Q&A: The Uncontrollable Force of Split Chain’s ‘motionblur’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Photo Credit: Ashlea Bea
INSIDE SPLIT CHAIN’S UNSTOPPABLE RISE — There’s a phrase you’ll hear often in the company of Split Chain: “The Chain does what it wants.” It’s a mantra, and, in many ways, the only explanation for the band’s rapid, whirlwind ascent. Whether you call it instinct, fate, or pure chaos, Split Chain’s rise feels less like a career plan and more like being pulled along by a force entirely its own.
“Split Chain is something that none of us feel like we have any control of,” says frontman Bert Martinez-Cowles. “The Chain simply does what it wants and what it needs.”
That surrender to the unknown has carried the band to a pivotal moment: the release of their debut album, motionblur. Described by Bert as “a coming-of-age story,” the record channels the conflicting emotions of growing up; the angst and exhilaration, the joy and heartbreak, the identity crises and small triumphs. It’s deeply personal yet universally resonant, shaped as much by the members’ individual experiences as the whirlwind they’ve shared together over the past few years.
Listening to motionblur feels like being caught in a riptide — disorienting and immersive, but euphoric if you surrender to it. There are shades of their heroes, Deftones’ lush heaviness, Superheaven’s grunge grit, Narrowhead’s textural punch, are interlaced with bursts of nu-metal aggression, ripples of shoegaze haze, and a melancholy emo undercurrent. Grunge swerves in and out of view. Metallic edges crackle beneath the surface. Somehow, Split Chain pulls it all together into a singular, focused sound.
Motionblur is defiant in its vulnerability. “It’s a record that tells you it’s okay to be your authentic self,” Bert says. “This is the story of what we’ve been through, and this is the story of who we are today. You either let the things you have experienced define you, or you choose a different path. You can be whoever you want to be. If there’s one thing I hope people take from the album, it’s that.”
For Split Chain, motionblur is fueled by the same fiercely DIY spirit and unfiltered creative vision that have carried them this far. Their approach remains simple: trust the chain, embrace the chaos and hold on tight.
“We let chaos reign,” Bert says. “And we just try to hold on.”
Photo Credit: Ashlea Bea
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
TOM: The band’s universal influence is Deftones through and through. However, we all have specific musical niches and influences that all contribute to the sound of Split Chain. For example; Jake and Aaron both love early 2000s wrestle metal, Bert is heavily inspired by the grunge and emo revivals, Oli is huge on post hardcore and I really enjoy dark wave and new wave.
Aesthetically, the band is heavily influenced by the pop culture of the late 90s and early 2000s. Skate culture, wrestle culture, video games, physical media such as magazines and VHS, and TV and Film all contribute to the aesthetic of Split Chain.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
SPLIT CHAIN: The only thing we ever want to give our listeners is an authentic account of who we are, the things that have defined us as individuals and as a band and what has and continues to inspire us. We all agree that Spilt Chain has to be authentic first and foremost. It’s important that people receive authenticity from us so they in turn can relate to us and connect to our music in their own authentic way.
LUNA: You just released your debut record motionblur and a huge congratulations is in order! What is the inspiration behind the record and what are some themes and emotions you explore?
SPLIT CHAIN: Thank you so much! We’re all extremely proud of the record and we hope the work we put into it really shows. The primary inspiration for the record, at least lyrically, are the trials of life we’ve all been through. This is the first time the whole band has contributed to lyrics and I think it gives a great account of some of the things that we all went through growing up — whether that’s struggles with substance abuse, mental health or toxic personal relationships.
We tried to write the lyrics and the music as honestly as possible but in a way that still leaves them open to interpretation so that listeners can apply their own meaning to them. We like to think of the album of a coming of age story that presents true accounts of us and our personal struggles but also provides some semblance of hope in that whilst they were difficult for each of us; they played their parts in defining us and that ultimately we made it out the other side as better people.
LUNA: Motionblur was written across a four-month period in the summer of 2024—what was the creative energy like during that time? Did you go into writing with a clear vision, or did the direction take shape organically as you went along?
SPLIT CHAIN: None of us have written a record before, let alone had a team of people behind us with their own expectations, so we felt a lot of pressure when we started to write the album for sure.
There wasn’t an initial clear vision for the album at all. We went into the process completely blind with no idea what we were really doing or what to expect so much so that when we booked a weekend of writing at the start of the summer last year, it went awfully. We felt as though we were trying really hard to write things we thought people would like instead of writing the things that we like. That was a really important lesson in teaching us that the only way we were gonna be able to manage this is if we write for ourselves first and then consider everything else after. Once we had figured it out, the album started to write itself quite naturally and came together nicely and organically over that four month stretch.
LUNA: Tom mentioned wanting motionblur to feel like an album “meant to be played from start to finish.” What was the process like sequencing the tracklist? Were there particular emotional or sonic arcs you wanted to capture?
SPLIT CHAIN: In a world where it feels like people are only interested in playlists and singles, we really wanted to try and recapture the feeling of listening to and experiencing an album in full like we used to as kids. We spent a good few days in the studio really considering the tracklisting, the formatting of the record and the types of other sounds we wanted to include for the record. We wanted the album to flow as smoothly as possible, so everything down to the smallest details was considered to ensure that it flowed as naturally as we wanted it to.
LUNA: Do you have a personal favorite song on the album — one that feels closest to your heart or most revealing of who Split Chain is right now?
TOM: Everyone has their own individual favourite but mine is definitely “who am i?” It has the post punk, new wave vibe to it that I really like but more crucially the lyrics talk about the feelings of imposter syndrome we’ve all struggled with since Split Chain really started to gain momentum.
We have and probably do spend too much time worrying about whether or not we deserve the things we’ve received as a result of the band. We know the story of Split Chain and its fast growth isn’t common by any means, so we’ve consistently found ourselves questioning what it is we’ve done to deserve such incredible things. We can all be guilty of being our own worst critics, so the song is ultimately about working to overcome and block out the noise, negativity and feelings of inadequacy that stems from our own minds.
LUNA: What were some unexpected lessons you learned during the creative process, and how might those lessons shape the way you approach future projects?
SPLIT CHAIN: That the most important thing is believing in yourself and your own creative vision. Feel the expectations of other people and let that drive you instead of weigh you down. Writing for yourself in your own organic way for us will always be the key for us going forward.
LUNA: How are you celebrating the album release?
SPLIT CHAIN: We celebrated with a really cool album release show at a skate shop in Bristol. We had lots of fans, friends and family come out. We played a set for everyone and hosted giveaways. It was honestly the perfect way for us to celebrate and it’s going to be a memory we all cherish for the rest of our lives.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Luna?
SPLIT CHAIN: We are unbelievably grateful for every single opportunity we’ve been given and we’re so stoked on how well everything seems to be going. We’ve just finished a three week run in the US supporting the legends in Midrift. We get to enjoy a bit of time off now before we head out to play Burn It Down fest and then we’re back out to the US and Canada in the autumn supporting Counterparts.
Photo Credit: Ashlea Bea
