Interviews

Music | Cleavers | Interview

Tuesday, 30 April 2013 21:16 Tristan Metcalfe

Cleavers are an energetic, raw and talented trio from Elgin. I caught up with them as part of their April Tour, on their Edinburgh date (18/04) at the Jekyll and Hyde Pub. The interview was done in their practical and spacious Renault Scenic, and Danny Crombie, Craig Cantlie and Robi Lambie talked about their new 7”, life on tour (including the use of fireworks on stage), and what it means to be a “DIY band”, if anything at all.

Samarth: I'm here with Cleavers, sitting in their Renault Scenic, with Danny, Craig and Robi. Are you guys busy, right in the middle of your UK Tour?

Craig: First date tonight in Edinburgh, starting a run of 7 gigs is it?

Danny: Something like that yeah, we're always busy, we're always doing something.

And you've got a 7” coming out?

D: It's out, it's out yeah! Technically out on the 20^th [April] but it's out today. Came in the post yesterday. And that's called Give Up/I Can't Wait Around For You.

There's a download track that comes out with the 7”?

D: Yeah that's a Joy Division cover and another version of the maiden tracks.

S: And that's for the hipsters?

D: (laughs) That's it yeah, all about appealing to different markets, we're quite savvy with that.

C: Yeah we appeal to hipsters that's our market.

So if you could describe yourself in three words, how would you do it?

D: As people or as a band?

S: Whatever you want.

Robi: (laughs) As a person, I'm angsty, raw and undefined.

D: Doesn't undefined cancel out the other two?

R: Oh yeah I'm refined, I'm refining myself all the time..

D: I just work. That's just me. I just do things.

C: Sexual Explosion, mixed with a bit of pain. Painful sexual explosion.

S: Is that how you'd describe your band as well?

C: Probably.

D: Loud, relentless,

R: Brash.

D: Not brash.

R: Energy!

D: No well there's hidden qualities and that shit to it. There's like melody and that shit to it.

So how did you get to be so loud coming from a place like Elgin?

R: Hmm..Lots to scream about.

D: (laughs) We're full of pain....and angst.

S: Scottish Highlands, there's not much of a scene there, but you guys have managed to break out and be on the BBC and have been highly acclaimed.

R: Well I think we probably all met each other through a scene that existed when we were younger. There was a scene there at some time or another.

D: There was yeah, there used to be a little network of bands that played together and you know me and Robi's first ever gig was together with different bands and...it kinda fell apart and people stopped coming to gigs. There's the occasional metal gig but there's nothing we're involved with. We've kind of grown up, moved away, came back and are just doing our thing.

R: Tried to move away. (laughs)

Who would you say your main musical influences are then?

D: The Ramones, always. I think the quality about the Ramones is their melody and their relentlessness, and I think with their live shows they just kept pushing, and could fit 20 songs in 40 minutes. That's something that we try to do.

S: So that's pretty evident in your music

D: Yeah I think in terms of the pace and little hidden bits and pieces, and the quality to the music is that it's in your face but there's a lot more depth to it than people think unless they listen to it.

Your live shows are pretty frantic you would say?

D: Yeah they are

S: You done anything crazy in your live shows....involving fireworks?

D: Yeahhhh

R: That is quite a specific question, (laughs)

S: You're right that is oddly specific of me. I've done my research.

D: Yeah the first time I had a flare I stuck it to my guitar and played a solo with it. Recently, I put it in my mouth while it was on fire and tried to sing with it at the same time.

S: You have a beard so that's quite dangerous.

D: Yeah honestly I thought I was gonna singe my face. Another time we were in Shetland and I was going around like 'woo yeah fire' and handed it to this guy and he went and put it to my fuckin face. I thought he was gonna burn my fucking face off. That guy was mental. He actually came to our gig in corpse paint. He was actually walking around Shetland in corpse paint. He was a really really nice guy

C: Fair play to him, looked great!

D: Mhmm that takes some balls to go around looking like that.

R: I once blew up loads of balloons. Yeah it was a crazy stage show. It was like 8 balloons (laughs), I thought there'd be more in a pack.

Where do you guys like playing most then?

D: Somewhere new. Not the same place. Too many bands play the same place over and over again and do the same towns over and over again. It's so boring. Why would you keep doing that and why would you keep doing the same route and keep playing to the same audience for your fucking entire musical career?

R: Security.

