POP SUICIDE
The UAE band hitting all the right notes
Pop Suicide is a newly formed band in the UAE, making waves in the industry. With their first song release added to iTunes and Spotify, as well as receiving over 5,000 hits on YouTube, for a band that was born out of nowhere, they have a sound that is resonating internationally. With Canada, India and Japan being their biggest audiences to date, the band are now thinking about pursuing their passion project full-scale. We sit down to talk to the three musicians about how the band formed, their love for music and where they see themselves in the future.
Nestled in their Miracle Garden apartment, Rob, the only male member of the band, talks about how it all started. “We all met through working in the fashion industry,” explains the illusive character, who is only ever captured with a robot helmet on. In fact, the name Rob was derived from the idea of him being a robot from another universe. However, back in reality, each band member has a day job – Jullz is a marketing manager for the Toni Malt Make-up Academy, Benny is a fashion model, and Rob is a successful fashion photographer. They are all based in Dubai and found that they share a genuine passion for music.
“I was a musician in a band when he was a teenager,” Rob says, discussing his childhood, so it makes sense that his dream found itself again in adult life. “I remember playing a riff, we were all hanging out together and Jullz started to sing over the riff, we knew there was something there and we decided to make a song.” Jullz nods her head in agreement – “It was really just for fun at that point, we didn’t really think it was a serious thing, we just wanted to make a song.”
Their debut song ‘Chasing’ was accepted by music behemoths iTunes and Spotify to be featured on a new artist playlist. They all admit they knew something special was brewing once their song was approved by the two music-mogul distributors. Jullz was always creative growing up and loves movies and music. Her father is also a musician, which helped her to develop a natural instinct for music. She talks to us about how her creativity for storytelling has shaped her vision for the band: “When I moved here it was a little difficult to be into music as there weren’t a lot of places where you could develop yourself, but when Rob started to play a riff, I just saw a narrative around the music. I write the songs, but all of it for me derives from fiction. I like to create fictional characters and alternative worlds.”
The band are doing things their own way, with no plan of being signed by a record company. Rob tells us that they don’t believe they will ever be signed by a label. “The band is more of a concept. We want to create films and make songs for movies, rather than being seen as a traditional band,” he reasons. They have successfully created a distinct aesthetic, along with a sound that feels nostalgic – think Strangers Things meets Bowie in Labyrinth and you have yourself a concoction that people are going to notice.
Benny, the singer in the band, confesses that she never really thought of herself as a singer and wasn’t sure how good she really was until the band formed and they started making music together. “I love singing, but singing at gigs is something we want to build up to. I’m not ready to go out into a crowd just yet.” She confesses that singing is extremely emotional for her and nothing like modelling. “Singing feels more personal, I can’t explain but it’s like you are putting yourself out there,” she explains. Benny’s voice also brings another unique element to the band with a Nina Persson sound, the idea of the past rings true in every part of the trio, not to mention the synth-guitar combo. If you haven’t listened to Pop Suicide just yet, then head over to YouTube to watch their latest film and track ‘Breeze’.