Get to know: Brine!

By: Abena Oppon

On behalf of Music Fund, Abena Oppon interviews Brine! as part of a five-part series leading up to the Battle of the Bands on Saturday in the Union’s Main Bar.

This Saturday, St Andrews will see its biggest inter-band competition yet. Organised by the Union’s Music Fund subcommittee, nine bands will battle it out to be crowned the best student band in town. As the event draws near, Hearing Aid has collaborated with Music Fund to introduce you to some of them. Some parts of these interviews have been edited for clarity.

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How did you all meet, and how did you decide to start playing together?

Brine!: We all met on a group Tinder date, and after experiencing immediate and intense physical chemistry have been playing music ever since.

What is everyone’s most memorable performance so far? 

Brine!: We all agree that our most memorable performance was the time we played inside the St Andrews Brewing Company.

What are your thoughts on the music scene here in St Andrews overall?

Brine!: Raincheck and Downstem are hunks <3 

Do you have any pre-performance rituals and if so, can you tell us more about them? 

Brine!: The day of a Brine! performance starts early. After a sleepless night of chanted hymns and visualisation, we convene behind St Andrews’ Tesco Express at 5 o'clock A.M. GMT, well before the ascendance of the Great Bright Circle. After lying spread-eagle in comfortable silence enjoying each other’s bodies for exactly 2 hours while the bins are hauled away (IF it is bin day which sometimes coincidentally falls on the same day as our gigs!) we sit up straight, one after another, establish meaningful and intimate eye contact, and begin to hum. This allows us to understand on a nonverbal level what each of our goals is for that day, as well as our like mood as a group, and is an essential team-building activity which at least a few of us deeply cherish! 

This also achieves a feeling of mutual spiritual release which makes us feel liberated and sometimes inspires one or more of us to run and splash naked through the shallows of West Sands. As we laugh and frolic in the salty spray, our faces shining, the world slows down and our minds are filled with wonder, wonder like that felt by a young child staring out the window and seeing a deciduous tree shedding its leaves for the first time in her life, wonder like that experienced by stadium-goers as John Hall kicked a 40-yard field goal in overtime to rally the Jets from a 30-7 deficit and clinch a 40-37 victory against the Dolphins to complete the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in NFL history, we are, finally, at peace.  

What are your hopes and plans for the future for Brine?

Brine!: That we can all still be friends after our last gig, the Battle of the Bands.

Finally, what part of Battle of The Bands are you most looking forward to? 

Brine!: Losing.