D: Yeah security, it's just fear and like

C: Laziness as well

D: Laziness, totally, absolutely. Why wouldn't you want to play somewhere new and meet new people and do new things, thats why we take dubious gig choices at some points, you know.

S: The Shetlands is pretty out there isn't it?

D: Nah it's a great offer, you know, we had a great time in Shetland. We're going back in about 6 weeks. Why not go somewhere new? Shetlands especially.

C: Yeah the Shetlands is not on the route

D: Yeah totally, they paid everything. They paid 500 quid to take us there and back and we only paid for our food. It's perfect!

R: Yeah had a nice time.

D: It was great you know.

R: Kind of place you'd go on holiday, get paid to play there

D: Oh it's beautiful up there

R: Snap your hand off for it.

C: As your granny would say.

R: (laughs) As my granny would say.

And you are a completely DIY punk band? Do you think that's something necessary nowadays?

D: Not really we just do our thing.

C: I don't think we make a point about doing DIY, nobody else is going to do stuff for us so we just do it ourselves.

D: Yeah people expect people to do things for them and, the age of the record deal seems to be gone. Bands have to prove themselves nowadays and we're not doing this to prove a point to anybody but we're just doing what we want. We're just releasing records because we want to and we're doing tours because we want to. This is what we love, we only do it because we love it. We wouldn't do it otherwise.

Does this attitude find its way into your songs then?

D: In a lyrical sense?

S: Yeah.

D: I dunno, most of the songs are just about girls and bitterness and stuff. It's not all like that but recently it's just about getting older and not really having a place. It sounds so contrived to just say this stuff (laughs) but I just write lyrics about me, and where I'm coming from and what my life's like. I'm pretty boring and shit and there's not much going for me so I just write about that. People I know are getting doctorates and moving to cool places and doing pretty boring things...

C: They're having babies and shit.

D: Babies, and marriage and...

R: Even just being in a relationship and having a girlfriend...so lucky! (laughs) That's gonna come across really weird!

C: You are pretty weird.

D: I think you have to be pretty weird to be one of us.

Have you got plans for the rest of the year then? In terms of touring or music?

D: More of the same.

C: We've got another release with the Kimberly Steaks in June or July.

D: It's recorded, just the financials and all that needs to be done.

C: Oh yeah we're doing a video for that.

Your videos and art are quite eclectic. Who does all that?

D: Well I do all the art, that's why it all kind of looks the same (laughs). I just do it because I've got an idea in my head and I'll just execute it. You alright dude?

S: Yeah the Scenic's very comfortable.

R: I feel bad I'm just lounging about in the boot.

D: It's really nice in here, I feel pretty happy in here. As for the art it's partly due to me being a cheapskate. I'd rather not pay for anybody else.

R: We keep the money for the more important things like the actual printing.

C: You know what you want as well.

R: Not just keeping the money for the more important things but the more necessary things.

D: Yeah so I think art's important but it's not the be all and end all. I kind of fear this band being more about artwork and t shirts than music. I think there was a point where it was that, but we've tipped that scale (laughs). The videos as well.

S: You just released a video for Give Up?

D: That was a quick thing involving cats. We did that with Steve Cardno of The Murderburgers because we're filming something else. Shout out to Steve Cardno, the man! Get your video done by him. The thing about music nowadays is that you have to promote it and more people will see it on Youtube than hear about it anywhere else. It's nice to have a good video to go along with it. If you've got a half decent idea why not do it.

C: It's just another media to get creative with.

D: I couldn't have said that better. Craig Cantlie, nice.

You'd say you're looking at the more practical aspects of touring and recording then?

D: We do things, we don't fuck around. (laughs)

S: And you don't think about being political in some way with a message?

D: More socio-political, like Minor Threat. I'm massive on 80's hardcore and the sense of comparing Dead Kennedys to Black Flag or Minor threat or whatnot. A lot of the Dead Kennedy's music relates to that time and it's kind of dated in that sense. The music's amazing but you can't relate to it. Minor Threat talk about their lives and the people around them and what their beliefs are; and Black Flag talk about isolation and angsty stuff (laughs). We're coming from that sort of angle. I'm sort of a political person but I don't think I'd like to attach that to the band. We probably think different things but we don't really discuss them. We're not racists and we're not fucking sexists. We're pretty...normal, and left of centre sort of people.

C: We pay our taxes.

D: Jesus, I have to pay my tax actually (laughs). I think politics dates your music. It's not me to write about politics because I'm not smart enough.

