Skram - If We Die Review and Interview

Today, I will be reviewing the latest single from Skram titled “If We Die”. ‘If We Die’ is an explosive, theatrical rock anthem; a song that soars, stomps, and roars in the spirit of Queen’s most epic compositions, with a playful unpredictability. From its sweeping vocal harmonies to soaring organ swells, the track captures a wild, euphoric, and deeply introspective energy; a chaotic anthem about memory, legacy, and the restless search for meaning in life’s absurdity.

To start things off, to say I was blown away was an understatement. Skram bring a musical experience unlike any other on this track. I was thoroughly impressed by their use of dynamics throughout the song, starting by hooking the listener in with an eerie vocal and guitar combination, then hitting them with power when the whole band comes together. The vocals show so much emotion, power and control and were the first thing to catch my ear and intrigue me. I also love their take on a rock opera and bringing their sound and character to this song. The mix of the sound is so balanced and really blends as one, and you can easily highlight every singular instrument, which further pushes Skram’s synergy as a band both on record and with live performances. Overall, this song was a roller-coaster of different emotions and sounds that left a lasting impact on me. I’m very impressed with this single, and the band should be very proud of this song. Make sure to listen to the song now on Spotify!

I also got the chance to ask Skram about the single and the band:

Tell us a bit about yourselves; How did the band come together and form?

“Felix and I met several years ago teaching music together and formed Skram in late 2021 with our legendary friend Lee (former member). There was a chaotic and incredibly meaningful bond that formed and has only strengthened and developed over time; he is the most caring person in the world and honestly my best friend ever, there is no one else on the planet like him. We released music together and toured a lot! Our amazingly talented and kind friend Dylan then joined (although he’d played plenty of shows), and has been a wise and connected wizard, plus he’s an unbelievable musician, and then Gayle has joined most recently; they are my chaos twin and also unbelievably talented; I met them through our shared love of Musical Theatre while we were doing the musical Wicked together.”

What is the band’s process look like for writing songs?

“This is always different song to song, sometimes it will be a strong idea of a concept; something we really want to say. Sometimes one of us writes an initial idea or has a sound they love and we workshop it out together, and sometimes we’re all in the room figuring it out, improvising, playing games and trying stuff out all together. It can be quite a tumultuous process and we laugh a lot figuring stuff out (and sometimes have little disagreements cos we’re all insane). There is a shared love of doing what is best for the song and letting it be as crazy or unique as it needs to be.”

What have some of your highlights been so far throughout your time as a band?

“One time Ryan Tedder and One Republic saw us play, and genuinely watched us for a couple of hours, talking to us between sets... this kinda knocked us off our feet a bit. Other crazy highlights would be playing mainstage Splore last year and opening for Lime Cordiale. Honestly the main highlight is writing, creating and touring together. We’re like a super chaotic ADHD fueled family; and there is so much love in the team; the memories are unreal.”

You recently released your single “If We Die”. What has the reception been like with your audience?

“It’s been super interesting releasing this hurricane of a track. People have reached out to talk about their own personal journeys with their fears, which has been really meaningful, seeing it resonate and being able to talk to others and feel a bit less lonely in the anxiety. It’s felt cathartic and freeing to be able to share ‘If We Die’ with people. The song has been a massive highlight of touring and it’s taken so long to get the crazy epic sound we managed to develop with our producer (Greg Haver). Our hearts are full and we feel pretty lucky to be alive.”

What was the main story or theme of the song, and the creative process of writing and recording?

“I wrote the original idea for the track in 2023, under strictly non-office conditions, I sort’ve toyed with the concept of my massive, hugely overwhelming and panic-inducing fear of dying around a chord progression. I stumbled onto the lyrics at the start of the song and felt a clarity around my own fear. I’d been starting to talk to my friends about it and Felix had helped me see I really needed to face my fear a bit; felt super important to start talking about it and dealing with it even though it made me really scared. I showed this original acoustic concept to Felix and Lee and we built this fever dream of a song around it in three parts, inspired by Queen - who has always been an inspiration for me. After saving a chaotic amount of money from touring and shows; we eventually recorded in Tāmaki with Greg Haver producing, Scott Seabright engineering, and Dylan playing Organ, with our unbelievable friend Dhanesh Kumar Parmar playing bass.”

You are headlining at Valhalla on the 29th of May: How has preparation been for the show and how are you feeling about the performance?

“We’re really excited for this set! It’s going to be a super fun show! Our live show has been rehearsed a lot with a really cute, unbelievably talented team, and we’re bringing a fair bit of theatrical stuff, and some big epic numbers, plus some mayhem. The story of our current show is all about helping people feel seen, heard and connected with. We can’t wait!”

What’s next for Skram? (A new release, or any upcoming shows)

“Funnily enough we’re actually back at Valhalla on Saturday for the Battle Of The Bands Wellington Final!!! The winner this year gets to tour Japan so it’s a big one for us!!!! Next after that includes an unannounced single release in June (SHHH! It’s a surprise. Come to the gig) - an album announcement is on the doorstep - We’re playing a Pride Celebration in June and we’ve got some other super fun gigs on the horizon - then... finally SUMMER. We will tour as much as we can around Aotearoa and hopefully hit some festivals!”

Anyone that you would like to thank for this single?

“The list is too long and I’ll likely forget someone but shhhh I will anyway:

Conall Ryan, Lee Pryor, Greg Haver, Scott Seabright, Clint Murphy, Ryan Smith, BigPop AKA: Leah Navanua, Joost Langeveld and Chris Van De Geer, DRM/The Orchard and the whole team over there, our entire touring team Adele Child, Anna Smith, Ryan Kenton, Terry Liu and anyone who has ever toured with us. Our whānau collected all together in a big whānau pile, the Skramily fans who have supported us and resonated with our music, and of course Alfie and Nemo aka Skramcat.”

Make sure to follow Skram on Instagram to keep up to date with what they are doing, and get your tickets for their Valhalla show on tomorrow 29th of May!