Tuesday, 21 July 2015

SUNSET SONS // Interview

Anglo Australian quartet, Sunset Sons, have just headed off on a huge run of festival dates including Glastonbury, T in The Park, Isle of Wight, and Reading & Leeds. 
The new single 'She Wants' is due on August 14 via Polydor and is on the daytime playlist at XFM and the band have just finished working with Adam Powell (the man behind visuals for Charlie XCX & Jessie Ware) on the accompanying video.

We sat down with the drummer, Jed to chat about being musically inspired in Nashville, winning new fans and secret surf spots...

Hey Jed! So, first we have to mention the new single, ‘She Wants’ – we love it! Can you tell us a little bit more about it?
Thanks very much, we like it too! It was actually the second song we ever wrote together. The first one sounded like something from Top Gun, which wasn’t really what we were aiming for. It’s a rock song about escapism. We’ve all been living the same lives for a little while now. We chose to find a place we liked to hang out with good people, good weather and great waves. We don’t mind telling people all about it. It's like an invitation.

And we heard you worked with Adam Powell on the video. He’s worked with the likes of Charlie XCX and Jessie Ware; how was it working with him to produce such a visually cool video?
Adam is a really cool guy. Total legend!  When we first spoke to him we had a conference call when we were late for a gig in Germany. We were all balanced  around one phone in the back of the van flying down the Autobahn. For the first 10 minutes of the conversation Adam seemed like he was ‘otherwise engaged’ with something or someone. Then he made a few Stones references and explained how he viewed the band and how he wanted to present us and we were sold. The video came back looking amazing. Almost exactly how he described it would be in that first phonecall. It's the first time that's happened for us.


And you’re pretty near to finishing the album, which you recorded in Nashville, right? What can we expect from it? Did such an iconic musical place such as Nashville end up influencing it at all?
The album is coming along nicely. It's 80% there. We had an amazing time in Nashville. Recording at Blackbird Studios which is steeped in so much musical history was ridiculous. We worked with Jacquire King who produced the record and we were a bit daunted at first but now he’s a really good friend. He helped us get the best out of our songs. Nashville is a place where you can go see live music any time day or night. It's just everywhere. We went to a bar called Roberts most nights when we were out in town. There’s older guys there who can play a million times better than we will ever be able to, working every night just for tips. There's also a bar called Santa’s Pub. It's actually a trailer and the owner looks just like Santa Claus. It's just on the wrong side of the tracks and you can sing karaoke all night and drink  cheap beers n tequila. Since coming back from Nashville, we’ve made the mistake of writing more songs, so we’re going to record some of them in September and then choose the ones that work best together for the record. It's going to come out early next year. There's no hurry, and we’ll keep putting out music in the meantime.

You started off as a cover band, right? What’s your favourite song to cover?
We’d all say different things. ‘Dancing in the Dark' was always my favourite!

You've been over in the UK quite a bit recently playing festivals; do you like festivals and taking on that challenge of playing to a mix of people, some of which may have never heard you?
We get asked this loads, and we always say the same thing. When we play our own shows usually everyone in the room knows our tunes already and from the moment we walk on they’re up for it. At festivals those people will all be down the front, but there’ll be a shitload more behind them. We just love converting them. Watching their faces change and their arms go up.


And you played Glastonbury which is the UK’s most iconic festival; how was 
that?
After we came offstage at Glastonbury we all agreed it was the best thing we’d ever done as a band. We were a little nervous because we were playing so early but the tent was full when we walked on and packed when we finished. Michael Eavis watched us from the side of the stage and he had some really kind words after the show. Doesn’t get much better for a new band I don’t think!

You’re heading back to Reading and Leeds in August; you played last year 
but are on the much bigger Festival Republic Stage this year; are you 
looking forward to that?
Last year at Reading was where it all really started kicking off for us. We played the BBC Introducing stage and were blown away by how many people came to see us. I couldn’t see the back by the end! We’re buzzing to go back. We’re gonna rock the f**k out of it.

We know you’re huge surf fans; have you had time to check out any good 
surfing spots in the UK?
I actually grew up surfing on the north east coast of the UK. I'm from a little place called Tynemouth. There’s a few amazing surf spots up there. I could tell you where they are but then I'd have to kill you unfortunately.

And finally, what else do you have coming up this year; we hear a support 
slot with Imagine Dragons is happening soon?
She wants comes out on August 14th. We’re are all stoked with how much love it's already getting on the radio and the video on YouTube etc. We’ve got a load more festivals that take us up to September when we’ll finish the record. Then we go and play 30 arenas around the UK and Europe with Imagine Dragons. Everything is exciting for us at the minute. We’re four excited young men!
Thanks Jed!