C: Politics just brings things down. It's just grim. Why would you want to talk about politics when you could talk about

R: Girls.

C: Girls on the beach and stuff.

S: Yeah I think on Facebook your musical influences are listed as girls, pizza and two others...

R: Coffee probably. I think that's why I've got a headache.

On that note, have you guys got anything else to say?

D: Come and say hi. We're not scary. We're loud but we're quite nice people.

S: That's been quite a refreshing take on a punk band! Thanks Danny, Craig and Robi.

Cleaver's new 7”, “I Can't Wait Around For You/Give Up” is available now on http://dadatunes.bandcamp.com/music, and Danny's art is on http://www.wolfmaskart.co.uk/

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 May 2013 22:15 )

Miniature Dinosaurs Interview

Tuesday, 05 March 2013 21:48 Tristan Metcalfe

Lucy Hume live on the scene with one of Scotland's most talented bands. An interview with Miniature Dinosaurs!

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 March 2013 21:59 )

Music | Interviews | Drums of Death

Wednesday, 15 February 2012 16:42 Gavin Heron

drums of death image

Air3's very own Gavin Heron sat down with electro/techno producer Drums Of Death (aka Colin Bailey) before his recent Sub Club gig for an informal chat about where he sees himself in the UK dance music scene, his heavy metal and hardcore background and also the expansion of his live show, hip-hop and David Guetta.

Air3: After cringing when I mentioned your heavy metal background before we started recording, I figured it would be best to get the questions relating to that out of the way, we know from previous interviews that metal bands were an interest of yours; what elements have you taken from metal and tried to incorporate in your music?

Drums Of Death: Absolutely none whatsoever. For me it was more about hardcore, bands like Fugazi. I was into metal but then I heard hip-hop and I was sort of tired of songs about dragons and I wanted songs more about social inequality, y'know, real stuff! When you hold up Public Enemy and stuff to most metal, metal doesn't really cut it, but for me hardcore was definitely the thing. I've always liked the spirit and the intensity of it. More than anything its influenced me with its attitude than any of the sound. For me I loved things like Kraftwerk and the electronic side of things and for me I take the attitude from hardcore and try to make the live show as intense and fun as possible really. It was more sort of the message being employed in things like Hip-Hop I enjoyed.

Air 3: So you might be making a Marxist themed record at some point soon?

Drums Of Death: What are you talking about? All of my records are Marxist themed, I mean even the name, Red Waves!

Air 3: Let's not give anyone an excuse to make a soundbite out of that. In a recent interview you said that you wanted to ramp up your live show a bit, make it a bit more produced a bit more intense...

Drums Of Death: What I actually wanted to do is make it a bit different, I mean I'm doing it with the team thats worked with Pendulum and Deadmau5, I wanted to make it a big visual show as I'm working on album number two, this album I wanted to make it more immediate, bigger than the last album and I suppose more fun than the last album, reflecting my love of techno and house, but not blokey techno, just really making it more fun. I didn't want to have an album either where I used a lot of live instrumentation like I've dealt with in earlier bands I've been in or anything like that, I wanted to get away from say, 19 banjo players on a track.

Air 3: You mention getting away from live instrumentation, of course Gonzalez played piano for the last track on Generation Hexed, are you wanting to move away from that sort of song-y style? I mean Black Waves and Red Waves have been very club orientated, is that the type of sound you are looking to do exclusively now?

Drums Of Death: I'd say no because I also have other projects I've been working with that I'm not really allowed to talk about just now that all the song-y stuff goes into and that made it much easier, I was able to separate Drums Of Death stuff and the other stuff into very happy complimenting camps.

Air3: We touched on your fascination with metal when you were younger but what are your thoughts on the American producers such as Excision, who to an extent are utilising heavy metal in a very obvious way such as directly sampling it or using distorted guitars in tracks? You only have to look at Skrillex being booked for Rock-Am to see how the two worlds are sort of colliding very cosily and sharing a fan-base that is into metal and brostep in a big way.

