Feature Article

‘Well it’s over now, so it’s time to start fresh.’

‘This album is exactly what I have always wanted to create.’

‘Well it’s over now, so it’s time to start fresh’ Izzy Spyrou says as she talks of the break-up of her band ‘Exorcism of the Inventive Today’. Spyrou mentions that she is fortunate for how far they came as a band, but eight years down the line the band unanimously agreed to go their separate ways.

I ask her, what happened that brought about this sudden split? She simply explained that at Wembley Arena, on April 7^th 2013 (the last night of their ‘Raging Patience’ tour) there was a very strange emotion felt throughout all of the band members. They glanced at each other and at the crowd and knew that this was going to be the last time they would perform together. ‘It was quite strange; there was just this sense of relief and peace? I don’t know why we felt peaceful, but we did.’ It has been a whirlwind of emotions and confusion since the band split 19 months ago, although Spyrou knows that going solo was the next step in her music career.

As we sit in one of the interview rooms in CRASH magazine, she really started to open up about her time in the band. They are like brothers and sisters, they argued about small things, but were always there for each other when things really mattered. Even though the band had only been together for 4 years so far and already they were best known for their songs ‘Lift Me Up’ and ‘Dead Mayhem’ both on their number one album ‘Dead Mayhem’ by 2008, they were astounded by what they had accomplished. What they had achieved was more than they and anyone else could have ever imagined, and it was only going up from there.

The band did not break up due to conflict, but simply because they started to head in different directions. Spyrou speaks on behalf of the band ‘It won’t be long until we are 30, and some of us want to settle down and start a family and others want to peruse different careers.’ She then knew that she still had music that she wanted to create, and as hard as it may have been to separate and start creating an album by herself for the first time, the change was necessary and ready. She could create the album that has always been her vision of creating as she didn’t have to equate everyone’s ideas into one sound.

‘I wish I could tell you I am sad about EOTIT [Exorcism of the Inventive Today] breaking up, but I’m actually relieved. It has allowed me to create this album, my very own album.’ It is clear that the upcoming release of her album has made Spyrou excited for what the future has to hold.

I ask her how she went about creating a punk rock sound if she has gone solo, as one person could surely not create much of a punk rock sound. The 27 year old laughed to herself and said ‘I didn’t just play guitar and sing, I got some of my best friends and most talented people I know to help me with the music’. She is singing and playing the guitar much like she did in EOTIT, however, she has written the music and lyrics and with a little help, has produced the whole album. ‘I’m so proud of this album, it have taken so long to create.’ Spyrou also shares that she was actually starting to write some of the songs that are on the album 2 years before the band split. She was not foreshadowing anything, but she always wrote music in her spare time.

I am curious about the title of the album ‘Simple Confusion’ as she looks like she is starting to take control on things, so why does she seem confused. Once again she laughs out loud at the question ‘Are you crazy? I will never have my life under control! I’m more confused now than ever before. Hence the name ‘Simple Confusion’.’ Despite this, Spyrou is very certain on the music she is creating as for the first time she can trust her own instinct and create an album that she is completely in control of.

She seems pleased and excited about finally being able to release the album on December 15^th 2014. It has been a long and hard process getting this album ready to be released, especially with all of the press and other things to do with the band splitting. However, she was determined to release an album as soon as she could. Spyrou wanted ‘to create an album as soon as possible, mainly so that the public still remembered me, I didn’t want to be that lead singer of that band who everyone forgot.’

From the sample of the songs on the album I was privileged to hear, they are very punk rock and seem emotional and some rather aggressive. Ditching the heavy rock sound for a more punk rock creation, she explains the reasons for this being that ‘it was easier to create a heavier sound when you are a complete band’, moreover, she didn’t want the sound to be as similar. This very emotional sound must have a reason or story behind it, or some sort of inspiration? ‘Many of the songs speak of the break-up of the band, so they are quite emotional to me. Others are the relationships I had. But most are to do with the fucking annoying people in this world.’ She sputters out whilst laughing. I was curious as to what she meant by ‘annoying people’. She means the people who treat others badly, be it abusive relationships or violence towards others even animals. However, she was clearly very passionate when Spyrou screams ‘THE PRESS MAN. THE PRESS!’, being some of the most annoying people.

The media would not leave her and fellow band mates alone during the split as they are ‘nosey and rude’ it was a hard time for the members and some privacy would have been appreciated.  Many would follow her wherever she went with a camera and questions even though she was very adamant that she did not want to talk. It made the whole transition from band-hood to becoming solo a big challenge. Her life was being invaded by intrusive people who are incapable of ‘minding their own business’.

I mention some other bands that split and had, press completely invading their lives: My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy (although this was actually a hiatus) and others like Rage Against the Machine, and Guns N’ Roses.

‘Oh, I can’t begin to image what those more well-known bands had to deal with. But the fact is that the press are inconsiderate and fucking rude people who need to learn to leave people alone.’

Deciding to change the topic slightly, as it was clear that the press are not her favourite people to talk about, we look at a more positive side of the new album and going solo. I ask her what has been the best or most rewarding part of this whole experience. ‘Firstly, this has been more than just an ‘experience’… but it has been pretty great because I’ve never been happier with a complete album like this one.’ Spyrou is evidently thrilled by the album as she has taken the reigns and got one of her closest photographer friends Gale Reckingson to shoot the photos for the album cover. It meant a lot to her that she could have such a close friend help her on creating the cover.

For Spyrou, by far the best thing about creating a solo album is that no one told her want she could or could not do. ‘This album is exactly what I have always wanted to create.’ said Spyrou enthusiastically. She has always liked the idea of being classed as a singer songwriter, and therefore jumped when given the ability to produce ‘Simple Confusion’ by herself. ‘I know it sounds odd, but one of my favourite things was being able to name the songs whatever the hell I wanted.’

This brought me to backtrack slightly and ask about the curious name of one of the tracks as I was very intrigued as to the meaning behind the song ‘Z’ as the name gives very little away. ‘Oh yes, that is one of my favourite I love how ominous it is just having the letter ‘Z’. Spyrou then elaborates by explaining that ‘it is the last letter of the alphabet, symbolising that everything ends and this one was to do with the end of the band… how fucking deep I know.’ She said whilst laughing at the end.

Just as she starts to fiddle with her black and silver crystal necklace, I see her face flooded with quite a content and relaxed tone. Naturally I asked her what she was thinking about and she replies ‘with all the shit that has happened in the previous year’ Spyrou continues with ‘I’m just so elated and filled with content that I have actually created this album… this is the first time I have ever sat back and really realised that this is real, and I’m so bloody proud of it all.’


This is my feature article for my magazine that will be the main sum of text in the magazine. The article is about an artist who recently split up from a band and has launched a solo album. It is very important to the magazine that it fits the style of my magazine and is appropriate to my audience.