Review Fix Exclusive: Sunkin’s Joe Ferdinand Talks New Single And More

Review Fix chats with Joe Ferdinand – Lead singer and guitarist in SUNKIN, who details the band’s origin, creative process and so much more.

Review Fix:  How did the project start?

Joe Ferdinand: Hector and I met at the University of Westminster in London. We hit it off both musically and personally right from the get-go. We spent the next three years playing in a band called ‘Gutshot for Broadway’ together. I believe these three years were integral to our development. We tried, failed, learned, and eventually played sold-out shows at ‘The Borderline’, ‘The Bar Fly’, and more. We were also played on Radio X and became championed by Libertine, Gary Powell. After three years, I decided to leave London and ‘Gutshot for Broadway’. After spending some time in New York, I eventually ran out of money. I got a job as a porter in an auction house, then a health care assistant at an old people’s home. After a couple of years, and armed with some songs, I felt ready to head back to London to start a new band. The first thing Hector and I did was to busk our way around Europe, from London to Dubrovnik. Honing our craft and testing all our material to countless audiences in eleven different countries. We joined forces with Declan, who we’d known and loved for many years as a friend, and SUNKIN was born. We worked hard on our live set and in early 2020 we manage to play three shows, including ‘Omeara London’, before Covid-19 brought the world to an abrupt halt. 

Review Fix:  What’s your creative process like?

Ferdinand: I’m the predominant songwriter in SUNKIN. I will usually write the song stripped back on an acoustic guitar, then take it to the boys. We then start to decorate the canvas and make a tune out of it. With their musical wizardry, Hector and Declan help structure and arrange the songs. I would describe my lyrics as melancholic stories with flickers of hope. But it’s the hope in them that I want the listener to take away. Most of my songs are about past relationships, my experience with mental health conditions, sometimes social or political issues but always with an emotionally provocative stance. 

Review Fix:  What’s your standout song? How was it written?

Ferdinand: We have just released our second single, ‘Short and Sweet’ which tells a heartfelt story of a past relationship. In keeping with the transatlantic theme of our first single ‘The Pond’, ‘Short and Sweet’ retrospectively describes the emotional trials and tribulations of attempting to hold the relationship together. Originally written as a love letter, it was reluctantly made into a song. Having found that it connected to our live audiences, the decision was made to release it as our second single. We’re always working on new material and can not wait to get back in the studio. 

Review Fix:  What are your goals for 2021?

Ferdinand: We can’t wait to reconnect with a live audience. Hopefully, later on in the year, this will be possible. And we aim to get as much music and content out as possible. 

Review Fix:  How do you want your music to affect people?

Ferdinand: I want to write songs that people can relate to on a human level. And if they can achieve a degree of solace through our music in the same way I did growing up. Then I’d be happy. So, I think relatability and hope. 

Review Fix:  What’s next?

Ferdinand: We’re spending some more time promoting the new single. Then we hope to be back in the studio recording the next. As well as get back out there to play live. 

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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