New Music
Interview
Artio: “I think all music should take on a life of its own”
The rising Leeds alt rockers on their Download debut, sustainable merch and the importance of tact
Built on a foundation of self-expression, resilience, and a playful penchant for pushing boundaries, Artio have been creating a fair buzz in the UK alternative scene.
After meeting through their local music scene, the Leeds quartet have been guided by a fiercely DIY ethos, fusing soaring alt rock with electronic experimentation and stadium-sized ambition. With their 2024 debut album, Babyface, serving as a declaration of identity – exploring queerness, neurodivergence and gender – it resonated with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, fostering a family of fans who see themselves in their music.
The record recently celebrated its first anniversary, and over the last year Artio have been taking to stages across the UK and Europe, supporting VUKOVI, MOTHICA, Honey Revenge and more. Embracing the sheer adrenaline-fuelled euphoria of performance, their live show has evolved into something truly special. Uncompromising, unapologetic, and unstoppable, they’ve become one of the UK’s most hotly tipped newcomers for good reason.
With new music on the way as they prepare to take on Download Festival for the first time this summer, Artio are stepping confidently into their next era. Ready to show the world exactly what they’re capable of, we sat down with vocalist Rae Brazill to reflect on their journey so far, the power of music, and why, no matter how dark things get, there will always be space for fun in Artio’s world.
![Artio - Babyface [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hqC2oGEPdvI/0.jpg)
When you were younger, what drew you to the artists that you loved?
I grew up around music, and I had a very musical household. I’ve always been around it, so being drawn to music was a natural thing for me. My parents play instruments, so I’d always hear an electric drum kit coming from somewhere in the house, and I would always be tapping on stuff. I gained a lot of subliminal musical context then, but I got into rock music more as a kid. I went to primary school with this girl whose mum was a goth, and she was the only goth mum in the whole town. I thought she was so cool, and we used to listen to old Paramore and make up dance routines to ‘Pressure’ and ‘Fences’ in the playground. When I listen to those songs now, I have muscle memory and can still do the routines! I got really into Green Day because my dad used to listen to American Idiot a lot, and I loved My Chemical Romance too. Rock music was around me all the time, and I gained a real affinity with it at a young age. I didn’t want to be a musician though, I just really liked rock music.
As someone who didn’t want to be a musician when they were younger, how did meeting the other members of Artio within the Leeds DIY scene change your mindset?
This is the most autistic child’s answer ever, but I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was younger. I wasn’t good enough at biology though, so I decided I wanted to be a director instead. I wanted to direct films and music videos, which is crazy because I get to do that now. I never thought I had what it took to be a musician, but then I went to see PVRIS on the White Noise tour in Manchester. After seeing that show I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna do that’. The next day, I started a band with the girl I went to the show with, which was my first high school band.
Whilst I was in that band, I met Ieuan [Jones, drums/production] and we became really good friends. He was in another band on the local circuit, and we would often play shows together. I was at his house one time, and I was going through something, so I asked if we could write a song. I wanted a way to express myself, and he’s a very talented producer, so we started making stuff together. Originally, we were just going to release it online and leave it at that, but our friends kept saying that we needed to play it live and pursue it.
We played a gig with a high school friend of ours who filled in on guitar, but then we met Rob [Arkle, guitar] who was in another band. He became our official lead guitarist, and we toured as this supergroup of local Leeds bands. We released a few EPs in that form, but we really wanted a fourth member for the stage symmetry and to give us a bit more ‘oomph’ live. Originally, we were just looking for a session guitarist, and Jai [Akhurst, guitar] was in another local band that supported us at a show. They were sick, so we asked if they’d like to session, but we all ended up getting on so well. We enjoyed making music together, and suddenly our little Pyrokid EP had its moment, and ‘Product Of My Own Design’ was doing really well. We felt bad because Jai was playing the shows, but they weren’t a part of those songs. We asked if they’d like to be an official member, and we became a four-piece. We wrote an album together, and here we are.
![Artio - Wallflower [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xvnR_0QtWuw/0.jpg)
That album, Babyface, has just celebrated its first anniversary. In that time, it’s connected with a lot of people, largely through the way in which the songs explore queerness, gender, neurodivergence, and mental health. In a society that often tries to make us feel lesser for our differences, do you think it’s important for artists to be careful with how they approach those topics?
