Dry Run On the Making Of “Cast the Spell”
How did you come up with the idea?
Stuart: I was just about to finish my breakfast when an idea struck me! I quickly dipped my last soldier and then picked up my bass (despite being a guitar player, most of our songs get started on a Squier bass). The tune for me had an almost witchy / wizard like feel to it, so I titled it "Cast the Spell". This is typically how we go with songs - I'll send Mark a random name and then he ends up building a theme around it that's sometimes related, and sometimes completely its own thing.
What impact do you hope "Cast the Spell" will have on your audience?
George: We think it will have a cracking effect and fry their minds. We really came out of our shell with this one, after being off the boil for a little while... They'll be scrambling for more!
What was your favorite moment in making the music video?
Mark: Our good friend Jim shot the video on my Google Pixel 6 in Malta. I'd gone for a big old walk on my first day there, and after about 4 hours roaming along the coast and burning my pastey British skin, I noticed this ghost town covered in beautiful murals in the distance, beckoning me. The next day I found the only two thrift stores nearby looking for an outfit, and settled on a boiler suit with "GM" on the pocket, which Jim painted over with an eyeball that ended up being the new EP cover! It's hard to pick a favourite moment, as I think it shows in the video that I had fun the whole time and I was excited by the opportunistic way it came about, but I particularly enjoyed making eggs Benedict with him once we'd finished filming, on a camping stove in a derelict fifth floor den overlooking the beautiful coastline. We felt like well-worked creative hobos, filling our tums with sweaty eggy contentment.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
George: Dry Run is essentially a bunch of mates who like to make excessive noise. We love to play shows and mainly just want to have a laugh while we do it. We are into our second year as a band and are really getting into a groove lately with our songwriting, which feels great. Writing songs is like making the perfect scrambled eggs, you don't want them to be too overcooked, ideally they need silky and smooth. We as a band are the bread; the toast if you will.
What role do you feel emotions play in your music, and how do you channel them into your performances?
Mark: With any art, there are always emotional elements at play, oftentimes ones you're not able to fully process at the time, and it was very much the case with this song, which is about the fact that although you can't control your emotions, your actions and reactions can have such a profound impact on them. But the song is also cheeky, light-hearted, and playful, which is important, and individually that's how we all are in this band, and that's why we get along so well. We've always put on intense and fun shows, peppered with emotional moments, and playing live is our opportunity to fully be in a flow state, whisking and stirring up all of our commitment and passion into an omelette of emotion.