Drums Of Death: The brostep stuff like that is just wack, absolutely wack. I mean I lived in London for 5 years and got taken to some great parties and I bought some DMZ records, but I'm not going to argue that I'm some old head or something like that, but you only have to look at the great music that is coming out of the US and the UK to realise that its not the big obvious stuff that is the best. I mean I seen some photos of Holy Ship! That had like Aoki and Diplo on a boat and it just sort of made me go “What?” I was speaking to my Egyptrixx who was also on that boat and in the sea of this mentalness there is him, this one guy who makes this deep, great music. It reminded me a little of how originally techno had to come to Europe to get truly appreciated and you can see it now with guys like Kingdom as well and his involvement and popularity with the Night Slugs camp. I do think this brostep stuff will tire itself out, I mean, no one can be that bro-ey for one night surely!

Air3: You mentioned you were working with Paul Epworth which must have been mind blowing but what I want to know is if there is anyone in the current scene who you really want to work with that has caught your eye or gave you some inspiration?

Drums Of Death: Well my manager knows that the people I really want to work with are people that I was really into when I was like 15 such as Underworld and stuff, but I'm trying really hard to not act like a fanboy when it comes to stuff like that, sort of telling myself “Don't act like a dick, don't start dribbling and saying “I love you, your amazing” and stuff like that. I mean Michael Jackson isn't available right now for collabs, but theres a few bands I like such as Chairlift, been listening to them a lot, as well as this Scandinavian band called the Whitest Boy Alive, since I've been producing I've been listening to a lot of stuff like that just because the production is so warm and nice. I mean I don't know who I'd collaborate with, maybe Gonzalez again, but to be honest I've been busy with Waves stuff, I was supposed to be doing some collaborations but that has fell through just due to me being too busy.

Air3: Going onto the topic of Underworld, they announced they were going to be doing the music for the London 2012 Olympics, which is quite possibly the biggest gig you can get in terms of how in your face and wide reaching it is, I wanted to get your thoughts on something I don't want to call a resurgence but more a...packaging up of dance music that is being fed to the public.

Drums Of Death: Right now I think dance music is as mainstream as its ever been, or if not mainstream as accepted as its ever been, I mean you aren't getting records in the charts now that are anything like old acid house records, to be honest I think that drug taking is becoming much less of a thing in the scene now and its far more about the music. I mean I have done shows where I've seen people just totally messed up don't get me wrong but the music has surged forward. Artists are experimenting more, labels are doing whatever they damn want and they can sell it or spread it through the internet. Where people might not get paid as much for their records they can have their music spread so wide now. I mean I'm a child of the internet and I've used it to spread my stuff but to get back to the question I'd say that there is a definite “Guetta-isation” of dance music, like the whole big trance, powerchords kind of thing with Flo-Rida on top and I'd say that thing has become the new pop music, something that for me kicked off with Kylie Minogue doing Can't Get You Out Of My Head, that kind of thing. Everything else seems to be getting there too with hip-hop becoming more up-tempo and riding a sort of dubstep kind of vibe, that kind of half-time thing with artists like Waka Flocka Flame and that whole trap rap kind of party music. At the end of the day though there is a lot of bad stuff and a lot of good and I'm going to say that is the end of it.

Air3: On the topic of the mainstream-ification of dance music, you could argue that the same sort of thing happened in the 90s, from the start of hardcore to the sort of big room, Paul Oakenfold type trance and then the bubble sort of burst so to speak and it got buried again. Do you think that is going to happen again?

Drums Of Death: I don't think so, I mean for people to open these big, big clubs they have to be sure they'll make money off them and Fabric has been remortgaged how many times now? I don't think that was indicative of dance music really in the 90s, I think it was more people looking to make a lot of money off it, I mean look at Ibiza, its still massive isn't it? There are even more festivals now every year as well, I mean there isn't any Cream anymore but there is Creamfields.

Air3: I wanted to get onto the topic of Greco-Roman, your former record label and more specifically Joe Goddard who has been getting a lot of hype with his 2 Bears project on Radio 1 along with yourself, would you ever be up for working with members of that camp again or is there any sort of bad blood between you and the group?

Drums Of Death: Not at all, Joe is wonderful, he's a very good friend and I think in May his second kid arrives and he's got the new Hot Chip album at the end of this year so he's been very busy, but he's more the spokesperson, he's the Julian Assange of Wiki-Roman, I mean Greco-Roman records! I'd say he's more the Steve Jobs of the label now, I mean in the beginning he pushed it really hard and he funded it partially but now I'd say he's more busy with stuff like Hot Chip and 2 Bears than Greco-Roman. I mean I like the guys at Greco-Roman but I just felt they weren't able to get music out fast enough, like my first album took a while to come out again. I am really enjoying my current label right (Civil Music) now however, they release everything on vinyl and its been pestered to do a sort of big label night but they've declined, they are very much wanting to keep it solely about the music. They are wonderful for that though, releasing the kind of techno championed from Richie Hawtin to guys like Starkey who does grime and dubstep and in my eyes should be producing for someone like Usher. I mean I know Starkey has done some work for Tinie Tempah and things like that and I'd really like for him to blow up.

