Splink
“There have been many times when I’ve been convinced things aren’t working, but they nearly always end up great. You've just got to give it a chance to develop.”
Kent-based quartet Splink specialise in what they’ve termed No-Rules Music. This doesn’t manifest as the chaos the name implies, but is instead guided by one simple philosophy: "If it sounds good, we do it."
“We’ve written entire pieces and then said, ‘no, it's not us,’” says violinist Vikki. “If it doesn't feel right, it doesn’t work. Ideas get ditched if they don't grow by themselves. The best ones come about organically.”
Guitarist Matt says the band “never think ‘let's try and sound like this.’ It just doesn’t work like that,” meaning the outcome shifts freely between hazy psychedelic landscapes, longform prog structures, and darker, more aggressive textures. Violin typically leads the charge with layered melodies that range from lilting folk to cyclical minimalism.
As natural as it feels on record, this compositional approach hasn’t come about by coincidence. While self-taught Matt finds No-Rules natural, the classically trained members of the band, Vikki included, make a focused effort to defy their backgrounds. “I quickly learned that it was completely pointless trying to count beats in a bar,” she says. “I play better if I just forget.” As such, the band writes gradually, and their music emerges however it wants to.
On paper, a concept album feels like an odd way to give structure to their sound. Yet Splink’s fourth studio effort, 'Taklamakan', intentionally avoids carefully premeditated musical direction and the theatrical interplay between story and sound that defines a more Roger Waters-esque approach. Instead, the title track emerged from a jam on a three-note riff that had zero intention of spawning a concept album.
“Matt thought [the riff] sounded like the desert, so he named the song 'Taklamakan' after an area of China whose name translates to Sea Of Death. Andy found out more about the legend that surrounds and I went away and fleshed it out. The idea just seemed to take root, so we ran with it,” Vikki explains.
The details of the story itself are told almost exclusively through interspersed narration, while the rest is left to flow through the No-Rules ethos. Each instrumental remains open to interpretation from both the listener and band members alike.
Vikki points to 'Storm': “It’s full of noisy sections that sound like exactly that – a surrounding storm. Then the violin chopping on 'Wandering Dunes' makes me think of footprints going through the sand, and the interweaving guitar and violin lines on 'Metamorphosis' sound like a female voice on the wind singing while a male voice searches for her.” Matt undercuts any definitive reading, believing that the meaning should ultimately belong to whoever is listening.
'Taklamakan' proves that No-Rules isn’t a rejection of structure and the concept album isn’t an attempt to force it. It’s about trusting the music. “There have been many times when I’ve been convinced things aren’t working, but they nearly always end up great,” Vikki says. "You've just got to give it a chance to develop," adds Matt.
Splink’s uncertainty when asked what comes next perfectly encapsulates their approach. "We don't know, because it hasn’t happened yet. It has to come from the heart.”
- Dan Peeke
PROG FILE
Line-Up: Andy Crickett - bass, Vikki Ings - violin, Tim Chapman - drums, Matt James - guitar
Sounds Like: Psychedelic rock wrapped up in whatever it feels like
Current Release: 'Taklamakan'
Website: Splink Band