Tag Archives: Interview

Interview: Beauty sleep

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Indietronica Staff

Beauty Sleep

Irish trio Beauty Sleep recently released their debut album, ‘Be Kind’ – a soundtrack to your summer, full of positive affirmations about self-love and good intentions.

We had a chat with them about music, and being kind.

Describe your sound in three words.

Groovy optimism with synths!

Your debut album ‘Be Kind’ is out now. What has the journey been like in writing and recording it?

We started writing/recording it early last year. We always said that when we do an album we’re gonna write it from scratch and try and tell a story. So we started with a blank page, which we naively thought we’d fill in a couple of weeks, but it took a bit longer than that!!

It was essentially just me and Ryan in a room, often late at night, writing and recording as much as we could for months. After a while, that scenario really burnt us out. This album really pushed us to make a decision on what we wanted our sound to be and what we wanted to say and it was a challenge! A good challenge, I’m so proud of the outcome and so much more confident about Beauty Sleep’s sound, but it was definitely a journey!!

We started super excitable, writing and recording a huge amount of songs we were really into. We got a quite burnt out, introspective and doubtful in the middle, we felt like we lost perspective on what we wanted to say. So we went to Donegal and shut ourselves away from the world – jumped in the sea and climbed cliffs and suddenly the music started flowing again. When we went back into the studio we could suddenly see what we were trying to say and what the album was about. That was super magical. It all came together and got finished really quickly after that!

What is the theme throughout the album?

The theme throughout the album is about being kind. Hence the name! This band and this album have marked a time in our lives where we really felt like we were growing up and changing. That awkward mid 20s era of trying to settle into the adult human version of yourself. We were learning how to be the best people we could be while facing challenging times – dealing with disappointment and fear and responsibility in ways we hadn’t before. Walking through anxiety and stress and loss. We were trying to be honest to ourselves and our loved ones, stay true to who we were but grow at the same time. These songs are a really honest depiction of that journey for us.

The overarching lesson we learnt was a mantra we would often repeat to each other – ‘just be kinder to yourself.’ Stop beating yourself up for no reason, it only holds you back. Extend that kindness and empathy to others, try to find the joy in the tough times. These felt like the most important lessons to hold onto and send out into the world in our music. So it felt fitting to call the album Be Kind. We hope people get some empowering comfort from the songs as they walk through their own journey. The whole album is a celebration of us feeling down and getting back up again!

What does 2019 and beyond have in store for Beauty Sleep?

We’re finishing off our album launch tour in our hometown Belfast in The Mac on June 29th! We’re so excited as the rest of the tour has been so amazing. The energy in the rooms has been insane! So this will be a big homecoming celebration.

For the next few months, we’ll be playing lots of festivals and shows across UK, Ireland and Europe, celebrating Be Kind whenever we go! Beyond that, more songs, more albums, more shows. This band has been such an adventure for us and seeing the joy it brings others makes us want to do it forever!

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

At the minute we’ve been listening to a lot of new releases from WHY?, Two Door Cinema Club, Chaka Khan, Pillow Queens, Hex Hue and Soak. We’ve got extra long playlists at the minute from all the touring, so I could go on for ages!!

Sounds like: All Tvvins, Pleasure Beach, Passion Pit, Bleachers

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Interview: OKBADLANDS

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Indietronica Staff

OKBADLANDS - Tiny Measures

Brisbane-based OKBADLANDS (aka Kate Gurren and Sally Latter) have released their highly anticipated debut EP, ‘Tiny Measures’. It’s a body of work that explores the duo’s thoughts and feelings at the time of writing the EP, as well as a showcase of their instrumental development.

We had a chat with the girls…

Describe your sound in three words.
It goes alright.

You’ve spent a year writing, experimenting and re-inventing your sound. How has your home city of Brisbane helped you with your creativity?
There’s a really good music community in Brisbane. Writing with our Brisbane friends only helps you grow as a musician so we love it.

