Into Yesterday
Photo provided by Into Yesterday
11th April 2024
Into Yesterday, the alternative rock band from Longniddry, talk about their latest single ‘Artificial Thinking’ and their motivation to fine tune their sound.
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The lineup consists of Rachael Diver on lead vocals, Matthew Burns on lead guitar, Andrew Dobie on bass and Euan Scott on drums who all met at school.
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Released in late February, ‘Artificial Thinking’ is a continuation from their single, ‘Method Acting’ which explores how your life can be controlled by someone else: “Themes of toxicity, losing yourself in different relationships. The song itself is quite summery and upbeat so I feel it has got darker themes but it is quite subtle” (Matthew).
The song was written in spring last year, developing in Garage Band before being put into practice. Both Matthew and Rachael said it has become the track they are most proud of: “It’s one of our maturer sounding songs. We’ve hit the bar, so now we are trying to find different sounds and see where that takes us” (Rachael).
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Currently, the band are in the process of writing regularly, saying goodbye to the ‘growing up’ stage and hope for people to connect to their music.
Into Yesterday first formed in summer 2020 after the loosening of some Covid restrictions. It began with Matthew and Euan covering The Strokes songs before sending some demos over to Andrew: “We sent him a couple ideas and he seemed really up for it. We haven’t stopped from there!” (Matthew). Towards the end of 2022, the band decided to switch some roles around and this is where Rachael came in: “I was just speaking to people about how I was wanting to get back into music again, so it was a great opportunity” (Rachael).
'Faces' was released alongside 'Artificial Thinking'
For Matthew, he feels The Strokes and Kings of Leon have inspired him creatively, influencing his use of delay and reverb effects. Additionally, Rachael highlighted that although they share different musical tastes, they learn to work together: “We definitely have a general idea of what we want to sound like and the bands we base our vibe off of… we are always on the same page.”
Being the newest member of the band, Rachael is working to become more involved in writing material: “I definitely find it quite challenging. Me and Andrew are going to start doing our own sessions where it will help me build up my confidence.”
Currently, their process involves Andrew or Matthew coming up with a rough idea, aiming to finish a song in a week. If it goes beyond two weeks, they push that aside and start on something new. Matthew added, as they begin to change and experiment with new sounds, he wants the lyrics to become more meaningful: “I think the lyrics will mature and will be more straight to the point and punchier. As a band, we’re all developing, we’re all getting better.”
"We’ve hit the bar, so now we are trying to find different sounds and see where that takes us"
Into Yesterday have played in various venues across Scotland but King Tuts is one of their biggest highlights. Rachael revealed it had been among their top goals for the year: “A few months down the line, Andrew messaged and was like, ’we’ve got King Tuts’ and I have honestly never been so happy. I was really proud of us.”
Another memorable gig was bagging their first headline spot at The Mash House in Edinburgh where they brought their family and friends along: “Everyone was just so comfortable that night, you get to the stage where you’ve just got to let go and I think having everyone there to support us was a really big thing” (Matthew). It was this very night that became a turning point for the band: “Since then, we have continued to grow and focus on our live performances, having fun with the crowd” (Matthew).
Photo provided by Into Yesterday
This is felt through songs such as ‘Artificial Thinking’, said Rachael: “I love dancing along to it. It’s a good feeling when you can tell other people are also enjoying themselves…and seeing people mouth the words to your songs.”
As for Matthew, his favourite to play live is their first single, ‘Take it All’: “When I first came up with the riff, I was in 1st year of uni still during lockdown just sat in my wee dorm room.” After playing it during a few practices they concluded that something was not working - that was until Rachael joined: “Something just clicked and we figured out the parts. So, just to see a song that was stuck in limbo to playing it now - I still really enjoy playing it.”
“Everyone was just so comfortable that night, you get to the stage where you’ve just got to let go"
The next steps for Into Yesterday is to break further into the Glasgow music scene and eventually play in renowned venues such as The Barrowland Ballroom and the 02 Academy: “If you watch a lot of those Glasgow bands…their actual performance is just so high energy and it’s so carefree and I think when you have that attitude it reflects back onto the audience (Matthew). Rachael agreed and highlighted they will continue to enhance their stage presence and performance.
Into Yesterday next play on the 14th April at Legends, Edinburgh alongside Lost in Vancouver. This is followed by Indie Revolution’s event at The Hive, Edinburgh on the 6th July. Grab yourself a ticket!
Author: Karina Caulfield
'Artificial Thinking' by Into Yesterday