Air3: Speaking of that kind of grime sound, Royal-T reportedly recently signed a contract with Sony, what are your thoughts on signing for a major label at all?

Drums Of Death: People have asked me this before but its definitely the kind of thing that depends on the deal, I mean you wouldn't sign Scuba and ask him to produce the next X Factor winner would you? Unless you wanted them to sing over an 8 minute dubby techno track full of lovely chords.

Air3: Bringing up X Factor, I wanted to pick your brain on your thoughts about Simon Cowell's new DJ focused talent search...

Drums Of Death: If Simon Cowell wants to bring DJs into the mainstream then he's about 30 years too late. I want to say to people in the scene “Let's take this over” like when Belle & Sebastian won that award voted for by the fans at the gig. I want someone to go on like Qbert and just make a mockery of it with a turntablism routine, I don't see how you can really do it, as Djing is almost designed to not be the main thing, its the music. Cowell seems to want them to be popstars but its not like that, you couldn't show someone's talent at programming a Berghain 8 hour marathon session. Plus what kind of music would it be? There isn't going to be anyone dropping a Hessle Audio track in between LMFAO or anything like that. Plus how would they be trained for the big live shows? How do you coach DJing? You aren't going to get anyone remotely credible involved with it. I mean I could be massively wrong and Cowell is going to blow up Hessle Audio and we'll look back in 3 years and go “Wow, Cowell ushered in this new era for underground electronic music!” but I don't really see that happening.

Air3: With this new era there has been a lot of fuss made in mainstream press like the Guardian about the “House Revival” being enjoyed by artists like Azari & III and the 2 Bears, I'm of the opinion that house never really went away, just stayed in the underground, what are your thoughts on this idea of it having a revival?

Drums Of Death: I'd agree with you on the fact that its never ever truly went away, but people are incorporating the classic sort of sounds into their productions, I mean I've used 808s in productions, I know Boys Noize is using them, people have started using 303s, people like Boddika are utlising older drum machines which I've heard has made them more expensive. People like Night Slugs are using that in a big way as well, but people seem to be just trying to get back to the roots of it sort of, even looking at hip hop the production is way sparser, way more minimal. People are starting to re-evaluate now what its all about, looking at something like Daft Punk's Alive tour and its sort of big massive sound and the Justice stuff I look at that as being like the Led Zeppelin era of dance music, big and brash and rocky, but the stuff that's coming out now is more like punk-rock, throwing this overproduced style out the window and getting back to the original ethos of it, its groovier and less rigid, it could be classed as techno but its not blokey and rigid techno. I make the link between things like Sonar and outdoor festivals where people are dancing to this music in the daytime and its all about the groove more than anything else.

Check out Drums Of Death on Soundcloud here: http://soundcloud.com/drumsofdeath4eva and also check out his most recent mix for Mixmag here http://soundcloud.com/mixmag-1/motw-drums-of-death .

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 15 February 2012 16:53 )

Music | Interview | Twin Atlantic

Tuesday, 14 February 2012 00:00

Air3 caught up with Twin Atlantic vocalist and guitarist Sam McTrusty and bassist Ross McNae in the bands dressing room ahead of their sold out, Glasgow 02 Academy show with support from Dinosaur Pile Up and Arcane Roots

Air3: So for those who aren’t familiar with Twin Atlantic, can you say who you are and what you do?

Ross: I’m Ross and I play the bass.

Sam: And I’m Sam and I play the guitar and sing.

Air3: So where did Twin Atlantic all come from?

Ross: The boys went to school together.

Sam: Yeah we went to school together and we were friends at school just by chance I suppose but we kinda stayed friends because we liked the same type of music. Ross’s dad played guitar and all that so I think that’s how he got into like playing instruments and stuff. Then I got into playing instruments because Ross played instruments and then it just kinda built from there, kinda naturally and we started playing in other bands, they were just for a bit of fun and then we realised that we maybe wanted to try and do something with it, as like.. a career sounds too formal.

Ross: Yeah but actually try and like take your band to other places.

