Human X

Human X were formed by Paul Clark and Lindsey Brooks and their music has been described as Emotive Rock – pop electronica and dark romance which incidentally is also the title of one of their singles. The band have a huge work ethic and are always extremely busy. In 2018 they have played the Canny Fringe Festival, several Oxjam dates and have been on both local and national radio stations. The coup of the year so far was a spot on ITV’s This Morning program where they got to perform their debut single Death and Romance.

Catching up with them and trying to pin them down for an interview proved to be a bit of a challenge but perseverance is all and eventually one prevailed. We must have seemed like an overeager fan as we expressed how much I could listen all day to Love or Nothing and did ask the question on whether they thought the tag Modern/Retrofitted their style. One which Paul was quick to answer. “Thank you for your comments and yes, but it can be a difficult thing to balance. If you get it wrong, it will sound too 70’s or 80’s and therefore not be relevant in any way. I find that it is much better to draw influences and not go full retro.”

The band is slowly and steadfastly building up a following and are in demand to play but turning to Lindsey, we wanted to know if the guys had found it hard getting their music out to the public and coupled with that the recognition. “It is definitely not that easy. When I got together with Paul last year he had already gained a following on Facebook. My own personal Twitter account was doing well so I took over the Human X one and managed to use that to my advantage.”

“Luckily we have an awful lot of support around us and it also helps to have friends around us who support our music. It’s just hard getting the balance right between promoting and just spamming people. We want to be heard and get our music out there but if you post the same thing too often people will soon lose interest.”

The guys are already down to play festivals next year and I was interested to see where they would love to play given the opportunity. In her earlier days, Lindsey played the Corbridge Festival and it was her first. “I would love to go back there again, it being my first festival. I played original songs with my college and it really gave my confidence a boost. Its what inspired me to become a songwriter. I think that it would be very cool to go back there again with all of this new material and see the difference between then and now. As for Paul, he would love to play at Glastonbury and I would think the Bearded Theory again.”

Human X are currently working on an album and we were very keen to know if there was a planned release date. We also threw into the mix that Lindsey’s vocals and range were amazing and how she felt about my opinion that there were shades of Annie Lennox in her voice, especially on Death and Romance. “Honestly, that is the biggest compliment I’ve ever received. Annie Lennox is one of my idols and I listened to her a lot growing up. Even my family has said that they can hear Annie in my vocals which is just crazy to me. I guess that I have my education to thank for that. If it wasn’t for my tutors and all of the classical training that I had from a young age, I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near those notes. Hard work definitely pays off and I am very flattered by the response I’ve gotten for my voice.”

“We are working on recording an album just now. The title will be Death and Romance and most of the songs have now been written. It's just a matter of getting the rest recorded and then getting the whole thing mastered. We had hoped to have gotten it out much earlier, but realistically it will probably be towards the end of the year. We both have full-time jobs and family commitments and we have had a very busy year so right at this moment time we are not too worried.”

When we think of rock electronica we very rarely find that there is any emotion in the vocal but with Human X, Lindsey seems to break the mould and puts a huge amount of emotion in a song. “I’ve always sung with emotion but there was a time that I felt very embarrassed about it. Now it just comes naturally to me.”

“A lot of it comes from past experiences. I always try and make sure that I can relate to a song in some way. It doesn’t make sense to me to sing a song that I can’t relate to. I also did a lot of acting and youth theatre from a young age which helped me learn how to express my emotions more when performing. If I’m really into a certain song, I go into my own little bubble and I forget about everything around me. Watching other artists and musicians also helps. I idolise other singers who use emotion and watching them perform helped me learn little tricks on how to perform with emotion without overdoing it or becoming embarrassed.”

As Human X are part of the huge DIY music scene, which frankly we are totally stunned by. So we were keen to know their thoughts towards the hundreds of bands that are out there, struggling to find a voice and if there was any advice that they could share.

“We feel that the DIY music scene is thriving, and many artists now have opportunities that they would not have had ten years ago. With the advent of social media and the ability to release material without the need for record labels, it is possible to break through and get noticed. It just takes hard work, self-belief and determination.”

“The best advice to struggling artists is never to label yourself as a frustrated or struggling artist. Take all of your self-doubts, all of your worries and insecurities, every bit of unfair criticism, throw it all in the bin and never look back. The sooner the better. It’s very competitive out there so you have to work hard, sacrifice some things, get yourself The Eye of The Tiger and make something that packs a punch.”

These are very wise words coming from a band that definitely walks the walk and talks the talk. 2019 is going to be a busy time for the band. “There will be a new single release soon which we are very excited about. We also have some big video plans and are looking to release a second album next year.”

“For all of our friends and fans, we are very grateful for the support and love that you have shown us. The response to the Love or Nothing video has been amazing, and the excitement of Death and Romance on This Morning blew us away. We do not have a promotion agenda, and all of this has happened because of you and we thank you for that.”

Well, at some point next year we hope to catch up with Human X again and find out how everything is progressing but if they are not sold out and you can get your hands on some, do yourselves a favour and get to a Human X gig. You will not be disappointed.