CATCHING UP WITH CALLBVCK – Emo Pop-Punk Vibes in ‘In the Quiet After’ EP and ‘Missing Piece’ Single
Today, we have the pleasure of diving into the world of CALLBVCK, an emo pop-punk band hailing from the vibrant city of London. Influenced by the likes of blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and more, CALLBVCK are set to take us on an emotional journey with their upcoming EP, ‘In the Quiet After.’ Their current single, ‘Missing Piece,’ explores the aftermath of significant life events, a heartfelt reflection on loss, heartache, and the struggle to let go. The talented siblings behind CALLBVCK are Rami on guitar/vocals and Rafa on drums. We caught up with Rafa to get the latest happenings.
Hey Rafa, thanks for joing us. Can you share the inspiration behind your latest single ‘Missing Piece’ and how it fits into the broader theme of your upcoming EP, ‘In the Quiet After’?
Hey Matt, that’s a great question. ‘Missing Piece’ takes inspiration from nostalgia, when you look back at a point in your life that maybe used to have something that you no longer have -a partner, family member, a job – and you feel there’s something missing in your present and right there, that something, sometimes won’t let you move on with life and you get stuck looking more into the past than the future. And, even though, reminiscing about the old days can be fun (and necessary sometimes!) you have to always look forward.
This song in the overall EP, is part of the journey we are going to try to take the listener. ‘In the Quiet After’ means that numbness you can find after a major life event. After a turmoil of emotions, you find yourself feeling quiet after a long time. Once you reach that state, you can start to heal, to move on. One of those emotions is nostalgia, which ‘Missing Piece’ touches.
Is there anything else you can tell us about the upcoming EP? Any teasers?
Hahah what can we say, it has a lot of feelings. We tried to create a story, a journey for the listener. It has a lot of energy, as well as some down time and we want to play it live as hard and loud as we can and cannot wait for it to be out.
Your single ‘Missing Piece’ delves into the aftermath of a significant life event. How do you hope listeners will connect with the emotions conveyed in the song, and what message or feeling do you want them to take away from it?
The basic message we want people to take away is that, it’s OK to look back at the past, to look fondly at what it used to be, but don’t get lost, don’t lose sight of what is to come. Be happy that it happened, not sad because it ended, kinda thing. The feelings we try to communicate hopefully will resonate with people going through any event, a break-up, the loss of a loved one, not getting your dream job. Any event, there’s always a tomorrow, and you know, good things always await.
With regards to your own emotions, Rafa, you mentioned in the Press Release that the recording of the song and the EP has been a ‘rollercoaster of emotions.’ Can you share a specific moment or experience during the production that stands out to you, and how it contributed to the overall experience of creating such emotionally charged material for ‘Missing Piece’ and the broader EP ‘In the Quiet After’?
As a band, the recording process can most of the time be a bit stressful, especially as a DIY band, you need to juggle your day job, uni, social life, etc. and still try to make music that makes you happy and stay true to yourself, in the sense that we need to deliver a product that we are proud of.
At the start of the recording process, I was in a weird place in my life, working in a job that didn’t make me happy, long hours, with no fixed hours, and I didn’t know what to do, I was lost. We are far away from home and family, and I started looking back at those simpler times. But that’s when it hit me, I need to look forward, take action in the present to start building a path towards the future. The recording of this EP kept me sane. In the middle of the process, I was able to change jobs, I was able to make a change in my life.
Rami, also was in a place where he needed a ‘Quiet After’ so to speak. The pressure to write an EP plus juggling a day job and university and giving his 100% in everything, made him question why he was doing all of this. And, as siblings, we would reminisce about simpler times and we would often forget the main goal of all this, write music that makes us happy.
So, it did take us long nights of no sleep so we could write lyrics after a hard day at work.
There were days where we could just not focus and there were days where we couldn’t stop working on the EP. So, yeah, a lot of pressure, a lot of happiness, late nights and so many coffees built the foundation not only for ‘Missing Piece’ but for the EP itself.
Being siblings and having grown up in a musical family, how has your shared background influenced your sound and creative process?
Me and Rami are on the same page about everything. Even music taste. Growing up, we would listen to Good Charlotte, blink-182, Sum-41, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance. Rami being the creative half of the band, he nurtured himself with all of these bands. I went a bit further down the rabbit hole and started listening to bands such as The Amity Affliction, A Day to Remember, Bring Me the Horizon and I think the mix we bring into the band makes our sound. Musically speaking we are closer to emo pop-punk. Lyrics wise, closer to hardcore.
Growing up in a musical family made it easy for us to pick an instrument. We both started playing drums and then Rami wanted to explore more and moved onto guitar and other instruments. I decided to stick to drums after failed attempts to learn guitar haha. But having music all the time being played in our house opened up our curiosity as kids into this amazing world that music is.
So, we have the EP en route shortly… what then? Do you have any other plans for collaborations or gigs on the horizon? More recordings?
We are constantly writing music, but first we need to focus on ‘In the Quiet After’. We cannot wait to show it to the world and let’s see where it takes us.
And, a question for fun… If you could have any artist, living or dead, join CALLBVCK for a collaboration on a song, who would it be and why?
There’s so many, we personally would love a female vocalist joining us in a collab and the first ones that come to mind are Bonnie Fraser from Stand Atlantic or Hayley Williams from Paramore.
And there you have it, a glimpse into the world of CALLBVCK. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us Rafa. We can’t wait for the release of ‘In the Quiet After’ and following the band’s future endeavours. In the meantime, check out their latest single ‘Missing Piece’ and show the guys some love on their socials.
Thank you for joining us, and until next time, keep the music alive!
Spotify / YouTube / Instagram / TikTok
