W: Rachel June
Cardiff’s rising alt-rock band The Poached announce the release of their brand-new single, Graveyard available 10th October on all major streaming platforms. Known for their raw energy and genre-blending sound, the band’s latest track channels the aggression of punk and rap rock into a high-octane concise anthem.
Graveyard was recorded in Treforest and demonstrates the writing evolution of the band with hard-hitting riffs and rapid-fire vocal delivery, effectively captured by producer Steffan Pringle.
“Graveyard is a love story about someone you should have left behind but didn’t,” says Dara Towoba,
vocalist for The Poached. “Ultimately, as much as you don’t want to admit it, leaving them would be the
best thing to happen. It’s about realising that toxicity and leaving it”
Who Are The Poached ?
Dara, Aiden, Joe, Fin & Wes. A group of people from Cardiff who are passionate about the music they make. It’s as simple as that.
For Someone That Is Yet To Discover You, How Would You Describe Your Music ?
Big guitars with even bigger vocals that always tell a story. We’ve got a bit of punk in there, pop rock too – a good mix of inspiration throughout that can be heard in each song.
What Inspires You As A Band ?
Our main inspiration is honestly our collective drive to make this work. We love to perform, we love to share our love with others and love to bring new groups of people together into rock music.
What Is Your Pre-Show Routine ?
A Guiness for Joe and a cosy cwtch for the rest of us! We always have a little band huddle wishing each other luck and hype the energy ready for us to get on stage - Theres nothing worse than 5 guys just casually walking onto a stage so we make sure we’re already hyped before we even step on the stage so we can go on jumping,
Where Do You Feel You Fit Into The Music Landscape ?
Growing up, lead singer Dara rarely saw herself represented in the rock scene she loved as a young black woman. While things have shifted with new voices emerging, there’s still something to prove: that the people who built this genre deserve their space within it. We’re not here to squeeze into a scene that overlooks us—we’re here to push it forward, to make rock more inclusive, and to remind everyone that this music has always belonged to all of us. That’s where we fit in.
What Are Your Favourite Musical Genres, And Are There Any You Dislike ?
Theres a collective love for alt rock, emo and punk which you can definitely hear in our songs. A lot of the vocals are very RnB/Soul inspired with some folk thrown in there too. Can’t forget Britpop which our drummer is OBSESSED with!
No genre is bad so we can’t say we hate any genre… with that being said, stomp clap music should never be played ever.
Is There A Story Behind The Band’s Name ?
The Poached came from the fact that when the band first started every member was ‘poached’ from a different band. Originally the name was going to be Dara and The Poached but that’s a bit too hippy tambourine for us so we stuck with The Poached. Dara and Aiden started off just playing acoustic open mics together and then the band kind of formed from there, meeting various cool people who wanted to play with us, then fast forward to now and you have The Poached.
What Would You Say Is Your Greatest Strength As An Band /Artist ?
We’re such a melting pot of inspiration and sound. Each of us have such different backgrounds and upbringings it means what we each bring to the band is incredibly unique and that together we believe is a special combination.
Song On Repeat Right Now ?
Good mix on this one. Aiden’s rocking out to Mayonnaise by The Smashing Pumpkins, Dara’s got Nueva Yoi by Bad bunny, Joe has Lefty by Title Fight, Fin’s got Under your Skin by fakemink and we ALL have Void by The Poached on repeat 😉
What Music Artists Would You Say Have Influenced Your Work ?
because their story telling is like no other and is something we aspire to be like eventually. Also, a lot of Grunge in there with the likes of Nirvana and Pixies with the big loud quiet loud sections of our songs. Then there’s just loads of artists who make us want to pick up instruments and play for the love of music, like Fontaines D.C., Kendrick Lamar, Maneskin, Oasis, Cleopatrick… we could go on forever.
Who Would You Most Like To Collaborate With Artistically ?
Theres a lot here too. Lyrically we always say Fleetwood Mac because their story telling is like no other and is something we aspire to be like eventually. Also, a lot of Grunge in there with the likes of Nirvana and Pixies with the big loud quiet loud sections of our songs. Then there’s just loads of artists who make us want to pick up instruments and play for the love of music, like Fontaines D.C., Kendrick Lamar, Maneskin, Oasis, Cleopatrick… we could go on forever.
Describe Your Sound In 3 Emojis ?
Biggest Obstacle & How Did You Overcome It ?
We all met at uni, and balancing studies and the band back then was a piece of cake… as we’ve graduated and got jobs, careers and moved around its become harder and harder to balance life priorities and still make time for the thing we love most – music. To overcome it, its about knowing why you do it and why you love it. That gives you the passion and energy to do it. Then to keep it moving forwards, you need to be regimental. We have massive to do lists and goals for the band and we make sure that, no matter how little time we have, at the end of each week, we must be closer to those goals than we were last week. Little bits here and there. Overtime it builds and you see the progress and realise that all that stress around balancing time and work and family and life has been worth it and then you can keep doing it because you know it works.
What Is Your Creative Process When Making Music ? Do You Work With Others Or Is It Just You ?
Creative process is a fun one. Often it starts with a guitar riff plonked into the WhatsApp group chat. Could only be 10 seconds long, but if it strikes something we will know. Then we will get into a room together and focus on a chorus and a fun melody to put with it as that’s what’s most important for us to love a song. Once we have a chorus and a general idea for where the song is going it’s an absolute free for all of chucking ideas at the wall until we play something that sticks and feel good to play it live. Even then though the song isn’t finished. After every live show there’s always an idea that someone’s thought off. And by the time we’ve come to record the song, there’s like half a dozen different versions and random riffs and vocal lines and drum fills we will sort through to make sure we have the best final version of the song we can create.
This Year, What Can We Expect ?
2025 has been big for us already with the most shows outside of Wales we’ve ever done. But to cap the year we have a new song coming out in October (10th) called Graveyard which is mega exciting as well as a couple support gigs here and there, but also a headliner in our hometown of Cardiff which everyone should totally check out!! 13th November at Fuel rock club! But yes, an exciting end to the year ready to hit 2026 with a bang.