This is a hot take that I have. I think that if you’re going to express yourself you should do it however you want, but that changes if you’re going to make it public. If it is consumable by anyone within any context, you have to be tactful with it. You have no idea how what you’ve experienced will align with what someone else has experienced, and I like things to be covered in metaphor because of that. It requires a lot of craft and thought to get the message across, but I don’t like writing things that are uber literal as it prevents other people from being able to relate.
If you are going to discuss things that are potentially traumatic or triggering for people though, you have to put that thought in. If it’s just going onto a hard drive where no one will ever hear it, say what you want, but if you’re going to give your art to the world… You should be responsible with how you portray things. Your interpretation of neurodivergence or mental illness is going to be completely different to someone else’s, and if you approach it like it’s fact that can be a dangerous thing. You have to be gentle with yourself as well, and it has to be done in a way that isn’t going to cause harm to anyone. It’s a tricky thing to do, but my own music ages better to me because of it. If I’m careful with how I’m expressing certain things, and make sure that every song I write isn’t just a case of, ‘Everything is terrible and I’m so traumatised’, it’s better for everyone.
There are a surprising number of artists who don’t seem to consider that, and it’s especially important when your audience is largely made up of young people. When it comes to channelling your own stories into songwriting, but trying to find hope in that darkness, are there any artists who particularly inspire you?
Twenty One Pilots. They are so tactful and metaphorical with how they express things, even though there’s some harrowing shit in their songs. It’s written in a way that anyone can interpret it as whatever they need, and that’s what I needed growing up. I needed music that I could cling to when I was going through stuff, and when you’re younger you can feel like no one understands you. I needed music that I could get lost in, and I didn’t want a literal song about how everything is shit because the writer has a disorder. I want to hear about water and mystical lands, anything to make me feel less alone, but also to take me away from real life. Some people need music that gives a bullet-pointed list of horrendous things, but I prefer to keep it a little more whimsical.
![Artio - Sertraline (feat. STRAIGHT GIRL) [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G1l7eaJ3pMA/0.jpg)
Coming back to the connection fans have found with Babyface and the ideas of empowerment, self-acceptance and growth spread across the songs, what has it been like to see that happen knowing what the album means to you on a personal level?
I think all music should take on a life of its own once you choose to release it. You have to have the awareness that now it doesn’t just belong to you, it belongs to whoever chooses to listen to it. I’m never going to disclose the exact meaning of every song, so everyone else’s interpretation is just as valid as mine. I’ve come to terms with that, so I’m not particularly precious about it anymore. It’s important to let people interpret it in their own way, and meeting fans is so interesting because of that.
We did a meet and greet at Slam Dunk, and people were getting the vinyl signed and telling us about what it meant to them. It was crazy because I know that people have listened to it, but I’ve got really bad object permanence, so I will forget about something the second it isn’t in my direct vision. There were people explaining how much the songs meant to them, and that’s so beautiful. By writing the things that I write, it helps me to get over them, and it’s a way for me to express myself. I write about it, I go to therapy, and then it doesn’t really affect me anymore. When people come up to me to tell me how a song changed things for them… It did that for me too. It’s validating to know that I left a mark, and that it has positively affected someone. I don’t care about the vanity of being a rock god, that’s all I want to do.
There’s something to be said for finding a balance between having an important message and also having fun. No matter how deep and personal Artio gets, and how many metaphors there are shrouding the emotion, there’s always so much fun and energy to be found…
That’s why the Babyface saga music videos are the way that they are. Life contains a lot of big feelings, and a lot of things happen to people that are just awful. You should have an outlet for that, and you should be able to express it, but there has to be things that also bring you joy. One of the things that I find really fulfilling about our music is that we can do both.
Our song ‘Head In The Sand, Finger On The Trigger’ is about bodily autonomy, and being allowed to exist in political climates that are against you, but it is also inspired by Mick Gordon’s Doom soundtrack. It’s got such a fun, jumping energy to it, and on our recent European tour we added a drum and bass ending where we got everyone on the ground before jumping up. Seeing everyone smiling whilst they jumped to the music was so special.
Live music is where it all culminates, and it’s the point of escapism, joy, and emotion. Everything that you do leads up to performing the songs live, and it has to be fun. As an online generation, we’re bombarded with information all day every day. We’re told that the world is shit, we’re shown all of these horrendous things happening, and our brains cannot process all of that information. There has to be a way in which we can express ourselves, so we don’t go completely insane, and for me that’s writing songs and getting to play them live.
![Artio - Head In The Sand, Finger On The Trigger (feat. FLASCH) [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NJQSBX1fxvQ/0.jpg)
Something that’s so vital to this band is retaining that DIY mentality, from Ieuan producing the songs, to directing your own music videos, and even designing your own stage outfits. What do you enjoy about being able to explore your fashion and express yourselves in that way?
