Jim Rubaduka and Alex Stevens, two former Primary School friends were reunited at Sixth Form College through their love of great music. Two very talented singer/songwriters they formed The Intermission Project in 2011.
With an acoustic, folk, soul sound their wonderfully crafted songs and velvety soulful voices reveal a maturity way beyond their years. These two 19 year olds from Ashford in Kent have created a sound so very beautiful, thought provoking and immediately captivating that it leaves you singing their tunes over and over.
2013 has seen them joined by drummer Charlie Campbell and playing to packed audiences at festivals including The Great Escape, Kendal Calling, Green Man, Lounge on The Farm and Shambala, impressing audiences with their heartfelt songs, fresh, uplifting sound and charming performances interspersed with humorous tales and anecdotes.
They released their debut EP ‘Sorry’ on 23rd September 2013, the title track has already been picked up by BBC Introducing and played on Tom Robinson’s BBC 6 show. If this is just the beginning of their musical career you can only wonder at their future.
01. How did your band get together?
Jim and I met in primary school and after 6 or so years apart, we met again in sixth form. We were in the same music tech class and found ourselves in rehearsal rooms making music. We got in contact with Charlie as we wanted a drummer and another body on stage. He came down to Ashford for a jam and the rest in history.
02. Where did your name come from?
Jim came up with the name. At the time we started making music, we were approaching the tricky transitional moment in life where you’re forced to make important decisions that can inform the life you lead and it was our ‘Intermission’ phase so that’s where the idea came from.
03. Who were your major influences and inspirations?
We all have our individual heroes and like a variety of different music. The thing that inspires me personally is anything that really resonates with my soul, and that can be anything from Otis Redding singing to my friend saying a sentence that changes the way I see things.
04. What drove you to make music together?
Initially it was just a happy accident but what drives us to continue making music together is the fun we have, the people we meet and the chance to make a career out of something we love doing.
05. What can someone who has never seen you live before expect from your shows?
A good night out; three boys sweating; people heckling (mainly our family members) and the same three boys playing songs that they love.
06. Who writes your songs?
What types of themes and subjects do you deal with?Jim writes the songs, not sure if there is one particular theme or subject he aims for but a lot of songs are very people driven and experience driven. But it’s always evolving so who knows what he’ll be writing about a few years down the line.
07. How has your music evolved since you first began playing together?
We started off with only using acoustic instruments and no form of percussion because that’s all we had at the time and now we have a drummer and a couple of electric guitars and some other fun stuff.
08. What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
How were you able to overcome this?So far we haven’t had any really big challenges that stand out in our mind maybe the biggest challenge we’ve had so far is trying to find some venues with no sat nav. We have overcome this problem by investing in a sat nav.
09. Does the band play covers? If so, do you argue over the choice of songs? Who usually gets his own way?
We don’t play any covers but that’s not to say we won’t but the reason Jim started writing songs in the first place is because every time he learnt how to play a song he loved he never felt like he could do it justice so he started writing. But who knows maybe we’ll figure out something in the future.
10. What do you love and hate outside of music?
Alex: Love – Travelling & Hate – The cold, Jim: Love – Football & Hate- Walking into spider webs, Charlie: Love – Good films & Hate – Bad films
11. Who would you most like to record with?
Does it matter if they are dead or alive? I think it would be awesome to record something with Lisa Fischer, her voice is just so unreal but that’s a hard question there are just too many people that we’d love to record something with.
12. What should we be expecting from the band in the near future?
More live shows, more songs, more smiles and more good things.
Web Links:
facebook.com/IntermissionProject
twitter.com/IntermissionPro
Tour dates 2014:
27th March – The Boatshed Presents, Auriol Rowing Club, Hammersmith
6th April – Paradise Club, Kensal Rise, London
31st May – Sunrise Festival – All Good Things, Nr Bristol
26th June – Revelation St Marys Church, Ashford
19th July – Larmer Tree Festival, Salisbury
27th July – Ashford Create Festival, Ashford
9th August – Woodbridge Festival Suffolk
16th August – Green Man Festival, Wales
Link to buy current single:
theintermissionproject.bandcamp.com
itunes.apple.com/sorry-single
