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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with unsigned UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with unsigned band Quorum to find out more…

Who is in the band, how did you meet, where are you from and how did you come up with the band name?
So, we are Jordan (Hookway) vocals and guitar, Jake (Hodgson), lead guitar, Noah (Groves), bass and backing vox and Mack (Hodgson), drums.
Quorum formed late in 2016. Jordan and Jake were best friends through school and drummer Mack, who is Jake’s brother, was great friends with Noah from school age too. Basically we all pretty much grew up together and it was only a matter of time before we got together musically. Originally Jordan tried his luck as an acoustic artist and Jake and Mack were in a metal band. The name Quorum came about quite randomly through conversation and it sort of stuck. We quite like it and it sort of suits as we it represents the tightness of the sense of belonging of the band.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
We listen to anything. Jake and Mack were brought up going to all sorts of concerts from Green Day, My Chemical Romance to Avenged Sevenfold. Jordan’s first concert was Papa Roach and Noah was a Slipknot fan growing up. We have been lucky in that we have seen so many great concerts and have watched great shows, all which have had some form of influence. We still enjoy all of that great music now and the music we write changes accordingly. Currently we are listening to stuff like Pale Waves, The 1975, Bloxx and bands of that sort of vibe.

How would you describe your sound?
Describing our sound, we think we bring a new take on the indie-pop scene, creating something that little bit different but uniquely familiar. Our first EP, Art Is Dead is more raw and influenced by the likes of The SWMRS and the Early Arctic Monkeys. (See Spotify etc – Art Is Dead, Headstrong, Longer and Things Don’t Last). The second set of releases, The Boyfriend Trilogy, (Boyfriend, Go and Doubts) is a much cleaner sound and influenced by the current indie scene. We are back in the studio later this month (September) recording five new tracks and have something a bit different again which we are really excited about.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
The latest release is Doubts which is the last of the Boyfriend Trilogy. It was recorded, mixed and produced at Momentum Studios by Josiah Manning (Kris Barris Band). It’s about idolising someone and then seeing that they weren’t as you thought.

What’s your local music scene like?
The South West (UK) scene (pre COVID) was pretty good with some great grass roots venues and the opportunity to see good up and coming bands as well as more established acts. The local BBC Introducing Radio shows have also been pretty supportive of us with Boyfriend in particular being a “Track of the Week” thanks to Sarah Gosling.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
The next 12 months will hopefully see us back playing live (we miss it so much). We have tours planned for February and June plus Festival appearances at Chagstock, The Godney Gathering and more.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
Frank Turner. He is just a great musician, storyteller and performer and does a lot for grass roots music, including helping out a lot of venues during COVID.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
We would love to say there is but there really isn’t. Band van life is probably where it gets a bit silly with very random conversations on what would happen if Jake and Mack’s Dad (who drives us around), ruled the world. Trust us, it would be a very strange place, for example, he won’t go through a drive through because “it’s too American”, if you are too lazy to walk to your food then you aren’t really hungry.

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
That we are very very fond of cheese and that we have been known to have late night cheese-bite challenges at a certain fast food outlet. Seriously, we just want people to know that we love what we do and want them to check out our music.

You can find out more about Quorum via Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, Twitter or YouTube.