bash on. I also had a few lessons from a guy that taught there and who now tours the world with some famous artists that were very informative. Other than that, though, I was largely self-taught on the drums and learned by doing.

I played guitar in a bunch of bands in my late teens and early twenties with some equally talented people that I also learned a bunch from in terms of song writing and arrangement. I also played drums for a couple of years for another band. I learned a lot about production from a guy who ran our local studio where we practiced, and the rest from just doing it myself, and more recently honed a few skills from a website called URM Academy, which is like an online mixing school geared towards mixing and producing metal that is actually well worth the money if you have the time to commit to it. I didn’t really have the time, but I again learned a lot of valuable lessons from it in a short space of time.

Ghost: What is the story behind your artist's name? Does it hold a special meaning for you?

SFTS: So, this question actually ties into the fourth question of this interview because my name is pretty much symbolic of my writing process, so I’ll just answer them as one. My whole writing process currently involves me sitting down at a computer and just recording ideas straight into it and working out a song from there. I try not to force anything and just make moves that will serve the song rather than forcing parts in or trying to adhere to a particular structure, and by doing it this way songs just tend to fall together. Sometimes I’ll start with guitar, sometimes bass or drums or piano and then fill in the blanks with the other instruments.

I’ll usually leave the vocals and lyrics until the end though and the lyrics will usually be written on a theme or based around the song title which I’ll often come up with before any of the other words. I try not to get too attached to anything during the writing process though. If an idea is bad, I just toss it out and try something else until it works. If I feel like the song works better without vocals or guitars or anything else, I just won’t include them. I’ve found this in other projects in the past as well, all of the best things I’ve ever been involved in writing have always just fallen together with ease, even if the final arrangements are complex.

So, getting philosophical about that writing process, I’ve sometimes felt that we’re just acting as conduits for songs that wanted to exist and we’re just there interpreting them and bringing them to life, and I’ve had conversations with other musicians that have felt a similar way. So yeah, sometimes it feels like I’m literally stealing music from the sky and calling it my own. Maybe that undersells all the hard work I’ve put in learning my craft to be able to interpret the songs, but I thought it was a pretty good band name all the same.

Ghost: How would you describe your music style? What genres or artists have influenced your sound?

SFTS: I paid some dude on Fiverr to write me a bio and he came back with alt/prog which I guess fits. There are influences from everywhere though, I don’t want to make just one kind of music. I don’t want to be just a metal band, even if that’s the direction I lean in the most. If I want to make a reggae song next that’s what I’m gonna do. Notable artists that have influenced my sound are QOTSA, Tool, King Crimson, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, etc. Too many to name really.

Ghost: Can you share the creative process behind your latest album/single? How do you usually go about writing and producing your songs?

SFTS: I guess I can answer this one a bit more fully now actually.

The end of me is a song I started writing between finishing my album and releasing my album and I wrote it for a friend who told me they wanted to write shoegazey type music. Months passed with no progress and I kind of wanted to get it completed because I don’t like leaving songs unfinished.

Since releasing my album, I started interacting more with our community and lo and behold we have our very own, very talented shoegaze artist among us. I’d already been mentally lining Feminoise up as a good fit for finishing the song when she dropped me a message one day about one of my other songs, so I took it as a sign and got my friend’s blessing to complete the song with Feminoise.

I sent her the rough track and she sent back a week or so later an incredibly rich and nuanced vocal arrangement that was drowned in that lovely spacious reverb and a killer lead guitar line for the end. She suggested I add a lower octave to the choruses, and I bolstered up her vocal during the heavier section at the end with some gritty vocals, mixed it a little and called it a wrap. It turned out so much better than I could have hoped, and I already had a high opinion of her.

Ghost: That is awesome! What a great song it is! You two killed it! Can you tell us about what challenges have you faced as an indie artist, and how have you overcome them?

SFTS: Getting to a point where my recordings reflect what’s in my head has taken a while. Getting people actually interested in hearing your music is also a struggle I think we all relate to as well. Other than that, everything you do as an indie artist costs money, and if you’re solo you have to bear the full cost.

I’ve learned a few extra skills I had no real interest in like basic Photoshop (I use Pixlr because it’s free) for making album covers, some basic video editing because it costs a fortune to have people do it for you. I’ve tried to write my own press releases and be my own PR guy and submit music to playlists and radio stations and here there and everywhere but that’s tough going.

Ghost: I definitely can relate. Can you share with us who inspired your passion for music while growing up?

SFTS: Growing up, I was inspired by various teachers I’ve had throughout my life. Their mastery of their instruments was truly inspiring. My love for rock music really began with the band The Offspring, who served as my gateway into becoming a musician.

Later, I discovered musicians and instrumentalists within bands who were totally unique and at the top of their game across a spectrum of instruments. People like Danny Carey, Robert Fripp, Layne Stayley, Chris Cornell, Les Claypool, and Josh Homme, who are or were a cut above the rest in what they do, have always inspired me.

Ghost: What message do you aim to convey through your music? Is there a particular theme or emotion you aim to evoke in your listeners?

SFTS: I don’t really have an overarching theme or message in my music. Some songs are just nonsense, while others carry a slightly deeper message like embracing imperfections, living for today, or addressing the left/right divide and trying to face down feelings of cognitive dissonance from holding two incompatible beliefs.

GHOST: Nice. Embracing imperfections and living for today are things I vibe with as well.. Wabi Sabi! What are your future plans? Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that your fans should look forward to?

SFTS: I’m currently in the process of recording some instrumental songs with my brother. These are songs that we wrote together when we were still teenagers. There’s enough usable material there for at least an EP, and it’s largely just one guitar part, one bass part, and we’re programming the drums we always envisaged. We’ll probably write at least one new tune together while we’re at it as well. I have another Robot Birthday Party song locked and loaded and just need to set a release date on that one.

I’m also open to doing more collaborations although I would like to get some more of my ‘solo’ stuff finished soon.

Ghost: Exciting! Looking forward to what the future has in store. I'd like to thank Stolen From The Sky for giving us the opportunity to hear about The End of Me with Feminoise! Also, to dive into the beautiful soundscape and story of one of the most amazing artists in the world; Stolen From The Sky!

Check out the Blue Grazer Records Interview with Feminoise!!

Blue Grazer Records Interview with Feminoise!