Check out Emmy's interview with Voodoo Jade of Hybrid Spirits band
Emmy: How did the name come about? Voodoo Jade: It was difficult to find a band name which everybody liked, but between us we came up with the name “Hybrid” Spirits. The word Hybrid describes our music, as we don’t believe that we sound like anybody else. Our music can’t be pigeon-holed, and our releases can vary. We chose to add the name “Spirits” to our band name because we all get along really well, like 3 kindred spirits.
Emmy: How would you describe your genre to someone who isn't familiar with your music? Voodoo Jade: We feel that Hybrid Spirits are unique because we don’t have a particular sound which we aim to produce. Our songs and releases, to date, have ranged from alternative to ambient, and from electronic and industrial to rock. We like to think that there is something for (almost) everybody! Depending on the song and style, we like to have driving music and/or lyrics to capture the spirit of the song. For example, check out our song “Fear”. It is dark, driving and has a captivating beat with mesmerising sounds, whereas our Covid-19 song “Rain or Shine” is lighter, being electronic with great rhythm and lyrics to reflect feelings of hope and solidarity during the pandemic.
Emmy: How did the band form? Voodoo Jade: Hybrid Spirits formed in 2017 after Paul Kirk met Voodoo Jade via a collaborative project.
Before that, Paul and Nigel were in a band for many years called “Aus der Asche” which
became known as “From the Ashes UK”. Voodoo Jade has been involved in other bands since the late 1980s. After the collaborative project, Paul and Nigel invited Voodoo Jade to join them in their music venture, and Hybrid Spirits were born!
Hybrid Spirits are :
Nigel Rooke – Vocals, lyrics, keyboards and drum programming.
Paul Kirk – Vocals, lyrics, keyboards, guitars and drum programming.
Voodoo Jade – Vocals and lyrics
Emmy: What are some of the artists that influence you? Voodoo Jade: We all have different music tastes and influences. Paul likes anything from heavy metal to classical music, including Rammstein, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, The Cult, Neil Young. Nigel loves electronic music, but also Rammstein, Marilyn Manson, Gary Numan. He also loves Ska music, Goth, Rock, new wave, synthwave. He particularly relates to songs with strong emotional connections.
Voodoo Jade loves most of the music which Paul and Nigel like, with some folk and new age music thrown in for good measure! Growing up, she was a big fan of Blondie, and now she loves Evanescance, Indigo Girls and Enigma.
Emmy: If you could tour with any artist or band (still active or not) who would it be?
Voodoo Jade: For Nigel it would be Gary Numan, for Paul it would be Pink Floyd, for Voodoo Jade it would be Evanescence.
Emmy: What's your favorite show you've played? Voodoo Jade: Unfortunately, Hybrid Spirits as a band haven’t toured or played live, although we’d never rule it out if we were asked to. We have all played live as part of other bands in the past. We are spread across the country and it is difficult for Voodoo Jade to travel as she is in a wheelchair following Meningitis in 2012. We work on our songs electronically and remotely. Each song is passed to each and member to add what they wish, before a song is completed. Lockdown was a positive experience for music writing for us, as we had more free time to work on music individually. We don’t meet up in person very often, but we have regular band meetings on video chat. Sorry we can’t tell you about our favourite show, but the highlight for us so far was being interviewed in the local BBC Radio WM studio in 2019. Emmy: What's the future hold for the band?
Voodoo Jade: We have just released a 4 track EP called “Mirage”, which we are currently promoting. It has 2 songs in the style of rock and metal (“Mirage” is about a vampire and “Mysteria-Hysteria” is based on horror films). The other two songs on the Mirage EP are more of an electronic style with guitars, including the songs “La Vie en Rose et Noire” and the song “Rain or Shine”. We released “Rain or Shine” as a charity single in the summer of 2020 and are still fundraising until the end of April 2021. It is a song which we wrote during lockdown in England to reflect feelings of hope and solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic, and sales from it are raising money for the International Committee of the Red Cross for those affected by Covid-19 across the world.
It’s not too late to buy a copy of the charity single (£1.50 or more) to support the cause at our Bandcamp page : www.hybridspirits.bandcamp.com if anyone would like to contribute as every purchase helps1– thank you!
Also, we have already started recording some new songs which will be on a future release.
Again, it is a different feel to the music which we’ve already released, and would be classed as darkwave/electronic. We are still writing more music for the next EP/album so everything could change yet! We do alternate vocals between Nigel and Voodoo Jade, and the next EP will predominately be Nigel on main vocals. His voice is perfect for darker songs!
Paul is focussing on writing a few more songs in the style of “Fear” as it has proved so popular with DJs and fans really like it.
Other info:
Twitter: @SpiritsHybrid
Instagram @Hybridspiritsband
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridspirits
Website: www.HybridSpirits.co.uk
Original Music on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IwRFIVk2ZmY
Cover Versions on Youtube: https://youtu.be/qq0q1h-KMrg
You can find our music at: https://hybridspirits.bandcamp.com/
Also on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal, Deezer and Pandora
amongst other streaming sites. Just search for us and our song “Fear” and you’ll find us!
Thank you for your support and for doing the interview. All the best from Paul, Nigel and Voodoo Jade – Hybrid Spirits band!