“We are working on a new record” – Interview with Starbenders

When you think about glam, gothic and hard rock, only a few bands can take all of those elements and make it sound like their own music. But Starbenders found their own style, blending everything into gripping songs that resonate with a new generation. After their third full-length album, released last year, the quartet from Atlanta, USA experienced an unexpected change in its lineup, but it didn’t stop the band from continuing their journey touring and making music.

Starting a new European tour this month, Finland was the destination for the first stop. We had the pleasure of talking with the vocalist and guitarist Kimi Shelter before the show, and she shared a few words about their current plans and feelings. Check out our chat below:

This month marks the first anniversary of “Take Back the Night.” Four seasons later, how has the feedback been and how do you see this work in the band’s discography?

Kimi Shelter: It’s been great! It’s one of those records that I think may get more appreciation down the road. I think it’s just going to take time for it to hit more people, but the feedback we did get was great and we had a lot of fun making it. We are just ready for more music and more records.

In February, Qi Wei became the band’s new drummer. So far, how has this exchange of inspirations and cultural background with her been in the daily life and playing live?

Kimi Shelter: It’s really cool. We were getting to learn a lot from one another. I think China is a country that has kept quite a big curtain up. There’s not been too much exchange that’s happened there, so it’s a really great opportunity for us to have that with each other and musically, and everything like that. She’s a wonderful person and an incredible drummer, so blending our two different cultures and our two different styles has been something that’s given us another life and is just a lot of fun. We’ve already started doing music together and everything like that. She’s just fitting right in.

Last year, you did your first headline tour in the United Kingdom, and today, here in Helsinki, you start your second European tour, but with some shows as headliners. How has this process of world domination been, bringing your music to different countries and cultures?

Kimi Shelter: It’s always going to be super surreal for me, because I didn’t even leave the United States till later in my life. We didn’t travel a lot or anything. So the fact we’re getting to see the world through our band and play is super surreal. This is our first actual European headlining show. So it’s just really awesome, and I love Helsinki so much. So it’s like a cool place for it.

Speaking of touring, this is your third show here in Finland, and Starbenders has a lot of the glam and gothic vibe that bands here have always exported and in a way influenced some of you. What is it like to come back here and reconnect with your Finnish fan base?

Kimi Shelter: It’s really awesome! I guess it made its way back to me that Ville Valo had been playing “Seven White Horses” before his show and had included it in an article, which was really incredible for me because I grew up listening to HIM, and they’re still one of my favorite bands. So it’s just really great! It’s just such a wonderful experience to kind of come back to a place that’s inspired you for so long and get to actually be on the stage here. So it’s awesome! I mean, not just HIM, but 69 Eyes, Hanoi Rocks and Children of Bodom. These are all bands that are very important to us. So it’s just awesome to be able to contribute.

Qi Wei has brought new blood to Starbenders and some fans are curious to hear something new with her in the studio. Although your most recent work was released a year ago, what can we expect in terms of new music and other plans for the coming months?

Kimi Shelter: We have a new single that will be coming out later this month called “Tokyo,” and we are working on a record. So we already have a few songs recorded. So it’s just about getting the roll out going and all that.

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You can listen to Starbenders‘ latest album “Take Back the Night” here: