In conversation with: Kapayja
Who is Kapayja? If you only had three words to describe the band, what would they be?
Joshua: For sure. I will start, but the lads can finish. I was going to say, every time we're asked this question, it kind of comes back to being cinematic, spooky, and grungy as well. It's not like sort of one thing. It's a very eclectic sound, which ends up kind of a bit spooky at the end. Because we're all coming from such vast, different kinds of listening habits and stuff like that.
Eoghan: Influences.
Joshua: Yeah. Influences is the correct word. Thanks for that Eoghan.I don't want to just start naming off artists, but it's just a load of people that influence us all. And we're like, what's the best bit of all of them? And then put that into a sound that is uniquely ours. And you've previously said, Eoghan, it would be great to be a band that people can reference the sound as being Capasia.
You guys are able to balance the blistering heat of songs like ‘Slowly’ with the yearning tenderness of songs like ‘The end.’; How do you approach striking that emotional balance? Is it something that develops naturally as you write, or are you consciously trying to explore different sides of the band's sound?
Eoghan: So all the songs we have released, we went through the process of Josh would kind of come with lyrics and guitar and like even ideas for other instruments. To be honest, I feel like the rest of us were still figuring out like being in a band. But Josh was really committed. And then when we came away, like after the EP, we were like, this is actually like real. Like we can release music. That's crazy. So then nowadays, the process is we'll just start like in the rehearsal room, say, we'll start playing something. Especially because we have like 3 new tunes that I'm really, I'm going to say are class, I'm really proud of them. The whole process was like, “Do you remember that jam we did before we practiced?” Let's try that, we have a voice memo of it. And that's happened three times now of, “God, this is actually really good”. Just, it's very raw, I feel.
Joshua: There isn't any selfishness in our writing at all. It's so like, as you're saying, it's what you're feeling at that time. Like nothing's being, no one's being overshadowed at all. Everyone's being respected. Whatever they're contributing is hugely respected. No one's just trying to be louder than each other, which happens when you're first sort of writing or you're first playing in a band. Everyone's trying to prove themselves. But we're literally just best mates, so you don't have to do that. It's just, it's really nice to have the privilege to make music with each other in the 1st place.
Has a song ever surprised you by becoming about something completely different from what you intended either during the live performance or recording process of it?
Tom: I can connect to them later, if that makes sense. Like there's one song that we start the set with called Fade to Black. And just for ages, I loved it because it was fun to play, but i didn't even pay attention to what Josh was saying. But when I did, I was like, oh, this is great. I like this. So I feel like you do kind of get more appreciation for things when you kind of realize what they're about.
Joshua: There's a song we play live called buried, now it's had, like, five titles so it's buried right now but it's normally the last track on the set and that grew legs when we started playing it live, we knew it was a fun one to play in the rehearsal space but then when we started playing it for people, we were like, 'People really like to move to this one.' So then you kind of find what the energy is and then bounce off of that.
Have you ever abandoned a song that you now regret leaving behind?
Joshua: There are songs that I don't know if we'd abandoned them, but it's more so, we could just keep replenishing the set with songs that we're more excited to play ourselves. Not that they're better, but we're just more happy to play them because you can put more into it. If you can't really give it socks live, then it's no fun for anyone because you don't want to watch that either. You don't want to watch a half-arsed version of a song. We Frankenstein a lot of bits. And I don't think you should be ashamed to do that. It doesn't have to happen all in one sitting.
Is there a lyric you're particularly proud of that listeners often overlook?
Eoghan: the EP was a big one because of what it's about, that's Josh's job to explain that. But I've also felt all of those feelings and I understand it in that way. But then when we started writing the newer tunes, like say Fade to Black, that, lyrically, is just exactly what it should be. Even specific lines, say in Crack a Smile when he says a lot about birds. That's a double entendre right there. And even if Josh didn't even mean it that way, I felt it that way.
Joshua: Sirens, the lyrics for that were written on a bus journey home from town. And it took like 25 minutes from start to finish and I did not change them. So that was nice because that was special. And I think I came running down the hall. Of course, I'd slip and fall just for you to see me. I think there's something quite nice in that. It's kind of a little ironic or like a bit tongue in cheek. It's nice, you know, to sort of make a fool of yourself just for someone to notice you. And I also sometimes only find what I meant after I've written them. I'm kind of just writing it for me and to hopefully impress the lads.