Sam: Just get to do it every day and be like, your life if you know what I mean. So, we just kinda dived right into it and it was at that point that we met Barry and Craig, and then we just started gigging locally and then we got on a few support slots and since then we’ve just kept taking like, baby steps and that’s about it.

Air3: Am I right in saying that the actual name ‘Twin Atlantic’ comes from Death Cab For Cutie’s ‘Transatlanticism’? I love that album.

Sam: Yeah I like it so much I got it tattooed there on my arm. So Transatlanticism I was kind of obsessed with.. that’s kinda what I do with bands, I’ve got like one thing that I’ll listen to all the time for like, a year. And that’s what I was kinda listening to when we were thinking of a name.

Ross: It’s actually credited to, is it credited to your ex ex ex girlfriend?

Sam: Yeah, cause we were pretty much like ‘Atlantic’ we know we want that word, it sounds like, big and epic. We kinda had ideas of grandeur or something and then I think my ex ex girlfriend.

Ross: Ex ex, sorry...

Sam: Came up with like ‘Twin’. Cause we had sat for months trying to get the first word to go with it.

Air3: So assuming that you’re Death Cab fans, what else are you currently liking?

Sam: So different from what we used to like.

Ross: The two records I can’t stop listening to are the new Florence and the Machine album And Feist’s new album, they’re both amazing.

Sam: There’s a band called Middle Class Rut from America, they’re like a two piece rock band and they had a big hit song over there and stuff but we toured with them recently, so I miss them, keep listening to their album.

Ross: Of course we all like Coldplay.

Air3: I adore Coldplay.

Sam: Did you go and see them the other day?

Air3: I had other stuff on and missed them, which is pretty gutting, but I seen them at T in the Park and they were phenomenal.

Sam: Aw, they were amazing.

Ross: They were incredible though weren’t they?

Air3: It was just an amazing atmosphere.

Sam: Aw man, they were so good. Chris Martin is such a talented songwriter man, and there’s something about his voice that just sounds like, really normal.

Ross: Yeah it just sounds like a guy singing, like you totally just relate to him.

Air3: Before we move on, I recommend that you listen to the new Deaf Havana album.

Sam: Aw yeah? I always had this like big stigma about their band.

Ross: Yeah, you actually heard the song and then I actually listened to the song the other day on the Radio 1 website.. and it’s actually good.

Sam: I’ll make a point now of listening to the record.

Air3: You said that your music taste now is different to what it used to be, what did you grow up listening to?

Ross: Like a whole mix of things, but we probably, around the time we met, it was kinda like Blink 182 and New Found Glory.

Sam: There was Drive-Thru Records, and they had like 10 or 12 bands and I pretty much just used to listen to anything they released, because if they released it, it must be good. Looking back on it now, the majority of it was actually really really shit, there was just a few great songs in there.

Ross: It was more of a kinda lifestyle though, like that whole thing you bought into it as a whole.

Air3: How do you go about choosing a setlist?

Sam: We try and strike the balance between a set we would enjoy but also the people that have paid their hard earned money to come and watch us. Because at the end of the day, we want everyone to have a good time so we try and strike a balance between like, how are the crowd gonna react to this like will this make them go mental or will this make them listen to the music and open up a little bit or something so we try and just not think about it too much.

Air3: What are your favourite songs to play live right now?

Sam: Mine right now is a song called ‘The Ghost of Eddie’

Ross: Me and Barry always love playing ‘Yes, I Was Drunk’ just because it’s like a big, fun vibe. But the instrumental song on the album, ‘Serious Underground Dance Vibes’ it’s so good to play.

Sam: Feels like the next level of our band, obviously I’m not singing in it or anything, we’re just getting to play together.

Air3: Why is ‘Sparkly Touch’ a B-side? I’m confused as to why it didn’t make the album.

Sam: It kinda was on the album but we took it off and we deliberated over it. But it’s not really a true reflection like.. it doesn’t really fit in the record if you get what I mean.

Air3: Like it’s good as just a single?

Sam: Yeah it kinda stands out too much and we wanted to make a great album. We weren’t really thinking when we were writing the songs like.. you always do get those moments where you’re like aw this could be a fucking hit song or something in your imagination but we just wanted to make a record that would be important to people. And that song just stood too much, I think it was like the chorus or something doesn’t quite connect with us personally in the way that we really intended it to so it didn’t really make the cut. We’ve always wanted to be one of those bands right that had loads, by the end of our career, like 50 amazing B-sides that only our fans know about and it’s this other section that’s kinda still a secret. So, it’s amazing that people love the song and I’m really flattered. We’ll probably play songs like that if our band ever get to the stage where we can like go back and play King Tuts or something and it’s one of those special things

Air3: How does it feel to have sold out a prestigious Glasgow venue?

