Category: Music Interviews

Hang On To Your Hats: It’s MDT!

Q & A // Hang On To Your Hats: It’s MDT!

I first met Motorcycle Display Team in a pub in Drumcondra, in Dublin. That was about eight or nine years ago, we chatted for my radio show. I move to London and find out that they rehearse in the same part of South East London that I live in.

Occasionally, our paths cross but that hasn’t happened in a while. So right now was a great opportunity to catch up with the threesome, aka MDT, and find out about life in lockdown, about a certain Britney Spears cover and get a few musical tips for Deptford.

Hello, MDT, who are you, where are you and how are you doing?

Steve: Wandering round in my own head wondering where everyone has gone, shrugging then mixing a drink.

Drew: Hi, I’m Drew – MDT’s current bass player (at time of writing). I’m at home in London Bridge slowly driving my wife up the wall with an unending barrage of questionable musical ideas.

Morgan: I’m Morgan, at least I think I still am. I’m in my house in Westcliff On Sea, south Essex. I guess I’m as good as can be, all things considered

You’ve covered Britney’s Toxic in lockdown, have you been keeping a weekly rehearsal schedule or how have you been keeping the creativity going?

Steve: Creativity is fighting its regular battles with the regular old distractions, but the biggest challenge is finding some physical privacy to make my little mistakes.

Drew: Like everyone else in the known universe, we’ve been meeting up on Zoom. We’ve actually turned the chat room into a serviceable pub.

Morgan: We tried to have a rehearsal online, but the latency made it impossible. I downloaded some programme to beat the latency and it killed my laptop. Completely destroyed it. When lockdown started, I found myself forcing myself to write and finish off songs etc, but I wasn’t very successful.

Since we did the Britney thing, I’ve taken that pressure off myself. I try and play a bit here and there, but with all that’s going on, my head isn’t in the right space and I’d hate to just churn out something for the sake of it. As Steve said, finding physical privacy in this situation is very difficult- my wife and kids don’t appreciate me playing the same thing over and over, while swearing a lot. And as Drew said, we just find drinking together online easier right now.

You’ve released a couple of albums, your last was ‘Yours Probably’ in 2018. Are you writing or planning more original material?

Steve: Yes, a new crop of songs we think is easily among our best work. I suppose we’ll be recording it when we all get out.

Drew: We were actually due to record some new tracks in March when the apocalypse happened. The only upshot that springs to mind is that we’ve had a little more time to tighten the screws on what we already have ready to go.

Morgan: I can’t wait to record this new album once this whole period passes. I’m hoping to get one more song included/finished before we go to record, I’m just having a job convincing the lads on it. Also, Drew has been sending lots of ideas around, which we’re bouncing around ideas on.

You’re big boys with jobs and families, does their influence cross into your songwriting?

Steve: Of course. You have to write a little of what you know else you’re really just singing from your sphincter. That said, I haven’t written anything about lockdown yet. My instinct is that there is depth there, but it needs to be carefully teased out, or else you end up with another trite piece of tut for the pile.

Morgan: We have a new song called Mexicans. The genesis for that song was me trying to wake my son Jude for school. I just started this chant with his name, thought ‘I like that’, swopped his name in the chant for ‘whoaho’ and the song took off from there. Also, I regularly make mistakes when I’m trying to play other peoples’ songs as my kids always distract me when I’m playing at home. Often those mistakes turn into ideas for MDT songs.

What your favourite of your own songs that you’ve released and why?

Steve: Yours Probably, the title track from our last album. It’s long and detailed, and when we play it live, if it has gone well by the second chorus it feels like we’re really expressing joy to be alive together on that stage.

Drew: Of the released stuff, I’d have to say that my favourite MDT tunes to play are either ‘Erosion’ from the last album or ‘Laughing Cavalier’ from the EP just before that. However, we’ve got one coming through called ‘Divide & Rule’ that is a whole bunch of fun to play.

Morgan: Ice Age or Yours Probably. I can’t wait to record and release Divide and Rule.

You’ve had a couple of different bass players over the years, if you don’t play music full time and life gets in the way sometimes with moving and jobs, how hard is it to keep the passion and enthusiasm going?

Steve: It’s like most things you need to summon energy for. It’s not a one way pleasure cruise. You need to turn up. You need to do your homework. You need to jam stuff even when it feels like a dead end. You can go through weeks with no progress. You keep at it till you get a breakthrough or a different perspective. When you’ve done the hard work you’re then capable of performing and you can begin to enjoy it. When you see others expressing pleasure in your work your enthusiasm gets a boost.

