Record Deals, New Singles, And More With Spirit Leaves
Welcome everyone! Just a few days before the Florida natives in Spirit Leaves dropped their newest single “ Empty Flame” I had the pleasure of sitting down with the vocalist XZYLO to ask a few questions about their newfound success and events leading up to Empty Flame’s release.
1. How has your time changed after joining InVogue Records?
Joining Invogue has been one huge learning experience! I don’t think any of us were super prepared or ready for a lot of the things that have happened to us over the past year. But in hindsight, that was to be expected. I think the balance between actually trying to make this our career vs keeping up with our personal lives has been a big change for everybody. The biggest pieces of advice that has resonated with me through all these changes are “No one can teach you how to tell your story to people” & “Harping over the destination will kill you, enjoy the journey as it currently is.”
I think the one constant that remains however is the process of writing music and playing shows. The environments may change over time, but that feeling never goes away. It’s good to remind myself of that when things get tough. We’ve been writing again recently, and I can for sure say that euphoric feeling of getting a good song to finally come out of you will never change or get old.
2. If you could describe this new record in 3 words for any new fans, what would those 3 words be?
Hmm, that’s tough to put into 3 words. What if I just said Doom Eternal & Post Hardcore had a Nu-metal coded baby. That sounds kinda cool to me. Let’s go with that.
3. What was the thought process behind the visuals for “ Empty Flame “?
I don’t want to reveal everything for this one, but I will say this. What you’re seeing here in the new video is a piece of a 3 part story. The woman that was on our EP artwork and the Pulling Teeth music video? She’s back and we’re doing something kinda cool. It’ll all tie together when the rest of the songs are out… oh yeah, this isn’t the last of our drops this year. Spoiler alert.
4. With your music resonating with bands like Dayseeker and Bring Me The Horizon, what would be your bucket list band to tour with and why?
I mean, both of those bands would be awesome to tour with for obvious reasons. But I would love to tour with Nightlife & Foxcult. We played a couple shows on the Florida leg with them over the summer. Great people that have a great message, and their music rips. I want to look at touring with musicians that see music as this big amalgamation of culture, individuality, and a dedication to be the best at what they do. I feel like all metal music is entering this new great era of fusion and fans are embracing it. A lot of the big metal bands from 10 or more years ago have had huge ripple effects on the musicians of today, and we’re seeing a big generational shift. All this to say, our peers are who I’m most excited to tour with because it’s now our responsibility to continue building the foundations all of our influences laid down for us.
5. Being Florida natives, what is your favorite venue you’ve played at in your home state?
Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville. It was such a vibe to be in such a legendary place. Took me back to when I was 8 years old playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and watching CKY videos when our parents were not around. I honestly had to tell the bands we were playing with that I was sorry if I was missing parts of their set cause I was enjoying the atmosphere so much.
Shoutout Kona Skatepark, the staff and venue were awesome. Would love to do another show there.
6. If you didn’t make music in your particular genre that you make now, what genre would you choose?
Easy. I’d make rnb music, and probably produce hip-hop again. I say this because that’s what I used to do before joining SpiritLeaves. I grew up on metal music, but in my adult life, that’s actually what I have worked on for the most part. I’m sitting on an unreleased solo rnb record right now… someone tell Invogue I’m down to talk details whenever haha.
Thank you so much for reading along and I wish Spirit Leaves all the best and I think this is definitely not the last time we will be seeing them again.
You can stream “Empty Flame” on any streaming platform you prefer and watch the visuals for the new single down below.