Getting to Know… Winter Hotel | Interview 🎤

For the 139^th interview on The Musical Hype, we get the scoop from North Wales alternative metal band, Winter Hotel.

“We always let each other carry our own interpretations of our songs could sound like, and when blended with the instrumentation and vocals that each member chips in, it becomes something completely different.” Not that is the exemplification of a collective! The collective featured in the 139^th interview on The Musical Hype is 🎙 Winter Hotel, who bring a variety of influences and styles musically.  The Welsh alternative metal band is comprised of 🎙 Warren Porter (vocals), 🎙 Liam Osment (rhythm guitar), 🎙 Charlie Wignall (drums), and 🎙 James (bass).  So, without further ado, let’s let the band speak for itself, shall we? Here is Getting to Know…Winter Hotel: Interview #139!

Starting things off, for those who may not be familiar with Winter Hotel, what would you say makes your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 WH: We believe what makes Winter Hotel unique is the variety of influences and styles we all bring to the table. Our influences range from slam to mid-western emo, from death metal to post hardcore. We always let each other carry our own interpretations of what Winter Hotel songs could sound like, and when blended with the instrumentation and vocals that each member chips in, it becomes something completely different. That said, our songs will always involve brutality, coming from our shared love for metal.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Winter Hotel form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

🎤 WH: The band started when Warren (vocals) and Liam (guitar) met at a social event at Bangor University in Wales in 2017. From that point, they would meet up regularly to write songs, introducing three more members to the band. They then went on to regularly gig in Bangor and the North Wales area, becoming heavily involved with the local metal scene and attracting somewhat of a fanbase in the area. The band has gone through some lineup changes, introducing Charlie (drums) and more recently James (bass). The band started off with professional intentions, however through time we’ve managed to surpass our expectations of where we’d take the band.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 WH: Our one main goal has always been to keep this band running and to keep pushing ourselves to take the project as far as it will go. We’ve already achieved a lot more than what we intended to do from the start, but there’s so much more we would like to do during our time as a band, which includes continuing to write and record music and to continue gigging (when possible).

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 WH: So, each member of the band is influenced by different musicians and styles of music. Warren loves death metal and slam, Liam is a big fan of mid-western emo and post-hardcore, Charlie is into his post-punk and grunge and James frequently listens to punk rock and thrash metal. The mutual influences of the band include bands like While She Sleeps, Parkway Drive and Slipknot. These bands set a prime example for us to follow as a metal band, however we still want to create our own path as Winter Hotel.  Winter Hotel’s lyrics are often influenced by the landscape of North Wales, as well as literature and horror films.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

🎤 WH: During one of our gigs back in Bangor the pit got a bit too wild and someone knocked over the PA speaker. It almost landed on the bassist, but Liam managed to grab it in time.

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 WH: Our favourite song to perform would probably be 🎵 “Exit Strategy”. It’s the first song Liam and Warren wrote together, therefore our oldest. It showcases the lightest and darkest aspects of our sound as well as being a real crowd pleaser.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 WH: Warren is primarily a drummer and was originally positioned as the drummer for Winter Hotel. This is actually Warren’s first project where he’s on vocals.

Closing this thing out, what is Winter Hotel currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

🎤 WH: We’d be lying if we said the COVID pandemic hasn’t gotten in our way, as we could have gigged a lot in these past few months, however that doesn’t stop us from doing what we can to keep the band rolling. We’ve released three tracks off our five-part collection titled 💿 Vacancies which are all available on YouTube and major platforms, with two more tracks due to be released in the coming months. We’re also constantly meeting and writing for future releases.

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

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[📷: Winter Hotel, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype; Icons made by https://www.flaticon.com/authors/freepik (Freepik)]