Band: Riversleem
From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Their formation story:
(Kyle, vocals): "Myself and Drew (guitar) have been jamming and writing a bit together for years and years, but never quite put together any too substantial. After I met Kurt (Drums) on a study abroad trip to Singapore, and found realized we went to many of the same shows growing up, we quickly became close and decided to start Riversleem with Kurt’s lifelong friend Connor (bass).
"Riversleem started playing together in the fall of 2019 and wrote and recorded our first EP at the very end of the year. We put everything on hold in 2020, but in 2021 we put that EP out Tomb Tree/Zegema Beach Records and have been sleeming on ever since."
Their sound in their own words:
(Kurt, drums): "Our sound pulls from some of the frantic and emotional metalcore and hardcore from the early '00s, notably Converge, Botch, Norma Jean, Dillinger, etc. But we try to pull influence from screamo, post-hardcore, thrash, and contemporary hardcore as well.
"On a more subliminal level, we are inspired by the presentation and extreme emotional expression of artists like Sophie, Liturgy, and Deerhoof."
Latest release info:
(Kyle, vocals): "On September 25th of 2023 we put out our second EP and 7", A Second Release by Riversleem, on Zegema Beach Records, and it's a collection of 4 new tracks that we've been working on since 2020. That year we rented an Airbnb in Richard, SK for a half a week and began sketching out ideas for a future release, but we mostly just used the time to reconnect as friends.
"We did write the core of what would become 'Antispore' during that time period however, which would influence the ways in which we wanted to experiment with different sounds and aesthetics going forward. Drew (Guitar) recorded and produced the entire EP and then we sent it off to Brad Boatright from Audiosiege for mastering to make it sound and feel exactly how we heard it in our heads.
"A Second Release by Riversleem is a pretty cathartic project for us, as since we didn't set any deadlines for the longest time we really sat with the songs, put it all on the table, and shaped them into how we wanted the band in general to sound going forward. Once we began putting some deadlines in place we came together to just finalize all of these ideas and complete something that we're all really proud of.
"Overall I'd say this new EP is darker and sometimes heavier than the previous release, and a lot of that probably comes from its general inspirations of personal challenges, mental health, injustice, and art, which are all concepts that have influenced the core ideas and overall feeling of this new release in one way or another."
Future plans:
(Drew, guitar): "Right now, our most immediate plans involve writing new material. We have a couple of half-baked tracks and riffs kicking around, with the hopes of putting together another EP sooner than later. Also, we’re hoping to play some out of town shows this summer which is something we haven’t done as a group yet, and are really looking forward to."
What other bands from the region should we check out?
(Drew, guitar): "The Saskatoon and entire Saskatchewan scene is really growing at the moment and there are tons of great bands here to check out. Some awesome local bands to shoutout and support would be Macrodoser, Grimelda, Reject, Man Meat, Fistfight, Asspatch, and Alien to the Ignorant."
A Second Release by Riversleem is available on vinyl via Zegema Beach Records.
Riversleem on social media: Instagram
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