The Trusted
1. Hey guys! Thanks so much for sitting down with us. Introduce yourselves and tell us how you would describe your music!
Hey, so we’re The Trusted and we are a band from the city of Southend On Sea in Essex. Its always hard to describe your own music but I guess we make indie music with heart and soul. (That sounded a little pretentious, sorry ahaha)
2. Tell us about “Arkansas”. What inspired you to write it? Was it based off a personal experience?
Arkansas was a song, written during the later stages of lockdown. It’s a reflection of that sense of loneliness that everybody was feeling at the time. Everything felt like it was stuck in a moment. I’ve found, the best lyrics always come to you, in times of tension and frustration. This was one of those times…
3. Are there any books, movies, or albums in rotation that inspired this song?
I remember watching ‘Lost In Translation’ for the first time during that period. Even-though it didn’t influence Arkansas directly, there are some thematical similarities. There is probably some kind subconscious influence going on somewhere.
Also, I’ve always had a thing for the way in which someone like Bruce Springsteen uses geographical backdrops to underline his songs (Nebraska, Atlantic City, Streets Of Philadelphia). I have wanted to do something similar for a while.
4. Why Arkansas and not somewhere else? Does someone in the band have ties to Arkansas, or were you guys creatively drawn to the space?
There is literally no connection between any of us and Arkansas. I just needed a beautiful far away place to contrast the themes of loneliness and abandonment. Arkansas is a beautiful state and somewhere I wouldn’t mind escaping to. I didn’t want to pick somewhere the I was personally connected to, I wanted the backdrop, to be completely random. Arkansas is not really about Arkansas. It’s an about someone who has been abandoned by those who they perceive as the ‘the good guys.’ Within the song, Arkansas represents that idea of escaping an old life.
Well thats what it kind of meant to me anyway ahaha.
5. We love how reflective the lyrics are in this song, is there a certain message you hope fans gain from “Arkansas”?
‘It’s okay to want more…’
Sometimes what we have is not enough. We are emotionally hungry beings and its okay to want more in life x
6. How have your habits as listeners effected the way you guys create music?
I think, when you listen to music, you learn more about what is possible. Every artist has their own approach to songwriting and production, so you basically get a different perspective to the craft. Through that, you learn new ways of making music. With streaming, its easier now more than ever to cycle through different genres and stuff. I have always believed that the more you consume, the better you’ll get at writing and creating
7. Are there any indie artists who are relatively unknown whose music inspires you guys?
You should check out Katy For Kings. She has written tons of clever pop songs. Really impressive stuff. Oh yeah and she’s also based in Essex (big up Essex)
8. What was your definition of success when you started out, and how does that compare to where you are now?
When we started, we were driven by all the classic things that bands dream of hahaha. Now we’re much more focused on finding success through the music itself. We are always striving to write better songs. At the end of the day, your music is the thing that really defines you.
9. Through the last couple of years of quarantine, did the down time shift the way you guys create? Did it shift the band dynamic?
Yeah so now, we write a lot more using computers. Before the pandemic, we wrote most of our stuff in the rehearsal room, all jamming together. Cause we couldn’t meet up during the lockdowns, we had to use computers to construct our music. This has since drastically changed our whole approach to songwriting and thus the sound of The Trusted
10. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us! What are your social media handles so your fans can find you?
Sure so on instagram and Tiktok you can find us @TheTrusted_
On twitter we are @Thetrustedband and as we are the only band (that we know of) called The Trusted, you can just type our name into Spotify and you’ll find us immediately