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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 Ally from unsigned band Not Myself 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?
We are ‘Not Myself’. My name’s Ally and I play guitar and do vocals for the band. I’m from Durham and was based in Newcastle for around 10 years, but moved to San Sebastián on the North Coast of Spain in the Basque Country region in 2017.

I made friends with guitarist Aiur, who was actually friends with a student of mine (my day job is teaching English), in my first month. Around half a year later I played my first gig as my other project Massa Confusa in a venue just out of the city centre called ‘Mogambo’ and met bassist Joxe who was doing a local radio programme at the time. I met drummer Gorka at the same venue a few months later at a different gig in the same venue. Joxe suggested that we (Joxe, Gorka and me) play in his practice room one time. I then invited Aiur to join, and we started working on some material.

The name Not Myself came from an idea Joxe had. He wanted to call the band ‘Not Me’, but I think that name was taken so I decided to make a variation of it. I like the idea of it as a band name because of the implication that when you write and perform music, you are like a persona of yourself. Annoyingly, in March this year a band from Croatia sprung up on bandcamp called ‘Not Myself’ though.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
I don’t see my influences as ever really changing, they just get added to. Even if I stop listening to something, or don’t listen to something now, that doesn’t mean that I’ve lost interest. I’m constantly listening to new music and revisiting old. If I had to pick out some stand out names from my teenage years, I’d say Smashing Pumpkins (I listened to them to death as a teenager and continue to do so), bands such as Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie, and Sunny Day Real Estate, and a lot of Fat Wreck Chords style punk.

I’m currently listening to a lot of Mark Lanegan, The Shining Tongues, and Du Blonde, but I’m also listening to a lot of electronic music by artists like Kelly Lee Owens, Ela Minus and Bicep, and independent radio too. Shout out to ‘Loose Canon’ on 6 towns radio, and ‘Global Garage’ on WHUP FM in North Carolina.

How would you describe your sound?
A difficult question, but for me Aiur’s lead guitar alludes to bands like The Wytches, John Frusciante and A Perfect Circle; Joxe’s high end bass is similar to Joy Division; Gorka’s drums are rock and hardcore influenced, and my guitar and vocals take influence from Placebo, Mark Lanegan and Interpol. A mix of those factors I suppose?

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
‘Pacing’ is our 2nd self-recorded debut single and was written as a bittersweet reflection on my move from the UK to San Sebastián. I say bittersweet, because I feel that each time you move there are things you miss from your old way of life, in particular friends, but things you love about the new. But, usually change is good.

What’s your local music scene like?
Before COVID it was quite healthy actually. In San Sebastián itself there’s a big focus on pop, rock and indie, but in neighbouring towns there are some more interesting and experimental things going on in more DIY venues, which in the Basque language are called ‘Gaztetxes’.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
We’re holding out for the COVID situation to be safe so that we can return to practising our material ready for when live performances can take place again. We also want to release some more of our music.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I can’t speak for the rest of the band, but Björk. She is someone I have always admired and always pushes the boundaries of her music.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Unfortunately, thanks to COVID 19 we have never performed in front of an audience, which is why we have decided to release 2 singles instead. The first one was called ‘Drown’ and we put it out in August last year.

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
That although developments of the band are slow due to COVID 19 and the fact that we all live in different towns, we have an album worth of material that we are looking forward to releasing and performing.

You can find out more about Not Myself via Apple Music, Bandcamp, Deezer, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify or Twitter.