Eoghan: Josh, I love all your lyrics.
2025 marked a great year of releases for Kapayja. What lessons are you carrying into the future, and what are you deliberately leaving behind?
Joshua: I absolutely have learned so much from that release process. It was like a big idea. I think everyone wants to put out an EP when they start to have a few songs. It's, let's do the EP. And we're so glad we did it. was such a learning curve. And we're grateful to have some tutors and stuff to discuss the process with. One of our business tutors was Alan Duggan from Gilla band, which was nice. He was a legend through the process. He helped us schedule things and stuff like that. But God, it was, it's just everything was done on our own. No bit of that was paid for or promoted, like had no PR, had no nothing. It was just based on hopes. We are running on hopes. We are running on, let's hope the music is just going to speak for itself. And each song needs its own time in the sun, it needs its own flowers. And we wanted to like put as many singles out as we could pre the EP as like a bit of a string releases.
One of the ways I discovered Kapayja was TikTok; Has social media changed how you think about releasing or performing music?
Eoghan: . I think, well, what I don't like about people who do get blown up on TikTok is the fakeness of it. You can tell some people are genuinely authentic about it. And that's why I like it. I think because when you were saying “you like it or you don't like it”, I felt that too, but I don't know why. I think it's because with the people who do, it really depends on how they do it. Like some people, you can tell it's not them and songs are literally like made for it. I remember watching an interview of the singer from the script, funnily enough, and he was like, “I get to my chorus like 30 seconds in, you got to get to the hook straight away!” And I was like, that's crazy, what is he talking about? Even though I've seen the script about eight times.
Joshua: The most genuine way that we can be on TikTok is by just posting our live videos, which aren't altered in any way. It's just how we were performing and in hopes that it reaches a wider audience, which is exactly why we're playing live. I'm so glad that people are picking us up from there, and that's kind of news to me because I don't log in that much. I just post it and then log out.
One of the things you spoke about when releasing your EP ‘Age of the open book’ was “The realisation we live amongst very talented and interesting people that may go through life unnoticed”; what local musicians do you hope never do?
Joshua: I do, I remember writing that and, I wasn't even thinking about musicians even though it applies perfectly to that. It was about just people who do so much in the community that are unnoticed. Like, whoever cuts the grass on your green, or who delivers your post in the morning, who cuts your meat. We had this chat, a very important chat together, where we were just talking about the band and talking about how we all feel and And I think respecting how important everyone, not only in the band is, but people who surround the band, like people who are like offering us the gigs or making the posters and doing the art and stuff, everyone's so integral. And that was what that was about.
Do you have any up-coming gigs you're most excited for? After just landing All Together now, what venue/festival is still on your bucket list?
Joshua: I've never been to a festival before. This is the first festival and we get to play it, so I'm really excited for that. That was a big one for us. We are working towards a headline towards the end of this year, which is the big one. Because we get to actually have full autonomy over lighting and over backdrops and over the whole experience. So that's like, we're already thinking about that. I'm so excited about that. I'd love to play Custom House Square. I've seen DMAs play there as a support act in 2018, and it was so important for me just to see that and hear it. And I know from what I can remember from being whatever age I was in 2018, how the kick drum thumped through my chest. It was so heavy.
Eoghan: Yes, I would love to play Primavera. I was there last year and I got to see a three-headed goat. I got to see Sabrina Carpenter, Chappel Roan, and Charlie XCX all headline. That was huge. Huge. One of our friends, Lola, is playing in a band, April and they said they had a great time. So I was like, “oh, people I know can play Primavera”. I thought when I was there everyone was so cool and all the acts were so great. But it takes smaller acts and I was like, that'd be so sick. A little reason for the holiday would be sick but just to go abroad and do a festival would be so cool.
Joshua: When we were playing in Brighton for the alternative escape over there, it felt like we were just back home. When we went back, we all went to the same pub. Madra Salach, Brooki, Esmerelda Road, and it's so nice to see so many faces doing well. And that community is more important than ever right now to be pushing each other to do better. Because if we can all do it, more the merrier. It’s not a competitive thing. I'm so glad to see so many faces. It's actually very, very exciting and kind of hopeful, again more hope involved, but it's really nice to see people that you just hang out with back at home and bands you've seen play like showcases with yourself and stuff like that.