Drew: We’re only a couple months short of it being a year since we did the support gigs for The Quireboys up north! I think a huge factor in keeping it fresh since then is the fact that we don’t just talk about MDT. We’re all big film/music/anything remotely creative fans, so we’re looking out and listening for new things to share with each other.

Morgan: I think the fact that we’re always writing and trying out different things is what keeps it going. While it might not be visible to anyone who might keep an eye on us, there’s always something afoot. Another thing that keeps me going is the very slow increase of people who listen to our music. If you release music, you hope someone will listen to it and appreciate it. We’ve seen that start to happen, albeit very slowly, in the US and Canada. One of our old singles ‘Brickwall’ has been getting lots plays in that part of the world of late.

Morgan, you’re Irish and previously played in bands in the Dublin area. What bands did you play with?

Morgan: I’ve played with lots of Dublin bands that didn’t make it out of a rehearsal room, but the one that anyone might know of was a band called Zeel. We were around from 2000-2002. I was told our single ‘Best Things’ got into the Irish charts. It got lots of airplay on Phantom FM and good old Dave Fanning gave us a few spins. In hindsight, we could have taken it much further, but we didn’t have a clue what we were doing and we broke up just as it was getting bigger. Oh well. As Joey the Lips said ‘this way it’s poetry’. Or something like that.

How did you find the transition to life in the UK?

Morgan: It’s that long ago now, I’m not sure I can remember it being a thing. All I do know is I was very excited and up for anything. I was very hungry to explore all the live music London had to offer and what that could lead to.

As an Irish person, you have a huge safety net in London. If you’re ever homesick, there’s loads of Irish people, pubs and other things going on. I guess finding my own niche took some time, but I think anyone moving to any new country would say the same thing.

Once upon a time, I met you guys in a rehearsal studio in Deptford to chat for The London Ear. Can you recommend three bands or musical delights from that area that we should check out?

Steve: The Invisible are locals and they’re well worth checking out, especially their eponymous debut album. Royce Wood Junior too. He has new music out soon which I’m really looking forward to.

Drew: I wasn’t in the band back then, but I’d still like to recommend The Amersham Arms as a place that seems to attract a really eclectic mix of acts. It’s literally over the road from New Cross station and I don’t think I’ve ever been in there without seeing something or someone interesting (in the best way possible).

Morgan: A band we know, like and that use the same rehearsal space as us is Glue Men. If you fancy a night out in Deptford, I strongly recommend the Bird’s Nest. It’s hands down one of my favourite venues to play and have a pint. As Drew said, Amersham Arms is also good for a pint and they sometimes have live music too.

What are you most looking forward to doing after the lockdown? Could be playing a venue, going to work, off to the pub, a quirky shop? you tell me.

Steve: The pub. Simple.

Drew: I miss my nieces and nephew, so I’ll probably make them take me out for a drink on the Southbank whilst I tell them stories I’ve already told them at least twice before.

Morgan: I’m chomping at the bit to play the drums properly with the lads. I have an electronic kit, but it’s nowhere near as satisfying. And yes, I miss pubs. A lot.

How are you all coping with life in lockdown, getting into gardening or baking? What have you learned about yourself?

Steve: I need to make cocktails a more permanent part of my daily.

Drew: I made a chilli oil (with homegrown chillies!) the other week that came out way better than I’d presumed it would. Mucho picante, senor. Mucho picante.

Morgan: I’ve learnt that I’m bored stupid of myself and that William Burroughs was a massive misogynist.

Pick an uplifting song for us that makes you want to dance!

Steve: Humans by Super Best Friends Club

Drew: ‘One Thing’ by Amerie. It’s as if God herself got to Day 8 and said “Let there be an absolute banger”.

Morgan: Chanson Populaire by Claude Francois- just try and sit still when that chorus kicks in. Also, a track called Love by Unloved.

Any secrets you’d like to tell us?

Steve: I can’t in good conscience tell a secret and be the architect of its demise.

Drew: I like to lip-sync to songs and send the video to the MDT chat group. I most recently did ‘My Sacrifice’ by Creed.

Morgan: I’m desperate for my pet budgie Brett to like me. He f**king hates me

Send us a selfie?

Find Motorcycle Display Team Online

You can find MDT online on Facebook, Twitter, Insta Insta and listen to the band on Spotify.

May 18, 2020
Adam Wedd Explains ‘Who We Are’

Adam Wedd Explains ‘Who We Are’

There are times when we find ourselves getting to know new people at different points of our lives. Adam Wedd was one of the first musicians I got to know, initially through work, after I moved to London.