I grew up in a working-class family without a lot of money, and for non-uniform days at school I would always just wear a band shirt. I was dressing within my means, and we didn’t have money for extravagant outfits or designer stuff. I’ve never felt like I needed it, because I’ve never had it. For me, it’s about being able to make an outfit that’s unique and has all of these different influences. Some of it’s punky, and some of it’s the way it is because I just like painting shit. I’ve always been into making my own stuff because I want to wear a cool top that no one else has, but I can’t afford to spend £500 on one.
I do a lot of it myself, but I also work with Leeds-based queer designers. I like clothes, and I think fashion is very important. Wearing what you want and expressing yourself in your clothing… Often that’s the first impression that people have of you, before they even hear you. I don’t think about it too much though; it’s just something that I enjoy. I love to paint, sew, stitch and crochet, and I’ve been doing it ever since we first established our image. It expresses another layer of who you are that you can’t really do in the songs.
It feels particularly important because so many of us grew up with the pressure to wear the right thing. You had to own a band’s merchandise to be a real fan of them, but you couldn’t wear their shirt when you saw them live because that was somehow cringeworthy. There was this whole set of unwritten rules you needed to learn in order to be accepted in a scene that claimed it existed for the outcasts. With Artio though, it’s about wearing what you like, and what makes you confident and comfortable…
Exactly, and people have been making their own outfits inspired by ours which is incredible. Sustainability is a big thing for me because I grew up charity shopping, and that’s still a thing that I do. I will buy something second-hand, or I will go to a vintage shop and get things that have already had a life. I upcycle them, make them into something new, and then once I’m finished with it, I’ll sell it on Vinted. Someone else then gets to own it, and it has a whole other level of meaning to them because I’ve worn it. Music and fashion have an endless life cycle, and if you look after an item of clothing it will last forever. That shouldn’t be gatekept, and I love when someone sees a shirt I’ve created and makes their own version of it. Inspiration and creativity should never be copyrighted or trademarked.
It’s not about the four of you standing on stage trying to come across as these cool, mysterious, untouchable musicians… It’s about community. Is that something you have always seen as an integral part of Artio?
To be honest, it’s a really cool bonus. When I started doing music, I was just a kid in a band that wanted to make songs, and I had no concept of it meaning something to someone else. It meant something to me and the three people in that garage with me, but we never set out to create a community. It’s a beautiful thing that’s happened around the band, but I’ve never had the intention of being here to fix everyone’s problems because I know that I can’t. I’m 23, I’m still figuring my own shit out and learning how to be a human, but I’m so honoured that people have found a place in what we do. We never thought it would get here, but knowing that this means something to someone adds another layer to how important this project is to me. I can’t thank people enough for listening to our songs and seeing us live because they’ve now become part of a community that means something. When we were playing Santiago Bar in Leeds to 20 people, we never believed it was going to lead to a multinational community.
When we’re talking about how big this has gotten over the last few years, we have to talk about Download. That set is going to be a huge 30-or-so-minutes for you…
You’re telling me! Sherman [Leeds-based designer] and I have been on calls already. We worked together on the suits that we wore for the Download launch party, which we wore again at the O2 Forum Kentish Town show [supporting VUKOVI]. The outfits for Download are going to be in a similar vein, and we’ve got some ideas. In terms of the set, there’s going to be a new song out by then too! It’s a lot of pressure, and whoever is there – no matter what level of understanding they have of Artio – it all needs to go out the window for this set. I want it to be a moment that everyone gets to experience, whether they’re there for us or just waiting for the next band to come onstage. It’s our first Download, and a lot of our friends are playing on the same day. We’re so excited to be there, and it’s surreal. We’ve been a local band for the majority of Artio’s life cycle, so we never envisioned this. We’ll be doing everything we can to make it special.
There have been a hell of a lot of bucket list ticks already, but Artio is just getting started. With so much lined up for the rest of 2025, how are you feeling about the future of this?
Very, very good. We’ve been writing a lot, and we were onto album two before Babyface even came out. It’s taken on a life of its own now, and it’s beautiful. We’re so proud of what we’ve written, and there will be new Artio music by the end of this year. We feel very honoured that this is real, and that we get to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We’re making things happen that we’re all exceptionally proud of, and we’ve got some amazing festivals coming up, music coming out, and stuff that we can’t even believe we’re releasing. Really though, we’re just here to make some noise.
