TRACK OF THE WEEK: BLISS – ‘I CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT’.

This week our ‘Track of The Week’ is from Aberdeen’s Bliss! We had a chat with the band to find out about the track.

Here’s what Bliss had to say about the track:

What inspired you to write ‘I Can’t Sleep At Night’? 

I get my inspiration from the strangest places to be honest. The earliest bit of inspiration I remember oddly enough was me not being able to sleep one night because I had that synth part in my head, but I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. I quickly typed “I can’t sleep at night” into my notes app because I thought it would make a cool track name. The lyrics for this song were the hardest part because I didn’t know what direction to go in, but I embraced that in the end. It’s obviously a song about relationships, I’m in an incredibly good one now but have been in a bad one in the past, so the lyrics sort of lend themselves to the listener to decide what it means to them. Are you kept awake at night because you’re thinking about the prospects of your new relationship, or is it the past that is haunting you?

What was the writing process behind the track? 

Well, it all started with the synth line which was just me messing around in protools, our lead guitarist Ben heard it, loved it and talked me into using it with the band. We set out to write a song based off that synth part that could be heard on the radio in the 80s but also felt current. I had completed the instrumental demo just before the first lockdown kicked in, so over the weeks and months of being house bound, each member could take the demo and expand their own parts whilst I wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies. 

Who are the bands biggest influences? 

It’s probably a bit cliché to say this but we do all have completely different influences. I come from a more rock/metal background like Slipknot and Iron Maiden whereas Ben comes from more of an indie one, like Arctic Monkeys and Oasis. The idea at the start of the band was to blend those two influence pools and sprinkle over some The 1975 for good measure. We’ve dived a bit more into the 80s with each release however.

What do you have planned for the future? 

We have a bunch of shows lined up taking us to the end of the year, who knows… maybe there will be another single out before then too…

How have you found lockdown as a band? 

It’s been tough at times as I’m sure it has for every band. We had actually planned on taking about 6 months off last year as my fiancé and I welcomed our first child into the world. The rest of the band all had some changes in their own lives too, so the initial lockdown sort of helped us out in a way. We’re also lucky enough to have our own practice space and studio so we did have a bit of freedom to get some things done and focus less on practicing for a show and more on songs and arrangements.

What up and coming artists are you listening to?

Very good question as rock music is seeing a bit of a resurgence in the mainstream at the moment. A few of my favourite up and comers are Dirty Honey, Spiritbox, Meet Me @ The Altar and Olivia Rodrigo.