What was it like working with Golden Vessel and GXNXVS on your debut EP, ‘Tiny Measures’?
Golden Vessel is like our little brother. We loved working with him! He is the King of Brisbane beats. Can’t count the number of days we spent chilling in his studio hanging out and workshopping tracks. GXNXVS is a cool fella too. That writing processes was more sending back of forth of ideas, but it was cool working with such talent.

The EP artwork is really cool. Tell us about it.
A little something something we stumble across by Carla Uriarte. She’s got a lot of cool stuff it’s worth checking out. The part was kind of love at first sight. We think the aesthetic really matches the EP’s sound!

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?
Love me some of Lecrea‘s new album.

Sounds like: Golden Vessel, TENDER

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Interview: RÜFÜS

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

RÜFÜS

Sydney-based band, RÜFÜS, are back with a new video and a cool remix of ‘Be With You’

Considering RÜFÜS tour non stop, we were pretty lucky to tie them down for an interview. Unfortunately, we still haven’t gotten to the bottom of the name difference in North America and the rest of the world…

Hi RÜFÜS, we are huge fans! For those of you who don’t know you yet, tell us a bit more about yourself and how you all got into music.

Calling the band RÜFÜS was a decision we made because we liked the way it sounded foreign to us, and also because it was quite symmetrical on paper, which we liked also. However, we didn’t think that most people would assume RÜFÜS is the name of the singer in the band. We’ve been trying to get people to realise we are a 3 piece live act for the past few years. They don’t get it even when they come to a show.

Why do you call yourselves RÜFÜS du Sol in North America, but RÜFÜS in the rest of the world?

Our attorney has advised that legal reasons is the appropriate answer.

Describe your sound in three words.

Never ending touring.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

So many places. They are different for each of us. We listen to a lot of contemporary music to get inspired. Recently, we’ve been listening to a lot of Radiohead, Moderat, HAELOS, Bob Moses, Leon Vynehall etc. In the past it was Booka Shade in a massive way. They are the godfathers.

Friend Within has just released a remix of your track, ‘Be With You’. How did that come about?

We’ve wanted him to work on a remix for a while.

You are playing your biggest show to date in London in October. Tell UK fans why this will this be such a great show!

We’ve heard the venue is special. The first night sold out so we’ve announced another show, so we’re always in a very good mood when we get to do 2 shows back to back without driving, flying somewhere in between. It’s a real treat for us so we’ll make sure we are good to those who made it possible 😉

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

Answered this one above. But, Anderson Paak and Blood Orange have really nailed it this year.

Sounds like: Cut Copy, Foals, Booka Shade, Holy Ghost!, Midnight Juggernauts, Goldroom

Interview: Will Joseph Cook

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

Will Joseph Cook

Will Joseph Cook is a Kent-based pop act. Although he creates wistful tunes, he often has comedic tendencies.

We had a chat with the young man about growing up and his recent videos.

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about Will Joseph Cook and how you got into music.

When I was young teenager I went to a lot of gigs with my dad. It was almost every other weekend, I became pretty infatuated with what it meant to be an artist and seeing all the different ways people react to music. Having those experiences definitely made me want to write songs and play my own shows.

Describe your sound in three words.

Your wildest dreams.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

Like most, my dad and older sibling’s records had a big influence on me. Some of the early constants were bands like Eels, Beck, Supergrass, Super Furry Animals, Fatboy Slim… Then as i got a bit older and started buying my own records some of the first were Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Darwin Deez, Calvin Harris, Bright Eyes…

You like starring in your own videos. The video for ‘Girls Like Me’ shows you taking on various different characters, including a few sassy ladies, whilst your new video for ‘Take Me Dancing’ features you dancing around an office.

Where did the idea behind these two videos come from, and were they fun making?

Both were a lot of fun to make for sure. I find that with most ideas they just come into my head randomly. With the last two I have tried to take the titles of the songs and base the idea around to give the track a second meaning.

You’ve just been signed to Atlantic. How does that feel?

Feels great, anything that helps my music reach more people is awesome.

You’ll be playing the first ever Neighbourhood Festival in Manchester on October 8th. Have you got any other shows lined up this year?