Looking at the six years years or so since then, I’ve been amazed and totally impressed with how much his songwriting, musicianship and performance has grown.

Despite being stuck in the middle of a pandemic, Adam decided to release two new singles ‘Who We Are’ and ‘Madman’. It’s time I introduced you all to this talented Englishman.

Hello Adam Wedd, where are you and how the hell are you?

Hey, I’m writing this from the Chiswick based studio I work at, I’ve got a little bit of cabin fever, but generally I’m ok! Thanks for asking!

If Smash Hits were to describe you in a paragraph, what would it be?

My comedian friend Pete Bazely calls me the following… An old Bob Dylan / a Young Ed Sheeran. or the illegitimate love child of Gordon Ramsey makes Pop Folk storytelling music.

Most people decide to release one single at a time. You’ve released two. Madman and Who We Are. What was the reasoning behind that?

Well, the main reason was because I was meant to be playing live shows in Europe and the USA which all got cancelled . This twinned with the fact I have so many unreleased tunes I’m sitting on, we thought we may as we try and connect with people digitally via streaming and also give people some new songs to enjoy alongside all the classics during lockdown.

The other reason is that the 2 songs we released are so incredibly different from each other. One is a pop reggae indie tune about how all of humanity , despite our differences actually need each other and Madman is a grime, trap pop tune that tells of an jealous ex lover trying to win back your new partner – like I said – they’re a little different sounding! ha!

You’ve been working with Blacksmith on these, it’s a much different style to your music from a couple of years ago. It was much more singer songwriter style. How did the evolution come around?

I’ve always loved collaborating with people from all genres, it’s usually for fun and behind closed doors but Blacksmith and I worked together or writing a few songs for pitches for record labels whilst we were in Sweden and we hit it off then , so for the last year we thought, why not – let’s put something out together! It’s been a combination of Tileyard & Metropolis studios, I was writing on the road the whole time I was on my USA tour and also Blacksmiths home studio set up.

I’ve seen some of your live shows and ‘Who We Are’ always seems to be a huge collaboration with other musicians and vocalists and a fantastic party tune. Is collaboration part of you as a musician and artist?

Humanity done well is collaboration right? So I feel it’s the same with most songs. Not all songs. But most. I know that as a person I have so many blind spots, so I always love finding people who are better than me and working with them.

You did a Masters in Tileyard in songwriting last year. How much has that changed how you approach your work?

It completed turned my working style upside down. I’ve always enjoyed being a writer and seen music in an airy fairy romantic sort of way. Writing and working with people at Tileyard completely challenged my work ethos and writing method. I got the chance to work with so many great people. As a musician, so often you are working on your own – the great thing about rare places like Tileyard are that it’s ultimately a community. We all work better together.

What’s more of a long term goal for you – writing and performing your songs yourself or potentially having other people record your music?

I’ve done lots of writing for others, I’m really proud of a song called ‘Karma’ by We Architects feat Tana, check it out on the YouTube or Spotify, I’m proud to have been involved in writing that one.

Writing songs for myself or with other people , it’s all trying to tell a story and make sense of all our life experiences. Long term goal for me is I’d LOVE to put out an album of my songs and I’ve got a few other cheeky goals up my sleeve too 😛

You’ve been pretty prolific releasing singles over the past year or so. Is this leading to an album or a collection of sorts?

Hopefully there should be an EP at some point. I’ll put out an album someday, its such a big statement, y’know? and it’s expensive too! ha I’m just focussing on making enough money to buy bread and milk right now 🙂

You’ve been releasing music for a few years now. What advice would you give your younger self?

Always keep writing, work with as many writers as possible, it helps you hone your on style and craft. Also , that the best songs come from life, not from chasing chart hits! ha! That I believe one will eventually follow the other. We all look for genuine authenticity , I think it’s the same with hit songs and records.

The Covid-19 pandemic has obviously changed a lot of things for musicians and artists, what new routines have you embraced?

I try and run everyday, I’ve been working a bit , so been good to do that and run to the studio and back. Sometimes I stop to smell flowers. Yoga is something I try and do ( Youtube with Adrienne) keeps me flexible and zen.

We’ve been gardening in our house which has been super fun and super creative ‘cos we don’t have a garden! So we’ve made our roof into something from Day of the Triffids! Also great for the soul! Been making soup. Been watching far too much Netflix and oh yeh, writing songs most days and working out which songs should go to who and if I’m keeping them on which ep 🙂

After lockdown, what venue are you looking forward to playing?

