New boys on the scene Slowlights
are a four-piece from London who united over their love of indie rock. Having
all toured and recorded in separate projects, the foursome found themselves
coming together with the same vision. Their debut single Dive Right In is out on September 28th. We recently
chatted with Dan, who enlightened us about all things Slowlights.
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
Hi! It's Dan here.
Today I'm going to be demoing some new songs and then we've got a rehearsal
together this evening.
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
We're still trying to
work this out ourselves! Most of our songs go for a more 'anthemic' sound with
big guitar driven hooks and choruses. They don't always start out that way but
we usually can't resist it when we start playing them in rehearsal.
How did Slowlights
come about?
We'd all been in bands before but were taking a bit of a
break. In March this year our drummer Bill decided that he wanted to get
something started again, we all vaguely knew each other from our previous bands
and got together to try some songs out. Our first rehearsal was the first time
all of us had been in the same room as each other, it could have been really
awkward but everything just clicked. We all had the same goals and wanted to
make the same music and we haven't looked back since.
Where did you get the
name from?
'Slow Lights' is a song by an Icelandic band called Sin
Fang. We wanted our name to just been one word, so we put the two words
together.
How do you write?
Does one of you take the lead, or is it a collaborative process?
I tend to write a song on my own and demo it, then I take it
to rehearsal and we'll work on it together and everyone will write their own
parts and we'll restructure it together. It's a very collaborative effort which
is great.
What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the
most?
Radiohead - Kid A
Sigur Ros - Ágætus Byrjun
Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
The Beatles - Revolver
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Sigur Ros - Ágætus Byrjun
Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
The Beatles - Revolver
Arcade Fire - Funeral
What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?
My favourite band at
the moment have to be Dry The River. A lot of their songs are like folk songs,
played by a rock band. The harmonies are beautiful, their singer Pete has a
great Buckley-esque voice and is a really talented lyricist.
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
The best one we've
played was at Club Fandango in London. That's only because no equipment
broke/none of us fell over on stage. I see that as a successful show.
What’s the worst gig you have ever done and why?
Once in an old band,
during a set in a pub in front of about 4 people a drunk man decided to climb
on stage and start dancing. He ended up throwing up all over himself/the stage
and then just walked out. That wasn't a good one.
What are
your thoughts on the following genres…?
Folk
I properly got into
folk music a few years ago which was what really made me want to start writing
songs. It started with Bob Dylan, his back catalogue is insane. One of my
favourite's is John Martyn, his first album 'London Conversation' is one of my
favourite folk records. More recently I've really got into The Tallest Man on
Earth.
Blues
Blues music is so
important. As a guitarist I really started to understand my instrument a lot
more when I started to get my head around blues. I've been listening to a lot
of JJ Cale recently.
Classical
I really appreciate
Classical music. The structure, dynamic and melodic changes make no sense a lot
of the time, but they just seem to work perfectly. I'm going to blast some
Vivaldi right now.
Hip-Hop
I remember starting
secondary school and getting really into Hip Hop. The rhythm of the lyrics were
like nothing I'd heard before. One of my favourite album's is Dr Dre's 'The
Chronic 2001. Also 'Hynoptize' by Biggie Smalls has one of the best bass lines
ever.
Dubstep
I really appreciate
the production skills that go into making dubstep but I just don't get it. You
can't even dance to it without looking like you're getting attacked by a wasp.
What are your guilty
listening pleasures?
I love well written pop music. I'll definitely have to go
with Abba. I don't even feel slightly guilty about it though. Undeniably
amazing songs.
We loved Our
Time, can we expect any new music from you soon?
Thanks! Our Time was the first thing we recorded together.
We just went into a studio to see what would happen and it turned out alright.
We've just filmed a music video for our debut single, which is called 'Dive
Right In'. We'll be releasing it on the 28th September.
Finally, if you weren't a musician what would you be?
I'm genuinely
struggling to think of what I'd actually be doing so I'm going to go with the
first thing that comes into my head. Beekeeper, definitely a Beekeeper.
Make sure to check
out Our Time below, and keep your
eyes peeled for Dive Right In (we’ve
had the pleasure of hearing it, and it’s pretty tasty).
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