Meet Interkon: It’s where New Jersey and Russia meet Philly Punk.
Interkon is everything from the late ’90s and early 2000s you wish you had now. Made up of three engineers and producers, Shep, JOZIE and Kult, the band is genreless as it puts a unique spin on new wave Alternative Punk and Pop-Grunge Rock.
Growing up on bands like Nirvana, System of the Down, Rage Against the Machine, and Mötley Crüe, the guys want to have the same effect and artist to fan relationship on people as bands did on them. They want their fans to feel therapy, inspiration, and nostalgia.
Now the world can hear Interkon. On June 4, the band released its debut single, “Wait For Me,” a track about self-love and putting yourself first.
Coming out of Philadelphia, the three band members say they are on a mission to change the industry in a positive way. They are a band for the people – for the misfits, for the lovers, for the sinless, and for the sinful. Originally from New Jersey and Moscow, Russia, they have devoted themselves to music to do what it takes to be able to share their craft with the world.
When shooting for the “Wait For Me” visual, it was nothing but creativeness and chaos. It is your classic ”backyard punk,” “girl next door” style, but with an Interkon touch. Shot by Daytodaychase and DiJawn, the video was recorded at a buddy’s house in Morrison, New Jersey, where hometown friends came out to be a part of it. The video shows the liveliness and passion Interkon is all about.
PW recently caught up with JOZIE to talk about the new music and the plans Interkon has for the future.
Let’s go back to the beginning. How did Interkon come about? When and why did you decide to get together to make music?
Interkon came about through manifestation. Shep and I had been working together a few years prior when a friend reached out and said a friend of his (Kult) was looking for a vocalist for a new project. Kult is from Russia, but was living in Florida at the time. Shep and Kult organized a weekend to meet up and work on music, and that’s when the three of us clicked. During that first weekend working together, we finished about seven tracks in the course of two to three days, and we just knew we were all meant to work together. Our work flow matched, our drive was all there, and most importantly, we all shared the same energy and goal. Which was/still is, to have fun making the music we want to make to help impact fans the exact same way we were impacted by our music idols growing up.
You just released your debut single, “Wait For Me.” Talk a little about how the song came about, in terms of both the writing and production processes. How can people hear it?
“Wait For Me” was one of those tracks that just came together with ease. Kult locked himself in a room at Obsidian (our studio) for somewhere between six to eight hours, then showed Shep and I the track later that night. We ended up writing and recording it in about two hours. While Shep and I were recording each other, Kult would plug in and work on mixing the instrumental while we were in the recording process.
A day later, we finished the track and knew it was the beginning of our new sound. Kult had a dream about the song prior to making it, so we’re pretty sure his soul is in a contract now, but in terms of writing the lyrics, Shep and I just tapped into each other’s feelings and had a vent session through our music. We go back and forth off each other every time we write/record. So we tend to finish things faster and easier when writing/recording together. “Wait For Me” is out now on all major platforms – Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon music, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Audius – and the music video is out on YouTube
Now that the single is out, what’s ahead for Interkon?
Now that the single is out, we’re ready to release some more music. We have two more singles planned and possibly an album for this summer. Live shows are coming back, so we’re planning on playing as many shows as we can to build that real relationship with our fans. We want to be that band for the people. We want our music to be able to heal, inspire, and help people of all ages.
Are there any local artists you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
There’s no one in Philly that we’re aware of, yet, doing what we’re doing. We are always down to collab with artists on the same wave as us, whether it’s the same genre or not. Someone we do want to collab with on a larger scale would be YungBlud, out of the UK.
What are the best ways for your fans to stay current with what you’re doing?Instagram and YouTube are our most up to date/active platforms to follow us on. But we are also on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, etc. For links to music, social media and more, visit linktr.ee/interkon.