Shepherds Bush Empire / Wembley Stadium. In that order, probably with a 1000 shows in between.

You’re based in London, tell us about three new London artists that we should embrace?

Tom Speight , Tom Bright , Maki Flow . They are all amazing!

Tell us a secret?

I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours? Ok, I’ve recently starting thinking my house mate is super cute (oops, I’ve said too much ?)

What skills have you picked up during the lockdown?

We’ve been gardening in our house which has been super fun and super creative ‘cos we don’t have a garden! So we’ve made our roof into something from Day of the Triffids! Also great for the soul! Been making soup. Been watching far too much Netflix and oh yeh, writing songs most days and working out which songs should go to who and if I’m keeping them on which ep 🙂

Send us a pic?

Find Adam Wedd Online

You can find Adam on Facebook, Twitter and Insta. You can stream his music on Spotify.

May 15, 2020
Making Waves with Pity of The Sea

Q & A: Pity of The Sea Are Making Waves

Ger Cremins and Tony Monahan make up Pity of The Sea. The Limerick duo have released an EP and a number of singles, including the brilliant ‘Black Lines’; a reworking of a composition by Naive Ted.

Both have been involved in the music scene for many years. Tony being a founding and current member of Protobaby as well as playing with Kraven and Just. Ger has been in a number of cover bands. He is also involved with music societies and performing, as gaeilge, with Liam Ó Maonlai.

Hello Pity of the Sea, where are you and how are you today?

All good thanks. We are both Limerick born and now both living in County Clare. Currently we’re on Zoom having a couple of beers and discussing these questions.

You’re a duo and you’ve both been involved in music before this, how was Pity of The Sea born?

We’ve both been involved in music for quite a while and always shared similar interests in music. We always said we’d record some music together one day. Tony had set up a home recording studio a few years ago and Ger had a song he wanted to record. We had so much fun doing that we kept writing together and our first EP came from those writing/recording sessions.

Have your previous musical endeavours influenced how you’ve approached Pity of The Sea?

Tony: I would say yes and no. Yes in the sense I’ve learned so much working with the lads in Protobaby over the years and the people we have worked with and continue to work with. That has definitely influenced me and has helped in the recording and production side of Pity.

No I guess in the sense that how we write in Pity is so different. Some of the sonic areas I get to hint at in Protobaby I can go full on assault in Pity. I guess in Protobaby our songs pretty much have the vocals out front and centre and we have a pretty defined sound. Which is a cool thing but in Pity that isn’t the case. For example, from a vocals point of view, Gers voice gets manipulated, distorted and almost becomes an instrument at times. The rule book is ripped up and experimentation is key. We don’t have any plan or preconceived notion of what our next song will sound like. Our only rule is does it excite us. If a song is 8min long then so be it. Similarly if it’s 2minutes that’s cool too. Anything goes.

You recently released ‘Black Lines’ which was based on a composition by Naive Ted. Why did you decide to add your thing to the track, what was it about the original that made it stand out for you?

Naive Ted’s music is vast. He’s so prolific. There’s so many different aspects to it. We both felt that it would be exciting to see how we could write in some way with Naive Ted. Tony works with Andy (Naive Ted) at Music Generation Limerick. He asked Andy about working together and if Andy could maybe send on some beats. Andy sent on a complete track which was called ‘Fall’ I believe. We loved it but initially couldn’t find a way into it for us because it was so strong instrumentally. We played around with it and eventually found a bassline which led to chords, melodies and guitar lines. We added some beats, Ger wrote the lyrics and that was it!

We never actually sat with Andy to work on the track. It was so kind of him to allow us to add our thing to his track. We think both versions stand up as their own thing now which is really cool.

Black Lines is a lot different from your previous single ‘A Swarming’ but closer to your track ‘Headscarf’. Is that a deliberate thing or is Pity of The Sea your vehicle for trying different things out?

There’s definitely nothing too deliberate in it. ‘A Swarming’ and ‘Black Lines’ were the last tracks we wrote for the album. We were excited by them and decided to put them out.
Pity is definitely a vehicle for trying things out. We try to write music first and foremost that we get excited about. Music that we’d love to hear with our influences (and there are a lot) coming through in the music. The goal for the album was to write an album for music lovers like ourselves. People with a large collection of music who have listened to a lot of music.The type of listener that will be OK with not expecting every track to follow a certain sound or formula.

