Profile: Twist Helix
In a musical landscape full of indie-this and alternative-that, it is undeniably refreshing to come across a group that describes itself as “euphoric, northern goth-pop” – a self-portrayal that entices you in with juxtaposition and intrigue.
Twist Helix are defined by their unique contradictions, with lead-singer Bea Garcia’s portrayal of her adopted Newcastle capturing a unique view of Northern life. Whereas most of their contemporaries and predecessors focus on gritty, rock-focused realism – Twist Helix paint a more electro-dystopian future.
“(Bea) I moved to the North-East from Spain after graduating from university and met James soon after. We started writing music together, recorded a couple of demos and that's how the idea for the group came about. Newcastle is probably the most underrated city in the UK for its music scene. There's a self-perpetuating momentum that's intrinsic to the city.”
As you might imagine of a band with such a unique story, their influences come from far and wide. They themselves prefer not to dwell on it, “All of us tend to gravitate towards music that is immediate and impactful and we hope that comes across in our own songwriting. Whether or not we were particularly conscious of it at the time, coming of age in the early 00's was definitely at the root of our common interest in electronic music.”
Twist Helix’s latest single ‘Louder’ is their first since 2018, with the anthemic new track illustrating both their collective love of everything electronic and their growth. “We think the time away let us really gel as a group, focusing on our live performance for a year naturally lead to an understanding of where our strengths were as a group.”
Their captivating 2018 album ‘Ouseburn’ – named after a small river in Newcastle – resulted not only in a packed schedule touring in the UK and Spain, but also planted the seeds for their next full project. “We had a busy year in 2019 with festivals and tour dates in the UK and Spain, so we found ourselves writing the new batch of songs on tour and road-testing them as we went.”
Given the conceptual nature of ‘Ouseburn’ – the trio want to make sure their next project has the same personal investment. “We tend to start a new album with an idea of what we want to talk about within the songs so that the album has a bit of a story to it, rather than just being a collection of songs, so it took us a bit of time to figure out what we wanted to say and then we just started writing again.
As a band that meticulously plans each and every step on their path, it’s no surprise that ‘Louder’ is just the first step in a hectic 2020. They had already announced a number of gigs on the back of the new single – sadly postponed due to the COVID-19 situation – but are still looking to release their new album before the year is out.
“We're incredibly proud of the new tracks we've been writing and while we're looking forward to the next few singles testing the water for us, our vision has always been to present the songs as one body of work with a message about who we are, what the industry is, and just how incredible it is that the three of us are still friends and love what we do.”
Make sure you check out the new single and keep an eye on future Twist Helix live dates.