Sending Signals
British prog rockers Ihlo are back with their long-awaited second album. Legacy affirms their status as a force to be reckoned with and takes their synth-infused dynamic sound to a whole new level. Vocalist Andy Robison, guitarist Phil Monro, and drummer Clark McMenemy discuss tapping into videogame soundtracks, finding their own sound and the challenges of playing their complex parts live.
Words: Cheri Faulkner
Ihlo ponder how to craft music that’s both melancholic and sparkling.
Images: Matt Jolly
“We’re not trying to show off; it’s about creating something genuine that feels emotionally compelling.”
Clark McMenemy
Modern technology has enabled the formation of bands that otherwise would never have existed. Ihlo are one such example. Having met via a Facebook meme group back in 2016, vocalist Andy Robison and guitarist and primary songwriter Phil Monro formed the band not in a dimly-lit rehearsal space, but via the internet, through meticulously-exchanged audio files and online collaborations.
“I’d gotten to the point of posting some demo-quality stuff online,” Monro explains. “And I knew Andy did a bit of singing and a bit of electronic music, so I thought I’d send him a track I wrote. He was like, ‘That’s great, do you want any singing?’” From there, the two “messed around” with some electronic music before returning to prog rock. “We got Clark on board when we were considering doing live stuff, but he did the MIDI drums on the first album, too.”