The London band Sunken inputs a long history of brooding guitar music, British or otherwise, and exports that back out in a contemporary style. Their new release, 10K, has flecks of everything from slowcore to electroclash, but it’s really more driven by a mood. Gothy and dreamy, the record seems like the perfect soundtrack to a late night in London walking home from the pub—you’re a few pints deep, and you’re thinking about something in your life that you might’ve fucked up. Sunken is on your headphones, though, so you’re pushing through. We sent some questions over to the band to learn more about their formative influences; read members Poppy and Finn’s responses and listen to 10K below. 

Do you have any formative memories of listening to underground or alternative music?

Poppy and Finn: Definitely with alternative music. I suppose the first underground music I really got into was The Garden and LA-based DIY labels like Burger Records.

Where in England did you grow up? What was your scene like in that town?

We all grew up in London. It was for a lot of us pretty dance music based with clubbing and stuff being a bit part of formative musical memories.

What kind of clubbing were you doing when you were younger? Can you remember any particular formative nights out? What was the music and the vibe like?

Clubbing in London where we grew up was pretty good. Places like the Rising Sun and Ormside have been around for ages and always put on really interesting nights. It wasn’t a particularly long time ago but the most inspirational club experience that comes to mind was Gud at Corsica last year. He played an instrumental edit of “She Wolf” and that’s now a good tune for me when we are back at the studio after shows.

Where was the first show you played? Who was it with?

Our first gig(s) were with Marco from RIP Magic/Sorry’s former project Glows. We played a lot of our early shows with him.

Were you in bands before Sunken? What were those early shows like?

We’ve played in a few other bands, Clem plays with Naima Bock, and myself I played with Sam Akpro for his early shows. The early shows for Sam were so fun he had great musicians and it was a lot of fun. 

There is such a long, textured history of guitar music in England. Are there any scenes or moments in time in particular that influence your band?

It’s hard to avoid being inspired by what Theo and Jon have cultivated at Scenic Route, particularly with the Mark William Lewis release.

Is there any older British guitar music that has inspired you over the last few years?

The heyday of 4AD is a huge influence. I've loved everything they released and the design and aesthetic as well. Poppy loves Lush and I really like Cocteau and This Mortal Coil. Overall there is so much great stuff in their back catalog.

What inspires you the most about living in London?

Meeting other artists, having them come to the studio and seeing how they work and what their flow is like.

Do you have any stories about any memorable studio sessions you were able to sit in on?

Working with Ben, who we did the record with, is always pretty great, he always has a story from back in the day when he was working at the height of Britpop on a lot of iconic records. I’ve just finished working on the RIP Magic record which was really fun, big things coming for them.

Are there any scenes that you aren’t a part of but still influence you?

I don’t even know what scene it properly resides in but definitely artists like Meat Computer who recently just dropped like 15 songs in one day and just did it in their own way. Also Zuko I think has that new generation energy, just making tunes and releasing them the same day.

How would you describe Meat Computer’s music?

I mean it’s like one of those things that is undeniably from now. It couldn’t have existed in a different time and I always have a lot of admiration for artists that do stuff that pushes things forward like that. I’d describe it as somewhere in between Selected Ambient Works and Drain Gang.

Any dream collaborations?

Would love a remix by Kevin Shields. He did one last year and the mixing is so insane.

What non-musical things have been exciting you lately?

It’s gotta be being out in the city.