‘Headscarf’ featured lyrics influenced by the works of Iranian artist Mina Talaee. With this and Black Lines in mind, is collaboration an important part of the artistic process for you?

Ger: The songwriting process for this album has involved what I might call indirect collaborations. The album has been inspired by Art across all genres and mediums.

As you said the Hair Headscarf piece (2016) by Mina inspired the lyrics to the song ‘Headscarf’. The subtlety of the piece and its message mirrored what I believed I could do lyrically to highlight a similar message. The fact that the exhibition was on display 2 doors from my childhood home in Limerick blew me away!

‘Black Lines’ lyrics were written after reading Patti Smith’s Autobiography ‘Just Kids’. Her writing and the stories from that time could inspire full albums. Another song ‘The Unseen’ from our forthcoming album was inspired lyrically by a scene from award winning Limerick Author Kevin Barry’s book, ‘Beatlebone”. The fact that John Lennon is the main character didn’t pass me by.

We should also mention the drums on ‘Headscarf’ (and a number of the album tracks) were played by Bryan Ronan (Protobaby). Another important collaboration for us which transformed ‘Headscarf’ as well as other tracks on the album. Bryan is such a great drummer and his drum parts always add something extra to a track. There’s a song on the album called ‘Change Afoot’ and Bryan’s percussion and drums on it are so good we can’t wait for people to hear it!

Are these single releases leading to the release of a collection or album? If so, who are you recording with and when can we expect a taster.

‘Headscarf’, ‘A Swarming’ and ‘Black Lines’ are all from our forthcoming debut album. We have it all recorded and hope to release it in the coming months.

Tony has produced and recorded the album which gave us great freedom to change things and add ideas as they came up.

Your EP, ‘Abandoned’, released in 2017 featured a series of linked tracks about a serial killer. Is the album going to link tracks in this manner or was this type of concept EP a one off from you?

The album doesn’t have a concept but it’s not something we’d rule out doing again in the future.
The ‘Abandoned’ EP was us writing together for the first time. It was a slightly more formulaic approach to writing and the concept helped tie it together. While we are proud of it, looking back its not really connected to how we write now. We hadn’t found ourselves as a duo.

When we wrote ‘Headscarf’ it was the first time we felt we were really onto something. That set the precedent for this album. It was reassuring when we released ‘Headscarf’ that it got some recognition. The fact that DJ’s both locally and nationally who we really respect were willing to play a six and half minute track (with over 2 minutes of music before the vocals come in) gave us even more confidence to continue on the path that ‘Headscarf’ almost laid out for us.

What music have you been listening to in Lockdown? Can you give us a few recommendations?

We both have been revisiting our record collections and one band we’d love to recommend is W.H. Lung. and their debut album ‘Incidental Music’.

It’s not a new album (released last year) but it was a big influence on us when we were writing our album. The first time we heard ‘Simpatico People’ at 10 minutes long, lyrics coming in at 3 mins it proved to us that its still possible in these days to let the listener take a journey with a song. We’ve always loved bands in the past that leave time to create space. We’ve done lots of that on this album.

You both either teach or mentor young people in music and creative arts. It’s always important to support a young person’s creativity but in a this new normal, it seems we’re all going to rely on our creative side to get us through this Covid-19 weirdness. Any tips for embracing our inner artist?

Now maybe the time we see an upsurge in the arts. Embracing is the word. Art is about expression and when you express something through your chosen art, it is your art, your creation, your expression and something to be proud of.

From a music perspective if you can play two chords on the guitar (or even one! – ‘Tomorrow Never Knows!’) you can write a song. Even if you can’t play an instrument you can write lyrics or grab music app like Garageband and create some music! We’re both of the same opinion that there should never be prescribed formulas for how to sing, play or create in general. For example, there would’ve been no Liz Fraser and Cocteau Twins if someone said “that’s not how to sing” or currently Girl Band who in our opinion have reinvented how a traditional band line up can sound and approach music sonically.

How are you guys keeping your creativity going, as a musical project, in Lockdown?

Lockdown has given us the opportunity to revisit how we see the tracks on the album. It’s given us more time to work on mixes. Tony is able to continue to work on the album from home and we’re able to take a bit more time with the mixing side of things. We were lucky we had everything we needed recorded for the album just before lockdown.

It’s also an excellent opportunity to be creative in relation to possible video ideas, Album artwork, how we see the live element progressing and general practice of the new songs. When there’s some easing of restrictions we’ll hopefully be able to do some online performances of the album tracks. We can’t wait to be able to play this album live in a venue though, whenever that may be!