I’m playing Reading & Leeds, Y NOT festival, In The Woods and a bunch of other festival dates this summer. Hopefully I will have some headline show announcements in the coming months.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

I’ve been listening to band called Beatenberg today, not super new but have been enjoying recently. Also the latest Villagers album is great.

Sounds like: Darwiz Deez, Dan Croll

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Interview: Raindear

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

Raindear

Disclosure: I am RAINDEAR’s publicist at the time of writing.

Soon to be the name of everyone’s lips, we caught up with Raindear; the musical project of Swedish artist, Rebecca Bergcrantz.

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about Raindear and how you got into music.

Raindear is the umbrella term for my musical little universe and it consists of songs written, produced and sung mostly by myself. I got into music when I was born as my parents are both musicians and involved me in their projects right away. However I got in to the electronic scene maybe five years ago when I lived in London.

You’ve previously mentioned that you’re not a huge fan of the Swedish music scene. Tell us more!

It’s not that I don’t respect what’s coming out of here and I’m generalising big time when I talk about it. I just sometimes think there are a lot of predictable pop here, it can be very generic and “inside the box”. BUT there are some exceptions for sure. I love and respect some stuff! Niki and the Dove are always great, among a lot of others.

Describe your sound in three words.

Psychedelic, angelic, apocalyptic.

You are playing London in August. What can fans expect from a Raindear show?

You can expect an intense set with harmonies, beats and heavy bass.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

I have a lot of world music influences. I’m a huge fan of world music. And I make music by a jazz philosophy.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

I don’t listen to anything brand new at the moment but the best advice I have is that everyone should listen to Ott, he’s a demon! He released an album last year and it’s completely insane.

Raindear is offering a free download of her tribute cover to Prince. How lovely!

Sounds like: Little Dragon, Thandi, Ballet School, Kate Boy, Lykke Li, Phantogram, Santigold, SBTRKT, CSS, Grace Lightman

Interview: Klue

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

Klue

We caught up with Sydney singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Klue, who merges an array of musical cultures to create his sound.

Read our interview below.

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about Klue.

Klue is my alter ego & solo project when I’m not making music with True Vibenation. It started off just as a production / remix project but it’s grown into a show that involves me running between turntables, saxophone, vocals, and the SPD, and it’s pretty much taken over my life recently!

The sound has been described as Afrogarage, which is a term I kinda like, but it’s pretty much me trying to mulch together all the different sounds that excite me and get away with it.

Your music incorporates Afrobeat, electronic beats and soul. It’s a pretty eclectic and cultural mix! Tell us more.

I’m a fan of a whole bunch of different styles of music and I’m inspired by a pretty wide variety of other musicians, so when I’m writing there’s often bits of different sounds bouncing around in my head. I think it’s taken me until very recently to be able to bring them all together in a way that really works.

I grew up with a lot of Soul music around the house and I think that shows up in my music particularly in my vocals, and the way I approach horn sections. Even as a kid I found electronic music really exiting (I think I must have mostly heard it in Movie soundtracks, as it wasn’t really on radio in Australia in those days) and I’ve been Dj’ing in nightclubs since I was old enough to be let in, and that’s where my interest in making electronic music began.

As a teenager a band mate introduced me to Fela Kuti, and that was a bit of a revelation which led to me hunting out a lot of music I might not have otherwise found, and that has definitely influenced my sound.

Describe your sound in three words.

Bouncy, frenetic, Afrobass.

Your fab EP, ‘Daybreak’, is out now. You compiled the EP pretty much yourself. Was it a tough process?

Yeah on this one I wanted to do everything myself (almost). I wrote, recorded, mixed and produced the whole record, which was a mammoth undertaking. I got my True Vibenation band mate Moody in to play some trumpet on ‘Hiding’, and Sameer Sengupta mastered the record, but the rest of it was just me racking up a massive sleep debt!

