Introducing – Amethysts

Based in Suffolk in the UK, dreampop duo Amethysts have caught our attention a few times over the last few years with their pastoral, personal take on the genre. With the release of their Forget-me-not single, we caught up with the duo to speak about the song, their inspirations, as well as their new, self-titled, album.

First up, could you tell us a bit about Amethysts?

We’re Amethysts (Clarice and Simon). We make dream-pop which blends synths and electronic drums with layers of guitar, ambient samples and reverby vocals. We’re obsessed with gemstones and crystals and named our duo after our birthstone Amethyst.

What inspires you to write songs?

We’re inspired by a lot in our day to day lives, from personal experiences and our marriage to things that happen to the people around us.

Who would you say has had the most influence on your music?

There’s so much music that has influenced our sound over the years, from Bon Iver, Daughter, Ben Howard and Beach House to Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. Simon’s parents who are also musicians have some amazing vintage drum machines and other equipment that we used across the new album.

What has been the biggest highlight of your musical career so far?

There’s been a few highlights…We’ve played at quite a few festivals and supported a bunch of amazing artists, won awards, and packed out a few London headline shows and had a couple of hundred people singing our songs back at us, which is something really quite special and unexplainable. Clarice once also had a random conversation about toilet roll in the women’s toilets backstage at a festival with Ellie from Wolf Alice. All of the experiences we’ve had and great opportunities we’ve been given just make the whole thing feel like people really appreciate what we’re doing, and it makes it all worthwhile.

Do you prefer being in the studio or performing in front of an Audience?

When you’re writing a song and it really hits the mark it’s a special feeling, but playing those songs live and losing yourself in the music is even more magical. It gives you such a buzz.

What was the last album or song you listened to?

Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon, it’s been our driving music recently.

Amethysts by Amethysts

If you could support anyone, who would it be and why?

We’re mega Bon Iver fans, so the opportunity to support them, or anything involving Justin Vernon would be amazing!

What Suffolk bands or musicians do you think we should be checking out right now?

The Suffolk music scene is going from strength to strength. There’s so many great bands it’s hard to name one but it’s definitely worth checking out.

What’s the inspiration behind the lyrics to Forget-me-not?

Forget-me-not is one of our most raw and personal tracks to date. We wrote it as part of a healing process from a traumatic and heartbreaking experience that we had earlier this year which we needed to process and acknowledge in order to move on and let go. I think a lot of musicians use music as part of a cathartic process, writing about things in songs certainly helps us heal from bad experiences.

Amethysts by Amethysts

What’s up next for Amethysts after the release of Forget-me-not?

So, this track is taken from our self-titled debut album. The album has been in the pipeline for a while, and it feels like the perfect way to conclude what has been an unforgettable 1st chapter of our journey so far as Amethysts. We’re planning some live shows to support the release for early next year which we’ll be announcing soon. We’ll also be releasing physicals in the new year, and we also have a bunch more new material planned for further into next year as well!

Find out more about Amethysts, discover more listening options for the new album, and keep up to speed with upcoming tour dates on the duo’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.