A lot has changed for the five members of IndianRedLopez since they last released a record.
The friends and bandmates spent their early 20s playing shows around Scotland in their own version of a gap year.
Together, they wrote and released two albums before taking a hiatus to explore different musical opportunities in 2015.
Their love of music never faded but the time apart allowed them to focus on building their careers and growing their families.
The band has used this time as inspiration for their new music with their first single in 10 years to be released on Friday.
“We picked up where we left off,” lead singer Mike Chang said. “I started writing again during the dark years of Covid and because so much time had passed I wasn’t sure everyone would want to do this again
“But, I shared the songs with the guys and there was a pretty positive response.”
Band from the north-east
It was while he was a pupil at Peterhead Academy that Mike started playing covers and writing original material with his school friends, Dave Cherry and Scott Maskame.
IndianRedLopez morphed into its current line-up when twins Darren and Danny Forsyth, who grew up in nearby Mintlaw, came along.
“Once they joined, we knew we were on to something,” Mike said.
The band released their debut record, “Empty Your Lungs and Breathe”, in 2011 and followed up with their second album, “Commit”, three yeas later.
“It was all done very much DIY,” Mike said. “That’s something we have always prided ourselves on – everything we have done has been off our own backs.
“We put on our own shows in Peterhead so we could pay for our tours – to cover the van, petrol, printing our own T-shirts.
“We were cutting our teeth as a band.”
‘Excited’ to share new music
Around 2014, the band was spotted by Ronald Renirie who helped them set up shows across Europe – and will soon release their new album through his label, Gentlemen Recordings.
“We’ve always been good at riffing off each other’s musical ideas,” Mike shared. “After lockdown, we’d meet up every couple weeks and eventually we had the guts of an album.
“It all happened quite naturally – we finished tracking the record last September and now we’re just really glad we’ve managed to make another record.
“It’s quite pop in an indie framework. Our older stuff was more indie rock leaning, but the mission for this album was to write as many catchy pop songs as possible.
“We’re excited to show everyone what we’ve been up to.”
The return of IndianRedLopez
IndianRedLopez’s new single “Obstacles” will be released on Friday alongside its music video which was filmed in and around Aberdeen and Peterhead.
“We’ve always written about home and felt tethered to the north-east,” Mike said. “There are some recognisable spots in the video – it’s a love letter to the area.”
After the release of their upcoming album, IndianRedLopez hope to play some local shows to celebrate their return to the music scene.
Mike said: “We got our musician friends to collaborate on the album so we’d like to work with them on shows too.
“And, form a bigger show – IndianRedLopez and Friends.”