To me the sound textures and mixing is so much a part of what makes an electronic production what it is, and it’s something that I’ve spent years working on, so it was important for me to handle as much of that side of things as possible.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

I was thinking about this recently and I realised one of my biggest influences is probably my mum, even though she’s not a musician per se. She used to sing to us when we were kids, and the music she introduced us to, particularly the stuff that would be on the Hi Fi when she had parties – Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Toots & The Maytals, James Brown etc. – has definitely informed the music I create. In terms of electronic music, Bonobo, Hermitude, Burial, Todd Edwards, James Blake and Hudson Mohawke are names that come to mind.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

I’m loving the new Dro Carey EP is dope! I’ve also been listening to the new L-Fresh The Lion album ‘Become’ too, which is such an impressive record!

Like what you hear? Klue’s debut EP, ‘Daybreak’ is out now.

Sounds like: Jamie xx, Nimmo, Jungle, Fela Kuti, Hermitude, D’Angelo, Bonobo, Fat Freddy’s Drop

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Interview: Bad Pony

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

Bad Pony

On a seaside coast far far away from Brighton, are a band called Bad Pony. They may offer similar sounds to those of Brighton-based bands, but will no doubt have better tans.

We caught up with the boys.

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about Bad Pony and how you all got into music and where the name came from.

We are a 5 piece from Sydney, Australia. Sam and I (Jarred) used to play in a bluesy rock band. I was the drummer and we started writing songs as a side-project so I could have a fang at singing. We sent the tunes around and got asked to do a 20 date tour so we put together a band of former lead singers and multi-instrumentalists to cover all the parts. That was in 2013, so since then we’ve lost a drummer and cover our percussion parts by splitting a drum kit amongst us.

The name came from our guitarist Cron. Back in his motherland of South Africa he was a Shetland trainer. The night we met him he told us this really long winded joke that won us over. I can’t really remember it but the punchline was ‘Bad Pony’.

Describe your sound in three words.

Hurdling. Gyration. Jiu-jitsu.

What’s your current single, ‘Sideways’ all about?

Sideways is about celebrating the diffusion a potentially volatile situation.

Are there any plans to tour further afield than Australia, in the near future?

Not at the moment. We’re pretty keen to get something happening in New Zealand and the UK next year.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

We’re all over the place. I grew up listening to a lot of Michael Jackson but I think I’ve learned a lot & taken on influences playing with different bands in different genres over the years. In recent times my favourite artists have been Manchester Orchestra, Closure in Moscow & Swim Season. As a collective I think we lean towards music that is clever, catchy and interesting.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

Middle Kids ‘Edge of Town’
Swim Season ‘Gold Cloak City’

Sounds like: High Tyde, Dive In, Two Door Cinema Club, The Island Club, Ivy Nations, Swim Season, Local Natives, Phoenix, Prides

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Interview: The Island Club

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

The Island Club

The Island Club are a five-piece from Brighton, who provide uplifting indie music with quirky melodies, dreamy soundscapes and disco licks.

We had a chat with Sam from the band, just in time for this year’s The Great Escape festival in their local town of Brighton.

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about The Island Club and how you all got into music.

We’re 5 people from separate parts of the England, brought up on different types of music, all coming together in Brighton to combine it all into a funky synth mess.

Has living in Brighton had any influence on the sunny vibe in your music?

I’m sure it has to some extent, although I think we’ve written our summeriest songs in cold times of year. It’s probably some sort of escapism.

Describe your sound in three words.

Synthy, groove-juice.

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

They’re pretty varied across the band, and we don’t want to lean on our influences too heavily. Having said that, there are some common influences that most of us share, like Tame Impala and Peace. We love big sounds and we’ve definitely been influenced by psychedelic music, but we also enjoy writing pop music, so it’s a toss-up.

You’ve received great praise from some cool blogs and radio stations. What does that feel like?

It feels great! We’re really proud of what we make, so it’s really nice to see others enjoying it as well, especially those who are exposed to a lot of music.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

We’ve all been listening to different things, but we’ll just list some of them out:

Bibio’s new album “A Mineral Love”
Mura Masa’s new single “What If I go?”
Kllo have a single out from an upcoming EP called “Bollide”
Methyl Ethel’s awesome album “Oh Inhuman Spectacle”
The new The 1975 album

The boys will be playing The Hope & Ruin as part of TGE, today at 2:30pm – 3:00pm.

