Fresh from the release of their debut EP Giants, and a slot at Southsea Fest alongside the likes of Mystery Jets, Lucy Rose and Black Honey; ISLA merge the neo-psychedelia of Kevin Parker with the rhythmic inclinations of Warpaint under the backdrop of catchy alt-folk. I spoke to guitarist/vocalist Matt about the EP and what the future holds for the four piece.

Can you give us a brief history of the band?
We met at Sussex Uni and were all pretty heavily involved in the music scene in different bands. We played together pretty regularly. I spent the spring and summer of 2015 writing a bunch of new stuff with John (guitarist). We played a few acoustic gigs together, then decided to bring in Stef and James to make a full band.

How would you describe your music?
We really struggle with this! I guess the broad term would be indie, but to us it's probably something we're still working out. I like to think we explore big, reverb-filled sounds with a bunch of effects, with some melodic vocals and harmonies on top

Talk us through the recent Giants EP.
We had a bunch of songs and knew we wanted to put out some kind of EP. But after the singles went out we felt like releasing all new stuff, so it felt really fresh. We probably played around with eight or so different ideas for the EP since the start of the year, and eventually settled on these four. We recorded it in my living room, like all our past releases. I prefer having complete control over how long I can mess about with it for, though we recorded drums at Small Pond studios in Brighton.

What can we expect from future releases?
We're constantly looking forward. Even before we released Giants we were thinking about what to do next. I think next is a single. We wanna keep it live sounding, but I’d love to experiment a bit more and maybe go a bit darker.

Can you pinpoint the influences behind your music?
I guess I just write what’s around me, what’s going on and how I’m feeling. This year has been pretty tough for all of us really, so a lot of the tracks on Giants reflect that. I find writing about this sort of stuff helps me to understand, and maybe find some closure. In terms of how it sounds, I like stuff that’s big and swirling.

Is there a particular process to your song writing?
Usually someone will come to rehearsal with an idea or a demo of some kind, then we’ll chop it up and rework it. Everyone will throw ideas in there, and eventually we end up with a track.

If you could work with any artist, who would it be? ?
Justin Vernon would be a real dream to work with. Every time it feels like he’s making music from the heart, so I’d love a lesson in songwriting from him. Also, Kevin Parker – I just wanna know how the hell he makes those sounds.

What music are you listening to at the moment?
Speaking of, I’m in love with Bon Iver’s new album and the new Warpaint record too. We’re supporting Tempesst soon, I’ve had their stuff on quite a lot and it’s really good.

What has been a musical eye-opener and how has it affected you?
I think our tour was a real eye-opener for all of us. It wasn’t even that long but we were completely destroyed by the end. We learnt a lot about being an out-of-town band, and were so grateful to all the friends, family and complete strangers who supported us.

Is there a particular ethos that drives you as a band?
We just like looking forward and pushing ourselves. We’re always learning about ourselves and each other as musicians. We want to make awesome tracks that people love and play them everywhere.

What has been your relationship with the city of Brighton, how do you find the city and are there any future gigs planned?
We’ve been living here since moving to uni. We all love it for slightly different reasons. Personally I love the laid back attitude and just the general acceptance of pretty much anything. You can walk down the street wearing pretty much anything and no one would look twice.

Tell us about the music scene in Brighton, are there any exciting releases we should keep an ear out for?
Brighton is constantly buzzing with new stuff, it’s hard to keep up! I think Animal House are bringing out something soon? Pretty excited for that. I’ve also heard that Squid are working on something. Our good friend Chloe Glover has just gone solo and is smashing it!

What are your plans for the next 12 months, is there an album in the pipeline?
We’ve been talking about an album, we’d love to get one out there! I don’t know if it will be within a year, I guess we’ll see. We don’t want to rush it.

Facebook: facebook.com/ohisla
Twitter: twitter.com/ohisla