Near Death Experience have been in charge of reviving their version of psychedelic rock. Hailing from Ealing, London-this band has been giving electric live shows for some time now. For those who want those famous goosebumps while listening to music, Near Death Experience (NDX) can be of help. NDX have released an album Mouth to Mouth in 2019 and singles all the way to their new track. Found is their single for 2022, and is a dynamite entry back into the indie music game.

After listening to their cascading capital of a track, I also had a chance to ask them some questions about their journey. Read on while listening to their track.

1) Found has the ability to transform into a massive jam track like Grateful Dead if the moment allows it. How do you go about writing such songs?

Although we love crafting tight, catchy songs that fuse together rock, soul and funk wrapped in a psychedelic sound, we also love to improvise around these ideas, and have a great band chemistry that enables us to do this when playing live. This means that any song can morph into a seventies-style epic at any moment, particularly if the audience is getting into the groove. It makes for very spontaneous and exciting live performances. So the song comes first – but we also ain’t afraid to jam to take it to another place!

All their songs have the ability to push boundaries and have a dynamic open ended relationship. The same goes for this track, an alt-rock revisit with their classic take on psychedelia with the sound. Finding peace within the pieces, making a perfect combination of sound from all the live instruments. You’ll be far fetched to find a vocalist you want to follow through the verses more than Ian here.

2) Your first album Mouth to Mouth was a unique take on this genre that shaped you. How was the journey finding your own sound?

Each member of NDX has had their own music journey, which has been influenced by the rock, soul and psychedelia of the late sixties and early seventies. Our journeys converged in Ealing, London in late 2016, and we soon realized there was a great chemistry between us. First we worked on some of my (singer Ian ‘Lightning’ Whiteling) original songs, when started writing as a band, and very soon we found that we were creating a unique sound where rock, soul and funk collide.

What’s more, each of our songs has a wonderful space and dynamic created by the fact that we bring together electric and acoustic guitars, rather than twin electric guitars. And the rhythmical complementary styles of me and guitarist Bill ’The Professor’ Marten on electric guitar makes for some fabulous interplay, while the drums of Alan ’The Milkman’ Perkins and bass of Amar ’The Groovemeister’ Grover lay down the grooves.

The conscious decision to bring in one electric and one acoustic creates a diatonal effect which adds an exciting sound the kind of quirky dynamic of this band. It’s a slight departure from the sounds that made Mouth to Mouth, but we’re looking at an ever-evolving band that are game to jam if the moment asks for it.

3) Many of your tracks are well received because of how relatable and simple they are, and poetry through the instruments. Do you think about switching genres for a different sound?

I think our sound is constantly developing, and we’ll bring more genres of the sixties and seventies into play as we progress, perhaps moving more into soul, or maybe funk, who knows!

Recreating a renaissance sound with more quality means addition of several layers. This can be heard in all their songs since Lord, Everything and Religion. Instead of complicating the sounds and lyrics like some bands, Near Death Experience take joy in knowing that their audience will be grooving to what is coming.

4) Has the pandemic affected your take on performances and making music in general?

We always live for playing live, so the pandemic hit us hard, but it also taught that you just have to keep on keeping on, and working through every problem you face as a band. So we knew we had to put playing live to one side, and we focused on writing and worked out a way to record all our parts separately and bring them all together in the studio. This saw us write and release a series of singles that honed our sound and are certainly our best work to date. 

Following your passion through this entire predicament is what has defined some bands from many quitters. Some circumstances have been stark in divide, yet some power through and move forward, never losing stride.

5) Does 2022 have the second album for NDX ready? How about touring and local shows?

As soon as the London lockdown lifted in July 2021, we were ready to play live and embarked on a series of gigs around the UK capital called the Summer of Love Tour, because it was so euphoric for both us and our audiences to have live music back. This has carried on, turning into The Winter of Love tour, and we’re still going! 

This year we will launch our second album, The Release, which as originally planned in 2020. It will bring together our releases during the pandemic, with a couple of surprising extended versions, and some new songs still to come. 

This track will be a perfect fit for the movie Shanghai Noon, check out the movie here – https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shanghai_noon