Do you have any secrets you’d like to tell us?

We have 3 secrets for you, only 1 is true.
Tony once stole a set of Bono’s sunglasses.
Ger once gave Liam Ó Maonlaí a wedgie.
Ger is really PJ Harvey who wanted a quieter life and moved to Co.Clare.

I know you’re in separate locations, any chance of a lockdown selfie from both of you?

We took a quick screen grab of our zoom chat!

Find Pity Of The Sea Online

You can find the band online on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can buy their music on Bandcamp and stream on Spotify.

Listen to Black Lines by Pity of The Sea and Naive Ted on Spotify

May 14, 2020
Corella: Pulling The Strings With Their New Single ‘Puppets’

Interview: Corella // Pulling the strings with their new single ‘Puppets’

Manchester band, Corella, have just released their new single, ‘Puppets’. Joel Smith, Ben Henderson, Jack Taylor and James Fawcett are one of the most exciting bands in the UK right now.

Having already released a string of singles and with over 1.2 million streams on Spotify, the four piece have taken things up a notch with their latest single ‘Puppets’.

We caught up to discuss the new single, producing music at home and life in Lockdown.

Hello Corella, where are you and how the hell are you?

Hello! We are living in the beautiful city of Manchester and we’re all doing fine thanks!

You released your new single ‘Puppets’ last week. It’s a belter, you don’t mess around with the length of the single. You get in, wham bam, give our ears a shake up and then get the hell out. Is that a conscious decision when you’re producing ?

Thanks very much glad you dig it! I think with the energy the song carries throughout it was definitely a conscious decision to not drop off at any point and just keep the tune driving throughout the whole song. With it being a shorter track I think it can help when people are listening as gives them little time to get bored haha.

You’ve gained a reputation of having an amazing live show and your tunes are seriously danceable. How do you make sure you leave gig goers wanting more?

I think when we play live it’s such a release of energy and adrenaline that we really give it everything we have, and try to make sure everyone in the audience will leave thinking ‘wow’. That’s always the aim anyway.

As were in lockdown right now, it’s not as easy to promote new music by getting out and gigging. But, you have taken to doing Instagram Live ‘Club Corella’. Does putting yourself out on social media feel natural for you guys or is it something you need to push yourselves to do?

I think when we first started out a few years back it was definitely more intimidating to put ourselves out there on social media. But I feel like now we’ve got so used to it and the people who follow us have gotten to know our personalities so it’s definitely not as scary now.

You released a string of singles in 2019, add Puppets to that and you’ve a nice collection of work. Is the aim to release an album or what are your plans?

We would love to release an album at some point! Writing enough material seemed quite daunting but living together has been really useful during this lockdown, as we’ve been writing so much we now have enough new songs for an album.

You record and produce your own music at home. Do you use external studios or producers or are you happy with how you are producing now?

I think the demos we make at home sound pretty decent and we always try to make sure they sound as good as possible! There might be a few things that we know can be better and need improving but then when we go and properly record the track in the studio, the small details can be ironed out but the main core of the song has already been made by us.

Barcelona has over 1.2 million streams on Spotify, which is amazing, how important has Spotify been for you to get the ‘Corella’ name out there?

Spotify has been huge for us. I think when we released ‘Barcelona Girl’ we knew it was a good song but didn’t really think about how successful it could be. Without a doubt Spotify helped massively with the play-listing, ending up with so many more people hearing the song.

You’re all in lockdown together in the same house but you’ve been living together for a few years. Has it made you more productive as a band or do you just want to chill right now?

Definitely made us more productive. We’ve been focusing a lot on writing and have been feeling really creative at the minute so been really good so far!

You’re based in Manchester, can you recommend three local bands we should check out and why?

Larkins, top band who we’ve known for quite a while now and they are smashing it at the minute! Mealtime, they’ve been releasing some cool tracks recently. Masi Masi, good friend of ours from uni who has started bringing out some new stuff which sounds really cool.

What venue are you most looking forward to get back to gigging in once we get out in the new normal?

We were meant to be playing Colours Hoxton for Close Up Festival this May but that has been rescheduled to September, so hopefully if it goes ahead it’s a venue we’ve never played but looks really cool so looking forward to that!

What are your banana bread skillz like?

Non existent haha as none of us have ever made any banana bread. We are experts for making a Sunday roast though!

Send us a band selfie?

Find Corella online

You can find out more about Corella on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and don’t forget to tune into their Club Corella Live every Saturday at 8pm

Listen to Puppets on Spotify!

May 13, 2020