We caught up with ROCKY Nti after his show in Exeter, read on to see what we chatted about....
We were fortunate enough to watch Rocky Nti play when he supported Eliza and the Bear at the Cavern in Exeter, I caught up with him after his performance and mentioned that we should definitely get an interview feature sorted out, below, you will find the fruits of our labour. Read on to find out some fascinating facts about Rocky Nti and his band, killer dance moves and his advice for Chelsea FC....
Firstly, please would take a moment to introduce yourself and your music to our readers?
Good morrow all, my name is Rocky Nti & I make noise for a living, mostly that noise comes in the form of indie rock songs.
Tell me a fascinating fact about yourself or one of your band members?
An interesting fact about me is that I’m a trained ninja, a fun fact about my bass player DKP is that he is addicted to coffee
You have been supporting Eliza & the Bear all around the UK, what was the highlight for you?
The whole tour has been great I think the highlight was the show in Exeter, the crowd went mental and gave us everything. Was a really cool moment to be a part of.
And what do you dislike most about the whole touring thing?
I honestly haven't got any bad vibes about touring, it’s a ridiculously cool opportunity to play songs I’ve written in the shower to large groups of people who enjoy hearing them!
You’re from Milton Keynes, what’s the current state of the live music scene there at the moment?
I mean… it isn’t great… not completing dissing it, there are some amazing artists there obviously but it hasn’t really got a “thriving” music scene.
Do you find that you receive a better reception at any towns/cities around the UK? If so, why do you think this is?
The rule of thumb is that the more North you go, the more fun the crowd normally is, but I think it’s about the energy you give out, I rarely leave the stage thinking “wow, the crowd were dead”, my goal is to convert them!
What is your best party trick?
My dance moves probably, I’m the self-proclaimed king of the dance floor!
Which band or artist made YOU want to start playing in a band/writing music?
There wasn’t one really, I’ll say that the first time I heard Justin Vernon's (Bon Iver) songs, I knew I wanted to create honest work, that truly reflected how I was processing life and moments
Do you come from a musical family?
My parents sing in church, and my Dad used to be in a band when he was younger back in Ghana, but my siblings don’t play instruments, everyone loves music though
Tell me how you came to team up with LEE Jeans to create your new T-Shirts?
We’ve been working with Lee Jeans for a couple of months on some social campaigns, they’re a great bunch of humans so we keep collaborating & seeing how we can keep working together! I mentioned I was going on tour and thought it was a good opportunity to create some cool tees!
Who, in your opinion, put out the BEST album of 2015?
Ohhh man.. .that’s hard… I had Sufjan Stevens’ new album on repeat most of the year to be honest!
What’s been the strangest thing that a fan has ever given you?
I’m not at Justin Beiber level yet, so all that weird stuff is still ahead of me ha!
You clearly play quite a lot in London where there are on average 10 bands for every person living there, what do you do in order to try and stand out from the rest?
London is saturated in every sector, so you just have to be yourself, that’s it, and make sure when you get your moment to prove to people you’re supposed to be there! trying to be cool is not cool....
Do you have a favourite venue that you always look forward to playing?
I love playing Moles (venue in the city of Bath), but that’s just because I used to go to uni in Bath, every venue has it’s ups & down, the humans inside them make the difference.
I love your track ‘Ride On’ lifted from your debut EP, where did you record this and who produced it?
I recorded it in West London with producers called The Suppliers! They’re absolute heroes and really helped shape the direction I wanted to go in, had a lot of fun recording that EP.
When can we expect new material from you?
Very soon! *Rocky smiles and rubs his hands together*
Have you had any ‘Spinal Tap’ moments on stage, if so, please share!
Haha every day on tour is like Spinal Tap, once you get on the road, jokes are flying about and you almost become a parody of yourself, we’re actually quite serious onstage but off it we’re like kids!
What advice would you offer to a young aspiring band, just starting out on their musical voyage?
Be patient, keep writing & find your own voice
Which band or act (in your opinion) are killing it right now?
my friend HONNE are smashing it up, if you haven’t heard them check them out, they’re super chilled! Good lads too so it’s nice to see!
After a show, how does Rocky NTI chill out and relax?
I’m normally super mellow after a gig, being on stage is when life makes sense so after I’ve played I normally feel gutted that it’s over, so I normally float into the background somewhere then go home
Let’s imagine Michael Eavis has asked YOU to select the headliners for Glastonbury 2017, who would you choose and why?
Oh man…. I’m going to need to really think and get back to you… too many artists that I want to see on a big stage like that with everyone going mental
We might be stopping by Milton Keynes in a few weeks, could you recommend a place to eat, maybe some drinks and a live show?
Place to eat… head to Stony Stratford High Street, it's got a small village vibe, for drinks I’d go to The Hub which has a city vibe to it, and gig wise theres only one place to go and that's the Crauford Arms!
I see you’re a Chelsea fan, when do you think they’ll find their ‘mojo’ again and start playing some proper football?
Only God knows, we shot ourselves in the foot by sacking Mourinho, i’m written this season off, we need to strengthen in the summer, get a decent manger and build from there, never a dull moment being a Chelsea fan sadly…
Any festival plans for 2016 yet?
Hopefully you’ll see me at a few over the summer, first things first, need to get these new tunes into the universe and see where they take me!
We'd like to thank Rocky for taking the time to chat to us and wish him every success for 2016, we hope to see him at a couple of festivals over the summer too!
To keep up to date with his whereabouts and musical happenings, please check out his social media channels below.
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