https://www.facebook.com/stateofentropy
Sounds like: Hard Rock/Metal
From: New Zealand
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “State of Entropy" and is there any meaning behind it?
All the band members live their lives to a soundtrack, very different soundtracks to be fair but the Venn diagram met at rock n roll. We built our sound where we found common ground. All of us have brought our influences so we have a very familiar dynamic with a fresh feel. It was Craig, the drummer, that came up with State of Entropy when we were looking for new name as no one could pronounce the old one, it turns out that Scottish puns don’t work well in New Zealand, who would have thought. For those that aren’t scientists I’ll let you Google what it means, this is no place for a physics class.. Yeah, nothing deep and meaningful there I’m afraid.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Our mission is to get people dancing. All we want is people to enjoy themselves. We want State of Entropy fans to walk away from our shows with feet aching from dancing, throats hoarse from singing and ears ringing from a great set. It’s music made for a good time.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Think 1980’s rock and metal, think of the likes of early Maiden, Motorhead, Priest or ACDC. Then we’ve added hints of our other influences punk, thrash, progressive, indie, americana, we try to keep it simple in the studio so can reproduce it on stage. Back to basics with 2 guitars, a bass, drums and some vocals. Making the simple interesting.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
If you ask the band there will be a dozen answers I think we would all agree on the biggest Scottish band in the world … AC/DC. That’ll wind the Australians up. Locally though I’d love to gig with Devilskin, I think we’d be a good fit.
5. How has Covid affected what you do as a band?
Initially it didn’t hit us too hard as New Zealand went into full lockdown with everyone essentially confined to their homes so we were relatively COVID free from May 2020 to May 2021 with only a few cases and very limited inconvenience and lockdowns. This meant we were able to gig regularly. An additional bonus was that we had no competition from big name touring bands from outside NZ as the border was (and still is) closed. The last half of 2021 has been tough though as COVID is back and venues are at restricted capacity and many pubs are not for staging bands as the numbers make it financially unfeasible. Silver lining is that it gives us time to write and record and we go into the studio in December and will have new material from early 2022 to release. Keep your ears open.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Hard Rock/Metal?
Metal and rock are an attitude. People love that attitude and will always be attracted to it. There will forever be people wanting to pick up a guitar and copy their hero and punters waiting to listen to it. Metal and Rock are such a huge umbrella and like any movement there will always be peak and troughs, but the core will remain and the music will continue. I’m really looking forward to see how rock and metal evolves over the coming decades. Rock belongs to the most amazingly supportive clan and State of Entropy are proud to be a part of it.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in New Zealand?
There are a healthy number of great rock and metal bands around New Zealand and plenty around Wellington, where we are based. The depth of talent for such a small country is amazing. It’s worth remembering that New Zealand has a population of under 5 million spread over two islands. In total NZ is about twice the size of Florida, 2/3 the size of California, or slightly bigger than the UK so the population density is reflected in the number of venues and the potential fan base however that makes the scene incredibly supportive. Most bands will team up and put on a show of 3 or 4 bands so the crowds get their money’s worth.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
One of the advantages to streaming services are that many bands that would normally be passed over by the gate keepers are getting airplay. This will only feed innovation and these are exciting times for rock and metal music ahead. Are payments fair? No, probably not. It’s unlikely that a band will make the production costs back from a release through streaming only. It’s up to bands to adapt to the circumstances though and I imagine the generation coming through will embrace and exploit it while the old guard struggle. The paradigm has always been to fleece the artist and sadly that isn’t going to change. Fans can help though by coming to gigs and buying merch. A ticket, CD or a T-Shirt can generate more profit than 5,000 streams. Real fans know this and support by turning up and buying merch.
9. What’s next for State of Entropy?
We are currently writing a new set of songs, in pre-production, we will hit the studio in December and we will have something new to release in the new year. We’ve been testing a few songs on stage, which have gone down well, and we have some great never heard before material. We are all really excited about what 2022 will bring and a tour is certainly in the plan … COVID permitting of course.
