Formed in Canterbury in 2015, the quartet released their début EP that same year. Modern
Age was well received by UK Independent press, Radio and Music TV and laid the
foundation for the band’s sound: heavy riffs intertwined with undeniable choruses provided
by the rare talent of vocalist Rhys Taylor.
The videos for Modern Age and follow up single Black Hole Passenger were both playlisted
on Scuzz TV, while an unreleased 3 rd track, Save Me From Myself has racked up over
100,000 plays on YouTube.
The EP’s title track received multiple plays from Alex Baker at Kerrang! Radio who spoke
highly of the band and enthused about the EP: “It floored me with the tenderness of Lonely
The Brave and the balls of Lower Than Atlantis.” 
Modern Age was also Track of the Week on BBC Introducing, and was playlisted on
Planet Rock’s New Rock show for April 2016.
The EP also received some great press with the Punk Archive calling the EP “modern pop-
rock at its finest”, New Roots magazine giving it 8/10 and declaring it as “built for Stadiums
and Arenas”, and Fireworks Magazine labelling The Alchemy “one of the best new bands to
come out of 2016”.
With the EP being so well received, the band - self-managed, with no label or booking agent
- hit the UK live circuit and toured relentlessly over the next year playing a huge number of
small club shows and support slots, forging a tight, powerful live set yet with all the honesty
and rawness you’d hope for in a young band.
Support slots with UK compatriots Mallory Knox, London-based Kiwi rockers I Am Giant
and celebrated German alt-prog band The Intersphere showed that The Alchemy could
more than hold their own on the larger stages and in front of the increased crowds provided
by those opportunities.
During a particularly rapturous performance with I Am Giant at the Camden Assembly in
2016, the band caught the eye and ear of I Am Giant bassist Paul Matthews. A London-
based producer with a string of gold and platinum selling records in New Zealand to his
credit, Matthews saw something special in The Alchemy.
“The band was just awesome,” he recalls. “Talented musicians, and the lead singer Rhys
has an excellent, unique voice. I saw so much potential - I just had to work with these guys!”
After refining more than 30 song sketches, recording began in May 2017 with Matthews at
the helm as Producer/Engineer. Recording took place in the Alchemy’s own studio in
Canterbury which the band had kitted out with a little help from a family member with a
history in the UK rock scene. Vocalist Rhys Taylor recalls:
“I remember I was 16 years old and I asked my Uncle who owned a recording studio and
was tour managing bands like Klaxons and Eagles of Death Metal if he had any advice for
me on the music industry. And he just said “Don’t Bother”.”

Taylor didn’t listen, of course. He just kept writing and playing, and once his uncle heard
Modern Age, he changed his tune considerably.
“I think he realised how much passion we had for our music and he gave us a load of studio
gear that we used to equip our own studio.”
Fast forward to August 2018 and with a short trip to Berlin to mix and master the record, and
The Alchemy have their first full length album titled ‘Chemical Daydream’ finished and
ready to go. Guitarist Luke Welch reflects on its creation:
‘‘Playing with some great other bands all around the country gave us the chance to up our
game. And working with an experienced team like Paul and Sebastian Braunreuther in
Berlin, along with having our own studio has meant we’ve managed to realize our creative
vision and we couldn’t be happier with how this record has turned out.”
With Chemical Daydream’s rich, melodic tapestry of intricate instrumentation and hard-
hitting songs, Taylors huge and unique vocal performance, The Alchemy have found a way
to seamlessly weave their eclectic influences into an electrifying sneak peak at UK rock to
come.