Hailing straight from Cape Town, South Africa, newcomers to music Civil Twilight really know how to impress. This three-piece rock band fuses guitar, piano and soft vocals to create a sound similar to that of Coldplay, The Fray and Muse. Release got the chance to talk to lead singer Steven McKellar about his band, the transition to the United States and its goals for the future.

Release: Tell us about the formation of your band. How long have you been together?

Steven McKellar: It’s always been me and my brother, and then we met Rich. We’ve been playing together for a long time, since I was about 14. We were always writing songs and bumming around for years, just trying to work out what this music thing was about. Then we realized we should really try to be a serious band, and we hit the States. It’s been a long time.

R: What is the significance behind the name Civil Twilight?

SM: We had a few days to pick a name and were looking up terms that had to do with aviation. We all just looked up some stuff, found civil twilight and went for it. We pretty much just ran with it and now it’s grown on all of us.

R: How were you influenced growing up in South Africa?

SM: You are where you come from and your surroundings mold your values. I think we’ve gained a lot from growing up there. The culture is pretty laid back and we had time to work out what we wanted to do and what our passions were. We really just had a lot of time. Musically, there were only a few radio stations, so we just got on anything we could find. There wasn’t an oversaturation of music and we had to scrape and search for anything we could find.

R: What was it like moving to the United States?

SM: It was totally different and very overwhelming. We moved to L.A. and we were like three ragamuffins straight off the plane. It took us a while to figure out where we were and our surroundings.

R: Do you find that the music scene is different in the U.S.?

SM: Yes, it’s absolutely different. South Africa is influenced a lot by British culture and a lot of music we have comes from England and Europe. That’s the biggest thing. There is a giant industry in the United States for music, but there is not really an industry in South Africa. You can only get so far; you can’t really make a living.

R: How would you describe your sound? Who are your influences?

SM: I don’t actually have a label in terms of trying to describe our music, that’s your job [laughs]. Growing up I loved rock, grunge bands from the U.S. and U.K., bands like Oasis, Pixies, The Verve and Radiohead. Today, we all have personal things that inspire us. For me, the bands I love are Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Interpol.

R: You’ve put out one album already. Are you recording anything right now?

SM: We just recorded this album, so we haven’t booked any new studio time or really thought about what we’re going to do next. We’re always dabbling in the chair trying to put something together. We’re just living it day by day, but we’re always trying to work on new stuff.

R: A link on your website leads to a blog titled, “Letters From the Sky.” Do you all write on it? What types of things do you like to post?

SM: We started it a while ago. It’s just another avenue for us to express what inspires us or what we’re thinking, usually a quote or a photo. We love people that really like what we say and read the blog and comment. I haven’t written in a while though, so now you’ve reminded me to put something up there, thanks!

R: What do you see for the future?

SM: Right now, I think the goal is just to keep building our fan base. We have fans all over the country and it’s really rewarding going to a city one month and going back the next month and seeing more people. The feeling is very hard to describe, but that’s our goal. Just to keep writing, keep the creative flow going and thinking as much as I can, so I can get it all out when we write the next record.

R: Any final words?

SM: Just keep listening!