Interview: Winter Hotel

Recently, DutchMetalManiac’s Tim van Velthuysen interviewed Winter Hotel’s drummer Charlie.

Hey, how are you?

Hey, we’re pretty good thanks! We’re all a bit bummed that we can’t currently meet to practice or write because of the UK’s second lockdown, however as we did in the first lockdown we’re constantly keeping ourselves busy with what we can do behind the scenes.

Can you tell us something about the history of Winter Hotel?

Certainly. So, the band started when Warren (vocals) and Liam (guitar) met while studying at Bangor University in North Wales. After spending a short while chatting they discovered their shared love for metal music and hit things off from there. From that point Winter Hotel gained 3 more members and gigged extensively around the North Wales area, earning a committed local fanbase. Since then we have had a bit of a lineup change, bringing myself (Charlie, drums) and James (bass) on within the past year.

For people not knowing Winter Hotel (yet), how would you describe your music yourself?

When asked we put ourselves under the genre of alternative metal. This is because our influences and styles vary anywhere from mid-west emo to slam, from deathcore to post-hardcore. With this we create songs that contrast melodic lead lines, clean breaks with brutal slams and breakdowns.

When someone doesn’t know Winter Hotel yet and you can choose one of your songs to present yourself, which song would that be?

I think our first single, Lovers At Bay, is probably the best allrounder for us. It’s neither our heaviest or our lightest and includes sounds from many of the depths and breadths of our influences.

What makes Winter Hotel unique?

So as we mentioned, each member brings in their own unique influences and styles. Some bands see this as an obstruction with their members, however we love and embrace the challenge of trying to accommodate for each of our tastes and blending those disparate extremes together.

Any future plans you can already tell us something about?

We’re currently in the midst of releasing our 5-part collection titled Vacancies. We’ve released 3 tracks from Vacancies already, so you can expect parts IV and V to be coming soon. You can find parts I, II and III on YouTube as well as all major streaming platforms.

Any upcoming gigs for Winter Hotel? Maybe coming to The Netherlands?

Because of COVID we unfortunately haven’t been able to gig since March. We’d love to say we’ll start gigging again in early 2021 but we’ll have to see what restrictions allow. Gigging is the one part that we’re all missing and we initially had plans to gig extensively across the UK this year to promote our singles as we have released them, but we haven’t let this slow us down. A goal for the near future is definitely to do a European tour, and we would love to gig in Amsterdam, The Hague and elsewhere in The Netherlands.

How do you think your life would be without music?

Very dull. Music is a huge part of all of our lives and we listen to it daily. I think we’d all go a bit mad without something to listen to.

What advice would you give to young and starting bands?

Treat your band like a full time job, even if you don’t earn from it. Being in a band can be exhausting but the more time and effort you put in, the more you get back.

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac’s readers?

Thank you for reading our interview. Feel free to follow us on Instagram and Facebook where you can find updates on our upcoming releases.

Winter Hotel Facebook
Winter Hotel Instagram