• 

  Zahir

Today I have the honour of showcasing a band who I have personally shared the stage with and who have only gone from strength to strength since their conception in 2021 – Rogue Awakening. They have been busy regularly gigging the South of England in support of a steady stream of releases. They have taken to the stage at Guil-fest 2 years running and recently had the good fortune of being featured on BBC Introducing Live Lounge. You’re probably going to be their newest fan.

Here at Chaos, we’ve been granted an exclusive listen to their latest track, “Taste of Sorrow” which is out now! I sat down with their lovely vocalist, Kimberley to get the low-down on what the release means for them:

Zahir: What is the name of your new single?

Kimberley: Taste of Sorrow

Zahir: Does it have a story?

Kimberley: There’s no specific narrative to the song, lyrically I often write more from a place of feeling or intuition as opposed to a story or experience.

Zahir: Were you trying to “up the game” from your last release (Remain Untamed)?

Kimberley: Not intentionally! But I love that the track has given that impression. For me and the rest of Rogue Awakening it’s really important that we continue to evolve and push ourselves creatively. We don’t write for anyone other than ourselves. And we don’t play by other people’s rules. It’s a very organic process and we don’t ever want to stagnate.

Zahir: Is there a lyrical theme for this track and is it connected to any others?

Kimberley: TC (our rhythm guitarist) and I wrote the lyrics together and tried to capture the idea of feeling discontent and unfulfilled when living a life that doesn’t feel authentic and having a powerful otherworldly instinct that there is something more for you out there. “Let me taste your sorrow, broken by the rules you follow” All of my lyrics are quite themed and connected I think. I’m really inspired by powerful female energy, creativity and sensuality so I write a lot from that space. I also love pagan mythology and imagery, so this ties in with our live shows and the concept of the Dark Goddess. We all have a shadow side, and sometimes that’s the side of me that takes control of the lyric writing.

Zahir: Have you played it live yet and if so where?

Kimberley: We have! We’ve actually had this song in our back pockets for a while now and knew it had potential to sound epic when recorded by our awesome engineer and friend Casey from Air-raid Studios. In fact, he saw us play it in London a few months ago and suggested it would be good to record.

Zahir: Well done, Casey! Theres a lot of harmonies and multi-tracked vocals, moreso than other releases. Was this intentional?

Kimberley: These are probably my favourite parts of this song, it just naturally adds another dimension to the dynamics, and I’d love to say it was intentional but it all just evolved naturally when we came to record it! Being in the studio and experimenting vocally is one of my favourite things to do and Casey, our recording engineer, had a great ear for ideas. Some of which seem totally abstract at the time! I also have to mention the epic vocals that TC and Zakk bring to the mix… The scream in the breakdown is absolute fire!

Zahir: You’re taking some risks with the pre-chorus vocals; they’ve paid off! Did that take you out of your comfort zone?

Kimberley: Yes, it’s not something we’ve ever really done before but us Rogues are really lucky as TC can sing and shout and Zakk is amazing at screams, so it gave everyone an opportunity to contribute. The male vocal in the pre-chorus has this awesome rhythm which really builds up to the chorus.

Zahir: It’s a very “straight-to-the-point” attack – a perfect single. Speaking of which are we looking at a long-form release in future? Like the Feed Me Fire EP?

Kimberley: Thank you! And yes. We are working on new material at the moment, and the goal is to work towards an album. But we want this to evolve naturally without any pressure or deadlines. We like to release songs regularly to keep our creative flow and growth going.

Zahir: Will there be a video to accompany the song?

Kimberley: There’s an awesome, witchy lyric video by our friend at Unicorn Squad Videos. I’m excited for people to see and hear this everywhere.

Zahir: Where and when, can we catch you live?

Kimberley: Follow our socials for regular gig updates but we are playing The Fiddlers Elbow in Camden this Saturday 13th and then taking a bit of time to write some new material. We are playing in Kent in November and finishing the year with a hometown show in Horsham. I’m always on the merch desk at the shows, so come along and say ‘Hi!’

Be sure to tune in to our Mixcloud where we will be playing Taste of Sorrow on our shows. Alternatively, the song is available on all your usual streaming platforms. As always, please check out Rogue Awakening, show your support and catch them near you soon. They’re moving with swift momentum! Thank you Kimberley for your time.