Garage rock for all time. Dynasty Four, a recently revived garage rock group headquartered in Toronto, Canada, has spanned ten years, three cities, and two continents.
They have been together for a very long time yet have not spent much time together. They were separated by relocation and sentenced to years of lifelong separation until the epidemic brought them back together.
Now with new members and renewed vigor, they intend to demonstrate that the dead may rise again with ‘Revivals’, three tracks that helped reunite the band and represent their first new material since 2015. It’s the little demo that could, as rough and authentic as you’d like. Check out the EP and the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
DYNASTY FOUR: We’ve been together a long time but haven’t had much time together. We go all the way back to 2012, originally from Halifax, NS. We were just getting things going when Nikkole relocated to the UK for work. We made a proper go of it in Toronto when she got back in 2014, playing shows and working on our debut album.
We were thrilled to release Anachronisms in December 2015. But less than a month later another move—Nikkole & Andrew relocated to the UK for good—prompted us to (reluctantly) part ways. This time we figured for keeps.
Fast forward the fall of 2020, a break in the pandemic clouds: the expats return home to Toronto and got the band back together. Consider us a fun-first, silver-lining kind of band excited to have a bonus round to play together.
This summer we set out to prove that what is dead may never die with our self-produced three-song EP, Revivals. We’re excited to return to the stage in the New Year.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
DYNASTY FOUR: Nikkole: Self-taught (I could only afford three lessons and I used those learning a Beatles cover to play for my mum). I learned to play from White Stripes and Strokes records mainly.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘DYNASTY FOUR’?
DYNASTY FOUR: A lot of the bands: The Strokes, The Sounds, The Killers, The Bangles, The Cars. And The Nancy Boys, our previous band of curious crime-fighting garage rockers, from whom we borrowed several tunes.
Our name has two meanings:
1. This is Nikkole & Andrew’s fourth band together; they’re the (married) songwriting duo behind First Person Shooter, The Nancy Boys, and Jinx Malloy – sort of like a dynasty LOL
2. The Fourth Dynasty of Egypt built the Great Pyramids of Giza. Nikkole is an Egyptologist so it was only a matter of time before those worlds collided. We’re not quite so grand nor so precise but hey, goals.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
DYNASTY FOUR: Upbeat, raucous, fun. We don’t have any love songs. We very frequently (constantly) reference our favourite shows, movies, characters. There are no less than five Simpsons references on our debut album (guess em all and win a prize!).
Described as: indie garage rock pop punk
That’s a genre right??
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as GARAGE ROCK?
DYNASTY FOUR:
Okay so we do have a lot of songs that sound like The Strokes 😉
Seriously tho – we took the long way round to our version of garage rock. We spent years as an electro-punk outfit called First Person Shooter (imagine Daft Punk meets Green Day) until our indie band budget forced us to split up that ambitious mashup into two acts: one techno, one not. Explains how we ended up with those synths our punk tunes, tho.
6. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
DYNASTY FOUR:
We play because we love it. And onlyplay songs we want to listen to, that make us happy or that we love. It’s lucky anyone else cares for them at all.
We’re as curious as you to find out what happens next.
7. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
DYNASTY FOUR:
Nikkole is our main songwriter but there are a few gems that Andrew provided and a couple they wrote together.
Her songs start with rhythm guitar and a handful of words. Usually just a line – the king of okay! – and we’re off and running. From there the process is pretty variable- sometimes we’ll jam on it and the structure and words will come later. Othertimes – and these are the rare but magic times – the song will pour out fast and furious, a race to capture it all.
His songs come fully formed, the most stunningly complete demos you ever heard—but without words. Nikkole adds the lyrics but only if certain “conditions” are met. Like, you can have this song but it must include a specific line (“just keep it together for the cats”) or it has to have this very specific title (knifegoesingutscomeout). Andrew creates these while Nikkole is travelling—so aside from the peculiar conditions, we don’t know much about his process!
8. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
DYNASTY FOUR: Relocation is our curse. Three times now! We’re thrice-cursed: three times we’ve had to break up or push pause due to a work relocation.
The worst was 2015: just days before we were set to head into the studio to start recording Anachronisms Nikkole got a call from her boss asking her to move to London, UK for good.
The best was 2020, though—without that Visa nonsense in the opposite direction we wouldn’t have been able to get the band back together. Now we’ve just got to find a way to keep Nikkole here for good!
9. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
DYNASTY FOUR: Every single thing since Revivals came out in June. It’s the little demo that could – we weren’t going to release it widely but loved how it came out.
The response has been amazing. We’re blown away by all the support, the fab new people we’ve gotten to meet, the super kind press (they never used to say such nice things back in our old band wow!), and so many streams it can’t possibly only be us listening anymore. We even got nominated for an award??!
We’re so grateful for each and every like, every play, every follow. Thank you!!!
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