Sounds like: TOWER, Great Good Fine Ok, Youth Club, Olly Murs

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Interview: Draper

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

Draper

After moonlighting as a prolific producer to pop stars (Rita Ora, Lapsley), Draper is finally breaking as a solo artist.

We decided to have a chat with the UK-based multi-instrumentalist.

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about yourself and how you got into music.

I was born in France, grew up in London, and when I was about 16 I wanted to find out how drums and synths were made electronically so I did! I taught myself everything from the ground up, it took a while…

You are a songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist. Tell us the pros and cons of each.

Song writing is the best, there’s nothing like creating something from absolutely nothing, it’s massively exciting.

Producing is great because you can make someone else’s writing a reality, which can be hugely challenging at times but also very rewarding.

Playing instruments is something I don’t do enough of, I write ‘in the box’ meaning I do almost all instrumentation on the computer, I would love to have a studio with a wide variety of hardware that I can jam on, much more fun than sequencing midi.

Describe your sound in three words.

Eclectic synth party

What was it like working with Jazz Morley on her new track?

Really great, she’s an awesome song writer and I love her vocal tone!

Where do you cite your musical influences from?

All over the place, there’s not really one specific one, when I hear something that inspires me I find a way to use the same techniques (never copy).

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

I’ve been listening to Flume‘s new single a lot, I find him a real inspiration because his sound pushes producer technique ‘norms’, I’d love to see him live too.

Sounds like: Pistol Shrimp, Passion Pit, The Maccabees

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BKLYN – Don’t Even Care

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Indietronica Staff

BKLYN

BKLYN are an alternative pop trio from Devon, UK, comprised of Josh (lead vocal / guitar), Alex (bass) and Jack (drums).

We caught up the guys to discuss Devon, musical influences and what their sound is all about (in four words, not three!).

For those of you who don’t know you, tell us a bit more about yourself and how you got into music.

Hi I’m Josh, I sing and play guitar. You’ve got Jack who plays the drums and Alex who also sings and plays the bass. We’ve all lived most of our lives in a small town on the coast of Devon. All 3 of us started playing music in different bands and through the playing of local shows, you kind-of got to meet and know who everyone was through the music “scene” – ’cause to be honest it doesn’t really exist where we are unless you venture inland a few more miles. But how we actually got into music started when we were all pretty young, I think we’ve now all got an urge/strive and passion to create a sound we can call ours.

Describe your sound in three words.

Lovesick Pop, Electronic, Ambient.

You’ve definitely got a The 1975 vibe going on. Where do you cite your musical influences from?

We have been told that our music resembles theirs and we’re humbled to hear that, but we couldn’t say that we were influenced by them in general. Our influences differ depending on which one of us you ask; we have American Football, Brain Eno, Peter Gabriel, Chairlift, Blood Orange, Sia, Neon Indiana, Bowie, I mean the list can go on. But we do have a huge mutual appreciation for hip/hop and take a lot of narration from the percussion and bass lines. It’s hard to narrow it down to a select few artists.

Tell us who the new release ‘Don’t Even Care’ is about?

Its kind a revenge song in my head, but its pretty self explanatory. I lead more towards it being in your face rather than it being vague and shadowing its truth, which is how I used to like to write. It needed to be more full fontal. Its pretty much about not caring about something special and being blatant about it, when you’re preaching to everyone that you did care. I’m heading down this self righteous road on how I’m writing these songs at the moment and most of the new songs we’ve yet to release will tell you that. Its exciting because we feel like this is the step we need to take in writing new music.

We love new music at Indietronica. What new music are you listening to?

Josh – I’m smashing out ZAYN‘s new album, theres some great new sounds I’ve not really heard on songs before which I love.
Alex – been listening to KANO and Deftone’s new albums.
Jack – it been LANY for me.

Sounds like: The 1975, Fickle Friends, BLAJK, High Tyde, SKIES, The Northcoast

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