Introducing Interview: Steal The City

Having spent the last few years building up a reputation for their ferocious live sets, Sheffield rockers Steal The City have now released the high octane debut single ‘Beating Heart’.

We caught up with the band to find out more…

Hi Steal The City! Can you tell us how you guys all met?
Sam: Smit was a childhood friend from school and I met Joe through an ex-girlfriend. Ellis then came along when Joe introduced him as his childhood friend from school. That’s basically how it all started. 

Can you tell us a bit about your single ‘Beating Heart’?
The song is about finding comfort and motivation through writing and playing music, while going through a difficult time. 

The single certainly has a melodic post-hardcore sound, but what other styles of music would you consider to have influences on you?
Smit: Blues definitely. It’s a genre I learned a lot from while growing practicing. Punk rock and shameless emo songs also have their special place.
Joe: I’ve taken most of my influences from the heavier side of music, due to listening to bands like Machine Head and Children Of Bodom through secondary school. Chuggy rhythm guitars is something I enjoy way too much.
Ellis: Punk-rock for the element of speed, and stadium rock like Foo Fighters for the anthemic choruses. 
Sam: I’d say that a lot of old rock that I used to listen to in the late ’90s  and early 2000s like Radiohead, Placebo and The Strokes. Other than that, I grew up with Smit so we pretty much listened to the same style of music.

What is it like to be from a city where the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and While She Sleeps are from, and what’s the scene like in Sheffield for your style of music?
It certainly doesn’t make it easy, but with such class acts to follow we are eager to tread in their footsteps. As for the Sheffield scene, everyone is really friendly and supportive towards each other. 

If you could tour with any artist alive or dead who would that be and why?
Lemmy. We would simply sit back and do as he said.

Are there any new artists/bands from Sheffield that we should look out for?
Fear Lies, Molly Anna and Chlulia. They are all friends of ours through gigging, and it’s always great to have healthy competition.

How do you feel about punk and metal music today – is it easier, or more difficult, for bands like Steal The City to make their mark?
From a consumer’s point of view, it is fantastic. But from an artist’s point of view, it doesn’t make it easy as we have to be on the ball by making music that fits within that genre, while bringing something new to the table.

Finally, what are your plans for the rest of 2017?
We are planning to release new music in the near future while at the same time still having a good time and keeping gigging fresh in our minds.

Huge thanks to Steal The City for answering our questions! 

‘Beating Heart’, the debut single from Steal The City, is out now.

Mari Lane

Mari Lane

Editor, London. Likes: Kathleen Hanna, 6Music, live music in the sunshine. Dislikes: Sexism, pineapples, the misuse of apostrophes.