Dillon Squire on his debut solo EP ‘Yellow Car No Hitbacks’
Dillon Squire has been in bands Heavy Rapids and Lucia and the Best Boys but for the first time has ventured musically on his own.
Ahead of his EP release next month, he will be hosting a launch party at the Rum Shack in Glasgow’s Southside
Ahead of his EP release next month, he will be hosting a launch party at the Rum Shack in Glasgow’s Southside
Transcript
00:00 ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
00:03 - Hi everyone, my name's Dylan Squire.
00:05 I'm 25 years old and I'm beginning my music career
00:08 as a solo artist based in Glasgow.
00:10 My new EP's called Yellow Carnal Hit Back,
00:11 simply a self-healing journey and a cathartic process
00:16 that ended up turning into six of the best songs
00:20 I've ever written.
00:21 I started singing from the bottom of my heart
00:23 and made sure that every word I wrote down
00:25 and passed my lips was meaningful.
00:28 It all started years ago when I was in an outfit
00:30 called Heavy Rapids.
00:32 You know, we're just four guys, started a band,
00:36 started making some noise and we got a bit of attention
00:39 from a New York-based manager called Pulsia.
00:43 It was hilarious how that came about.
00:44 We were about to support The Blinders at Broadcast
00:47 and we accidentally got spun on John Kennedy's show
00:52 in the wrong order.
00:53 So she was tuning in to listen to a band called Spectre,
00:57 but the presenter played our song before their show.
01:00 So she accidentally heard it and then we're all sat
01:02 in a car out in the parking lot just behind Broadcast
01:06 and she phoned and she's like, "I love your track.
01:09 "I wanna come."
01:10 She flew out to meet us and stuff and from there
01:12 it just went to agents and talking to labels
01:15 and all this exciting stuff.
01:17 But I think where we were at as a band at that point
01:20 just wasn't, we just weren't ready to take it
01:23 to that next level.
01:23 We were a bit on different pages and around that time
01:28 I was getting a call from Lucia, from Lucia and the Best Boys
01:32 and she was wanting me to do guitar for the band
01:34 as they needed a guitarist at that time.
01:37 It seemed like a good jump to make
01:39 to a more professional project.
01:42 That was short-lived.
01:43 They were a great bunch of people, great musicians,
01:45 but I just admitted to myself that that wasn't
01:48 what I wanted to do and I felt a bit out of place.
01:51 And I'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason
01:55 and I think all that was just meant to come to an end.
01:58 And then obviously lockdown happened.
02:01 I started working on my own material
02:03 and just unlocked a bunch of emotions
02:06 and topics that I hadn't really explored, self-related.
02:11 And just started this cathartic healing process
02:14 and luckily I landed on my feet with a bunch of material
02:18 that I'm super proud of and can't wait to show you all.
02:21 It's all self-portrait imagery from my youth,
02:26 my adolescence to me right now,
02:29 colours and visuals that I like.
02:32 But I think they can all be morphed
02:33 and shaped a little bit better.
02:35 But when you start something out,
02:37 it just takes a bit of time to find that image
02:39 and that look and I'm sure sometime in the next few months
02:44 before the end of the year, that'll all snap into place.
02:46 The line-up we've got just now just feels so much like a band
02:49 and it's amazing to have them respect my vision so much
02:52 but still make it feel like a group project.
02:55 So the line-up just now is myself, Bo, Rab and Josh.
02:59 Me and Bo have been friends for like the past three years.
03:02 We've worked together and we just became best friends
03:06 and had each other's backs
03:08 in kind of everything we've been doing.
03:09 If I was to describe him in three words,
03:11 it would be best guitarist ever.
03:13 Josh, much the same.
03:16 He's always been about, I've always known who he was.
03:19 And when the bass vacancy became available,
03:21 he reached out and was like, I'd love to do it.
03:24 You know, I'll do bass, synth, vocals
03:25 and so glad I got him on board.
03:27 He's just one of a kind, such a lovely guy,
03:29 such a great player.
03:30 Three words for him would be magic fingers Johnson.
03:34 That's a bit of an in joke, but it had to be said.
03:37 Rab, the drummer is just one of the tightest
03:39 and most motivated players I've ever worked with.
03:43 He really keeps me going,
03:45 gives me a drive that I've lusted for for a long time.
03:48 Yeah, just an exceptional bunch of guys,
03:52 great therapists, amazing chef,
03:54 everything you need in a touring party, to be honest.
03:56 ♪ 'Cause I've been thinking about you ♪