Third Arrow is the enigmatic solo project of an unnamed ex-session musician. A politically charged post-punk artist from London, blending raw lyricism and cutting satire. Think Sleaford Mods meets Baby Dave with a DIY ethic and a mission to turn music into political power.
Joined by another esteemed drummer from Indifferent Engines, the duo delivers heavy groove driven drums and guitar with ableton live electronics and gritty dark vocals with the occasional beautiful melody and political speech.
With “i <3 my algo_rhythm” out now, we took some time to hear from Third Arrow. Read below to learn more about Third Arrow, the story behind “i <3 my algo_rhythm,” and what’s to come.
Hi Third Arrow! Let’s start with how did you get your artist name?
The name is a reference to the international symbol of anti-fascism, the three arrows, which are in my logo. I like it because its a story of how the political left can co-opt imagery, not just the right. The 3 arrows originated in post-war Germany as a symbol of the social-democrats. The arrows stood for anti-monarchy, anti-fascism, and anti-communism. As you can imagine it was quite a divisive symbol. However, now anti-fascists of all persuasions happily fly under the shared banner.
What city are you from and where are you based now?
London, born and bred.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
I picked up music pretty late despite showing a lot of signs of early talent. It had always been a part of my growing up, a way of making sense of a chaotic world, but I was indoctrinated by the school system to think that it wasn’t worth pursuing. I got to the end of school and was about to go to uni to do psychology, and I just thought ‘I can’t do this to myself’ and didn’t turn up, instead doubling down on music.
Has your upbringing played a role in shaping who you are and defining your sound today? If so, how?
I wasn’t raised in a household of musicians. I didn’t know where to go with my music when I was younger and made some pretty naive decisions. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it though because back then I was making very different music and I hadn’t solidified my political consciousness. I think the two go hand in hand.
Do you know the old Taoist story of the old man and his horse? This guy in ancient China, he goes through all these mad ups and downs. Losing all his fortunes, gaining them back, losing them again, and almost losing his only son. The whole time the local villagers come round and say ‘you must be so happy,’ or ‘you must be so sad.’ Each time this badboy says ‘…maybe.’ Each time the good news turns out to be a poison chalice and the bad news turns blessing in disguise.
Basically, you never know what your experiences are gonna lead to. Initial success can be your future downfall, and learning from failure is the most consistent way to learn. I’m glad for those naive decisions and the experiences it led me to that now allow me to feel so confident in my musical and political decisions.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
There’s been a noticeable shift in the global mindset over the past five years. Faced with so much more time on their hands during COVID, a vast number of people started paying a lot more attention to the wider world. Now they can’t look away. This has fast-tracked us on a complex path through disgust, hope, despair, freedom, nihilism, and absurdism. I’m just creating a musical medium through which we can try to understand ourselves.
Sonically, it draws on a tradition of post-punk, where people liked the energy and politics of punk, but they also wanted to dance. So we started to introduce jagged synths, weird tones, and rhythms that make you wanna move your body in weird ways. It’s for sure the best way to dance at the end of the world, and hopefully the way to move into a new one.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
I create alternative economies outside of capitalism, empowering communities to take ownership of their own land, businesses, food, and power. I used to make interesting lamps and visual art, but the individualisation of the music industry means that I have to spend more time on promotion and less time actually making art.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
It’s a pretty broad genre is post-punk. Which has led to a lot of people saying its a meaningless genre, but I think ‘punks who wanna dance’ is a pretty good way of capturing it. That stretches from OG janky guitar stuff from bands like Gang of Four, through to their logical conclusion with groups like IDLES. There’s a great stream of GrlPunk that has a particular sound that comes from a garage-rock revival in bands like SPRINTS and Panic Shack. Then, there’s groups that have dug more into the electronic side of things like Joe Unkown and SOFTPLAY’s solo spinoff Baby Dave.
I also take a lot of influence from hip-hop, from early 90s old school stuff like Public Enemy, through to Robert Glasper, through to slow.thai.
Who would be a dream to collaborate with?
My dream music collaboration would be with SPRINTS. I love their energy, and I think we could bring some really mad sonic energy together with my electronics. Blisters on blisters baby – it can only end well.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your music career so far?
I played some pretty big gigs in my session musician days. Famous stages to big crowds that can make people go wide eyed at a party. But, I didn’t love ‘em. In fact, they were really bad for my mental health ’cause I always wanted to play the next big thing. My most favourite gigs have been small clubs where you can get really sweaty and intimate with the other musicians and the audience.
Unfortunately, its becoming increasingly hard to do these gigs. People have gotten so used to their Spotify algorithm serving them big or upcoming acts. People don’t take the initiative to explore music scenes themselves and support those smaller venues, instead they get served artists who are playing some crappy O2 venue with a crappy sound system and no vibes.
What would you say are the greatest lessons that you’ve learned so far?
Aim for tomorrow. You’ve gotta enjoy the process of art. That’s the whole point. The recording or live show is a byproduct of creativity. If you get too focused on on the chaff, you’ll never make wheat.
Now onto your release, ‘i <3 my algo_rhythm.’ What inspired this song? What is ‘i <3 my algo_rhythm’ about?
It’s a love letter to the doomscroll. I just love that quick release dopamine. Getting to the end of some tease video about nothing that gets me to the edge of frustration, that I need to watch another video to re-calibrate my brain chemistry. WHAT A RUSH! Isn’t this just the pinnacle of human technology? We’ve surpassed the mechanical world and we’re now re-engineering our own brains to make us more passive and obedient. I just love how it makes everyone desensitised to the violence unfolding before our very eyes. So convenient.
What was the creative process like when making this song?
Long. All my latest releases started as just a freeform creative writing exercise. 3 A4 pages on a subject. Don’t stop writing, don’t think. Then, condense that down into its core ideas and some memorable phrases. I lock them away in my subconscious, and then build the synths and other instruments with the raw emotion, before returning to write the lyrics over the emerged structure and then edit, write, repeat, until a song wriggles its way out the opaque cocoon of creativity, or I lose my mind and give up. This song was a combination of both.
How long did it take to complete ‘i <3 my algo_rhythm?’
Well, I’ve been forced (by rent hikes) to move out of two rental houses since then, so I’d say about fifteen months. I think you can feel some of that frustration in the vocal delivery.
What message do you hope fans take away from your music and from ‘i <3 my algo_rhythm?’
Capitalism seems inescapable, but so did the divine right of kings!
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects, or do you have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
Lots of exciting things. I’m starting a jam session at Matchstick Piehouse in London on July 29th, with the aim of being an open community space where people can bring their individual problems and build collective action solutions. I’m gigging Third Arrow as a duo. Myself on guitar, vocals, and live electronics, with a drummer. We’re probably gonna recruit a guitarist in the near future too.
Where can we follow you on social media?
https://www.instagram.com/third.arrow
https://www.tiktok.com/@third.arrow
https://www.youtube.com/@Third_Arrow
https://www.facebook.com/people/Third-Arrow/61563071737907/
https://x.com/Third_Arrow_
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
