Changing The Game: Artio on 'Soul Rot' and Their Headline UK Tour
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Written by Maddy Howell
Photo: Sherman Rabbit
It goes without saying that the majority of artists are motivated by their love of creation; the ability to bring something into the world using little more than the talents and influences of themselves and those around them. When Leeds-based four-piece Artio started out, that core purpose sat firmly in their hearts. Clutching their DIY spirit tightly with every step forward, they were focused on making music that means something, channelling the deepest parts of themselves into combustible alt anthems that connect people. They still are.
Factor in the realities of the music industry in 2026, though, and that simple ethos gets twisted into something far more complicated. As the influence of social media has grown, the line between art and content has blurred, with bands almost repackaged as brands. That dystopian fact lies at the centre of ‘Soul Rot’, Artio’s sprawling, self-assured second album, as they bite back at the industry’s fixation on algorithms and the pressure that artists face today.
When we ask vocalist Rae Brazill to recall the spark that ignited this era, they take us back to the release of 2023 EP ‘Pyrokid’. “We had a TikTok boom out of nowhere with Product Of My Own Design, and because of that we ended up beginning our debut album campaign way earlier than we wanted to,” they nod.
“The nature of the beast in this industry is to strike while the iron is hot. I like to take my time on things and make sure they’re right, but internal talks within the team led to us releasing Babyface earlier than we’d planned. After that, we weren’t thinking about album two. We’d had an insane year, I had just had my top surgery, and that’s when we wrote Bite Down.”
Having penned the track to capture the joy of finally feeling comfortable in their own body, that moment was swiftly met by the question Brazill was silently dreading: “So, is this the first song for album two?”
“It’s funny when you’re forced into doing something and wind up making the best thing you’ve ever made, largely because you’re doing it out of spite,” they laugh. “When you go from being a local band playing 200-capacity venues in your hometown to standing on the red carpet at the Heavy Music Awards…no one prepares you for that. You’re still the same person, but everything around you has changed. There’s this new set of rules to play by, and you have to learn on the job. That pressure is what led to this album. This is everything we’ve always wanted, but the way you have to do it in the era of the internet is not the way we wanted to do it.”
Advised to say yes to every opportunity and to alter integral parts of themselves to aid their career, Artio have grown tired of playing the industry’s game. Paradoxical and grippingly real, ‘Soul Rot’ isn’t here to be polite — encouraging other artists to ditch the hustle mentality, their intentions are clear from the first line of opener The Devil You Know: “Wise up or get fucked.”
“How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what you thought you’d always wanted?”, Brazill ponders. “That's the question I play with on the album. How far are you actually willing to go? Artists are encouraged to say they’d do anything for their career, but we shouldn't have to. Why should we do things that will dehumanise us or lower our self-respect? The way that we dreamed about being in a band as kids is not the way that it is anymore. You’re told that you have to evolve because it’s natural selection, but you shouldn’t have to completely cave in to it. If you want something to change, you have to change it. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
You can hear that snarling ambition throughout ‘Soul Rot’. It’s there in the radical reclamation of strength on Seven Suns, the delicate-yet-blistering self-reflection of O Negative, and the cinematic sweep of Let It Be A Void. Aiming their fire at those who exploit scenes, artists, and cultures for profit, Artio are also shining the spotlight on the community of alternative music, with guest appearances from artists in their local scene and beyond. Among the features on the record is a collaboration with As It Is on pop-punk anthem Full On Fight For Fun, which was written for Brazill’s sister. “I wanted a fun, upbeat song on the album to make her feel good,” the vocalist says with a smile.
“I know that Patty [Walters, As It Is vocalist] and Ben [Biss, As It Is vocalist/guitarist] both have sisters,” they continue. “We gave them the demo, they wrote their part on it, and they sent it back when we were about to play the last show of the Vukovi tour in Glasgow. I sat outside with my manager to listen to it, and I was nearly crying. That band was a huge part of our teenage years and having them on a song about my sister and I growing up is beyond special.”
It comes back to the assertion that binds every song on ‘Soul Rot’: that real people making real art still matter. For Artio, that’s the reason behind it all. It’s why everything is produced internally by drummer Ieuan Jones, why every decision surrounding their band is made with intent and purpose, and why their upcoming headline tour — kicking off in Nottingham on March 11 and running until March 21 in Manchester — is set to be their biggest yet.
“For me, the greatest part of being alive is being at a live gig,” Brazill says. “It’s emotion, skill, technicality, people, community and common ground in one room. With these shows, we want to make it feel as though you’re walking into one of our music videos. I want to immerse people in the visual universe that we’ve made for this album, to make them feel like they’re a part of it. Because they truly are.”
Artio’s ‘Soul Rot’ is out now on LAB Records.
Artio Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed March 11 2026 - NOTTINGHAM Rough Trade Nottingham
Thu March 12 2026 - LONDON Downstairs at The Dome
Fri March 13 2026 - BRISTOL Rough Trade Records
Thu March 19 2026 - GLASGOW Audio
Fri March 20 2026 - LEEDS Key Club
Sat March 21 2026 - MANCHESTER Deaf Institute - Lodge
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