Comprised of Oli Baker (vocals, guitar, drums), Cole Ashwood (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Tyler Rigby (guitar, drums), Charlie Hedges (guitar) and Joji Kurita (bass), The Retrospect is one of the newest bands on the scene here in Exeter. I recently had the pleasure of sitting in on some of their rehearsals for Battle of the Bands on Wednesday 26th March followed by a conversation about their sound, the music scene here in Exeter and what is on the horizon for their group.
After Oli and Joji met at jam night at The Stoke Arms, the pair went on to collaborate with Tyler and Charlie at a session run by Campus Bands to help freshers meet their bandmates. Cole is a more recent addition, who approached the band after their gig at Cavern on 1st February and after, in Oli’s words, ‘trying him out’ a few times, they chose to unite forces. A decision well-made, clearly, as the chemistry between the band members is evident and their sound continues to evolve along with their creative process.
The Retrospect clearly draws on a wealth of musical influences from 70s, 80s and 90s, almost nostalgic for an era they never lived through, hence their name. They highlight the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eagles, Cream and Green Day among the bands they admire most and are keen to talk about their musical icons. They mentioned Steve Clark of Def Leppard, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Scholz of Boston as the guitarists they most admire, while Cole commented ‘if my vocal style had to match any artist, it’s probably my favourite artist called Brakence. He’s quite an underground, anti-pop kind of artist.’
When asked about their favourite songs to cover, Oli said ‘I think there are a couple of songs that we all love which are ‘Next to You’ by The Police and then ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ by The Rolling Stones.’ Charlie added ‘I like noughties punk stuff as well, but we can’t cover that’, admitting that he never grew out of what the others have deemed a ‘phase’ of their musical tastes.
From the musicians that inspire them, you might think that the band members have been heavily influenced by their parent’s music taste, which is true of Oli and Tyler, who credit their fathers with getting them into music. The other members of the band, however, discovered the world of music themselves. Joji, for example, said ‘I started seriously listening to music probably when I was 13 or 14 years old, so I can’t say I grew up with music but since then it has been quite a big part of me.’ Both Charlie and Joji credit Covid-19 and lockdown for getting them properly into playing guitar and bass respectively. What started as a way to kill time clearly grew into a real passion and has been something they’ve gravitated towards ever since.
They are of the general agreement that their last gig at the Old Firehouse on 16th February was their best yet and has cemented the venue as one of their favourites to play. Joji’s crowd surfing at the end of their previous gig there however, has secured that one as his personal favourite. Tyler highlighted the intimacy of a venue like the Old Firehouse, saying ‘once you get over [the nerves of] that first song or two and you get into it, it’s a lot more fun when you can actually see the crowd.’ The band loved playing Cavern as well, clearly enjoying the sense of professionalism that came with performing at such a renowned venue with such a high-quality sound system.
The music scene here in Exeter was something that lay unbeknownst to them all until they arrived here, but they have not hesitated to throw themselves into it and have found a close-knit community in doing so. Charlie mentioned how Campus Bands Society ‘organised a band showcase. That’s so nice because it’s like a gig but just to the Campus Bands members so it’s a good way for other bands to see you,’ which helped them get on the radar of lots of local venues. Tyler added ‘HALFCUT helped us out massively with getting our first gigs, and Sid Plus One as well.’ Cole included how the other student bands consistently show up to their gigs to show support, saying ‘I swear every time we’ve played Jasmine’s (President of Campus Bands) been there. She’s great!’.
The band have also benefitted from a relationship with Francesa at the Exeter Gig Collective which ensures all the bands get paid fairly and helped The Retrospect get their gigs at the Old Firehouse. Tyler believes ‘it’s primarily due to those Firehouse gigs that you can actually get in the studio to record because of her support.’
It has been a crazy term, as the band have taken off and secured many more gigs. Charlie remarked that ‘I think one week we played Phoenix and Firehouse and Cavern,’ something which the group described as exhausting and scary.
With Battle of the Bands approaching, they seem just as excited about seeing the vast number of bands playing, as they are about their own performance. When asked about their biggest competition, the likes of Sid Plus One and HALFCUT came instantly to their minds, as well as Japan, Man and In The Meantime. Cole describes it as a ‘friendly rivalry’, but it is hard to compare because ‘each band has their own unique sound’. Weighing in on the infamous HALFCUT-Sid Plus One rivalry, Oli advocated for ‘no Sid slander’, while Tyler’s final words were ‘message to Lucas Shaw: stop being mean to Sid and stop breaking our guitars.’ In all seriousness though, as Cole said ‘all the other student bands are so supportive of each other. […] You’d be shocked at how interwoven everyone is.’
Being surrounded by so many talented musicians is clearly intimidating at times, as the group alluded to occasionally feeling nervous about performing in front of the other bands. However, it also forces them to push themselves and as Oli mentioned, ‘makes you want to try and do something different.’
The prospect of original music is on the horizon as they have booked Studio 54 for May in the hopes of recording their song ‘Dive’. For Oli, the songwriting process is as follows:
‘I just find after I come up with the song, the vibe of the song kind of helps with the lyrics rather than writing lyrics with no reference.’ While their creative process has not been very collaborative so far, they’re looking forward to songwriting sessions as a group and working with Benny G at Studio 54.
Ultimately, The Retrospect have a genuine love of music, and this shared passion is what keeps them centred and determined to succeed. In only a few months of playing together, they have produced some truly fantastic performances so it will be exciting to see how that development continues. Keep an eye out for any of their future gigs and maybe some original songs around the corner as they are bound to be excellent!