Ross: I was here recently, like I still come here all the time. It’s just weird because aye you’re so used to being in the venue and then you come in and you’re allowed to go in the other bits of the venue. Like in here (the dressing room) it doesn’t feel right but it’s really exciting, it’s great.

Air3: Tonight’s show is sold out, so how does it feel to have gone from playing in front of like 10 people to thousands?

Sam: We still play in front of like 10/15 people.

Ross: When we go to places like America and stuff.

Sam: Do like headlines shows in like Norway and stuff like that, and other European countries. It’s weird man, it’s a hard thing to juggle but because every time we do a gig like this, our standards get risen and we raise the bar of what we’ve achieved. But it’s kinda like important to us to not forget where we came from and we learned everything by doing all these little tiny gigs and stuff.

Ross: It’s also something that we don’t ever really think about that much.

Sam: Yeah I only think about it when we get asked in an interview.

Ross: It’s like the last fortnight that we’ve actually probably thought about it more than ever before, just because it’s that time where it’s getting towards like the end of the year and people are doing like their albums of the year and all that kinda stuff.

Air3: When I saw you at T in the Park you seemed like genuinely surprised at how many people had turned up to watch the set.

Sam: I think I was just totally shitting myself.

Ross: Like, please somebody be here.

Sam: Yeah cause when I found it it was gonna get filmed for, or it had made it onto the BBC website, because I’ve been watching T in the Park footage, I’ve probably watched more footage than actually being at the festival. So I was like shit, that’d be really cool to see how they’d filmed us and things like that and when we walked out, we played ‘Edit Me’ first and I honestly played the intro like double the speed because I was so nervous. I was just freaking out because there was like 7000 people, it was mental.

Air3: Obviously you’ve come from the same sort of environment, so what advice do you give to like unsigned bands from Glasgow?

Ross: We just basically treated it as if you were studying like a degree or something.

Sam: Like all our friends and people from school went to Uni.

Ross: Yeah we just basically spent all our time, like when we weren’t doing our part time jobs, instead of going to University we would be like in the practice room, writing and learning about music and trying to record things on our own and making all the mistakes and I think you just need to put yourself in it as if you’re being serious about trying to get a degree or something. Well I mean there’s some people that luckily it just happens for but I think that you make your own luck and if you just throw yourself into it, you’re more likely to get something good out it.

Air3: Yeah like this is what I wanna do, I wanna be a music journalist and I know that doing stuff like these interviews, it’s sort of invaluable experience.

Sam: Absolutely. If you want to do something for the rest of your life you need to just make it your life. I dunno why, but sometimes we would practice from like 10 in the morning till like 6 at night, 5 days a week

Ross: Sometimes even just being like ‘oh we could just come in on Saturdays’.

Sam: I went to Uni for like a year, and cause I went to art school I got like a big bursary and all that sort of stuff to buy paint equipment and whatever.. I used all that to record our first EP, or my share of it so it was all those fucking things that any normal person would be like ‘fuck, why am I doing this’ but you just need to be ballsy and while you’re young just throw everything at it.

Ross: I remember doing the same thing as well like, getting my student bursary in one day and then me and you just went straight to the guitar shop and literally spent it all.

Sam: You were shaking and stuff. After he’d bought it like, fucking hell.

Ross: I just had no money. But then if I hadn’t done that then you wouldn’t have an amp and you wouldn’t be able to play. You really just have to do it.

Air3: What’s the plan for 2012?

Sam: More touring man.

Ross: Yeah we’re going back to America in January and February and going to Europe before that in January.

Sam: Then we’re going to Canada for a week.

Air3: Sounds amazing. Well thank you, and good luck for tonight!

Sam: Cool, thank you!

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 February 2012 15:42 )

Music | Interview | Kate Nash

Monday, 07 November 2011 16:54

Air3 caught up with Kate Nash before her sold-out intimate gig in Edinburgh last month. Kate expresses her opinions on feminism, touring worldwide, student radio and Scottish culture. During the interview Kate reveals her favourite book ever and leaks some details on what to expect in the future from her unpredictable musical journey.