Here at CelebMix, we love nothing more than introducing our readers to new, up and coming talent. In this article, we introduce you to cinematic alt-pop trio PLYA – comprising of members Julia Sykes (vocalist), Kris Taylor (guitar) and William Brown (drums).
PLYA emerged little over a year ago, with their debut track ‘Thinking of You.’ Since then, they have gone from strength to strength. They were chosen as BBC London’s Introducing ‘Featured Artist.’ Their single ‘Feast My Eye,’ was hand-picked by Sir Elton John for his Apple Music Beats 1 radio programme. To accompany the track, the trio unveiled a fantastic music video, which you can watch below:
PLYA have recently unveiled a live session video for their track ‘Adrenaline,’ which has been extremely well received. The track showcases the band’s creativity, while using a mix of dreamy pop and electronic sounds, along with fuzzy guitars and filled with silky vocals. Further, due to Julia’s eclectic upbringing, their sound has an addictive intensity, captivating listeners, with their sound combing electronica, edgy pop hooks and grit.
PLYA also recently released their new single ‘Dynamite,’ an explosive, intensive and cinematic track, which builds from the start with dark, dreamy melodies and powerful dynamics which help submerge listeners into their sound.
“‘Dynamite’ is about that fiery relationship you know isn’t good for your health, but you just can’t get of. That internal battle of whether this person is ruining your life or completing it.”
CelebMix had the opportunity to speak with PLYA about how they met and went on to form the band, their musical influences, what can be expected from them in 2019 and more.
Please introduce yourselves to our CelebMix readers.
“Hi! We are alt-pop trio PLYA. Will plays the drums, Kris is on guitars and Julia is on vocals and synths. We’re based in London.”
For anyone who may not know, how did you guys meet and go on to form PLYA?
“We all met at university and have been making music together ever since. Julia grew up in Mallorca (Spain), so after university decided to relocate to London to join the guys. The rest is history.”
Right from the release of your first track ‘Thinking Of You,’ your music has been incredibly well received, with one of your tracks even being hand-picked by Sir Elton John for his radio programme. How does it feel to know that your music has had such a great response?
“It is the best feeling in the world! The time between writing a song and releasing it is normally a very length process, so you live with it by yourself for months. This means it’s normally hard to tell if it’s any good at all, so to have the kind of response we’ve had so far is incredible.”
As a band, who are your musical influences?
“We are constantly bouncing new musical discoveries off each other because we find it is new music that we draw the most influence from. We’d probably say Banks, Billie Eilish and K Flay are amongst our biggest influences at the moment. But between the three of us, we grew up listening to a bit of everything, from Queen to The Beatles to Radiohead to Michael Jackson! We just love a good song.”
What can we expect from yourselves throughout 2019? Will there be more singles released? Is there an EP/album in the works?
“Yes – we have a second single from a forthcoming EP on its way to you at the end of March/beginning of April and the rest of the EP will follow shortly after. We are so proud of these songs and cannot wait to get them out in the world.”
Finally, do you have a message for those who support you?
“We are so overwhelmed by the support we have received so far. It makes all the hard work, sleepless nights and late night rehearsals worth it. We’d love to see your faces at a show, it’s our favourite thing ever. We’re headlining London’s Thousand Island on Thursday 28 February 2019.”
You can purchase tickets to PLYA’s upcoming show in London on Thursday 28 February by clicking here.
You can purchase PLYA’s recent single from iTunes by clicking here. The single can be streamed on Spotify through the link below. Additionally, the track is available to purchase and stream through other music purchasing and streaming outlets.
Make sure you stay up-to-date with PLYA on their social media accounts: