Popes of Chillitown : An Interview

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My approach in doing interviews for bands has not changed. It is still made in the spirit of spontaneity. You know, that moment when you meet your favourite band and you scribble questions in a piece of paper (or ask them impromptu) and let them answer it shortly. I think it also depends on the occasion. There are times when the interview is complicated due to the schedule or the availability of the artists. But I always try to strike at a moment when I can get my answer out. Because it is fun that way. And I am darn sure you my readers will enjoy it.

I want to keep it simple and that thought made me decide to have a brief chat with Matt, the singer from Popes of Chillitown. They are a 6-piece band from London. They play a variety of Ska,Dub and Punk. They’re originally founded in 2006. This interview is a continuation of something I’ve written a few weeks ago.

Enjoy the answers and explore the music!

1.Tell us about your new album To the Moon.

Our new album to the moon…it’s our journey through space (uk ska scene and dance floors) and time (a year of line/up changes and our first European tour) What we wanted to do with to the moon was give people something that they could either dance to or sing along to as consistently as we could across 11 tracks.

2.Your new single Wisdom Teeth is out how was the experience shooting a music video?

Doing the music video with Craig from the snare was jokes. We’re all mates so we just had a laugh and ate monster munch and drank red stripe. It was nice that he knew what he was doing too. Check it out on the YouTubes.

3.You’re touring Europe promoting your album. What keeps you all energize while being on the road?

I’ve already mentioned monster munch and red stripe so add ginsters and walkers sensations to that list of energy giving fodder. Not that we’re looking for sponsorship or anything…More spiritually it’s an altruistic Bill and Ted style vision of musical utopia that drives us on. That. And Munroe.

4. How do you decide that the song is ready for recording?

When we finally get round to recording stuff we’ve usually tried and tested every could-be song at live shows. We feel that is the test of whether it should go on a recording. And that’s what we’ve done with this album. Other songs maybe fun to play or whatever but we were only after dance music on this one. Aside from that when a song is ready is a weird concept as some things burst into existence and some things linger and fester so you have to sympathetic to this and adaptive in the creative process.

5. What can the audience expect when they go to your gigs?

At live shows we try to bring as much energy as possible to the entire time that were on stage. We want people to dance so we have to take the lead in it, innit. We have sing along bits and we try to get people moving. Sometimes me and Tom go wandering on the wireless. Which is fun. Especially at festivals when you go too far from the stage and you’re trying to sing in time with an echo.

6. Are there other bands you hangout when you have the time?

I said The Snare and Millie Manders. We hang out with any of the bands we play with around the country. There are loads of safe people in the ska scene. People who have recently been safe; Tree House Fire, Riskee, Call me Malcolm, Stiff Joints, Cartoon Violence, Mad Apple Circus and Counting Coins.

7. Can you list down the band members and what they play?

Popes of Chillitown are:

Popes of Chillitown:Attitude, melody and energy- the reasons why I like these guys.

Popes of Chillitown:Attitude, melody and energy- the reasons why I like these guys.

Jck – drums / vox

Arv – Bass

Tom – Electric Guitar / vox

Jimmy Pingu – Trombone / vox

Classic Trev – Sax / Melodica / vox

Matt – Vox / Acoustic Guitar

8. What’s great about being in Popes of Chillitown?

Being in Popes is great because we get to live the glamorous life style of eating shit, driving all day to Germany and then sleeping on a strangers floor. We get to listen to a lot of music in the car though. We just love gigging and playing shows with other bands we like and can have a laugh with. We’ve had a really fun time this last year making the album and we’re enjoying playing it – as well as a few of the dancier tracks from the first one. We’re still exploring the continent one gig at a time and that’s fun too.

Yes, these fellas are fun. Be sure to visit their official links below:

http://www.popesofchillitown.com/

https://www.facebook.com/PopesOfChillitown

Tigershark :Fierce power pop

  
 I am a bit biased when it comes to bands where I know one or two of the members. I also like it when the music is different from what I am used to. It challenges my aesthetic comfort zone. Have you ever experienced that everytime you listen to a new band with a unique sound?

Tigershark  members are Jesse McPherson, Kenneth Cunningham, Kevin Murrell and Layne Greene. Their music borrows heavily from dream pop and noisecore and then they added their own individual styles, creating a sound like no other. It isn’t something you can expect from a group emerging from the quiet town of Blue Mountain Nova Scotia, but it looks like they managed to hack it.

They have a new EP coming out in a few months, but no major announcement has been posted yet. I guess they are still making sure everything is good before releasing it to the interwebs. 

Earworm is their new song. The term means a catchy piece of song that plays again and again in the head long after the piece is over. And I don’t doubt it. Listen to the first few bars. It’s got that hypnotic thing going. 

https://soundcloud.com/tigersharktheband/earworm
Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tigersharktheband

The Juveniles’ debut EP’ You Won’t Control Us’ is irresistible

Yes they are one of the fresh voices of the indie rock scene. I am talking about the newest band to come out of Liverpool. They are The Juveniles. Their new EP is called You Won’t Control Us which lives up to the name and image of the band. And yes you can’t control me from raving about their music. It is partly Blur with a bit of Echo and the Bunny Men with something from Teardrop Explodes.image

Their single is Help Me Out and I betcha no one can resist helping them out especially that they are so cool it makes you wish you discovered them first. Have you seen the music video of the single? It’s so freakin’ awesome and it represents all that is good about the band:music, fashion sense and yeah the amazing Mike Paul Davies who is the band’s frontman.  They should expect hoards of fans from all agesimage image, gender and sexual orientation!

You Won’t Control Us have four songs and the EP lasts seventeen minutes and twenty seconds. The title track which is the last song is another potential single with its beautiful and evocative arrangement.

Members are :
Mike Paul Davies (Guitar + Vox), Liam Devall (Guitar + Vox), Laurel Lau (Keyboards), @Marcgibbs (Bass), Fabrizio Cabriolu (Drums). I think they have a great teamwork as their music sounds tight and confident. Like they’ve played for years. Which is probably true. No band can sound this good without the polish of playing many times.

According to the band:

We grew up with Britpop and hip-hop, indie-rock and throw-away pop. We went on to find ‘madchester’, new wave, punk and the 60’s. Differing sounds, different people and defining moments in musical history that we hold so dear our souls.

Indeed. You will hear different textures when you listen to their latest EP. Here’s to the bright future of The Juveniles.

Links:

http://www.thejuveniles.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/thejuvenilesuk

http://twitter.com/TheJuvenilesuk

Summer sound- Lunavela

  
Ex- Colapsing Cities artist Steve Mathieson has a new project out called Lunavela. The new track is called Burn for You. And guess what? It’s a perfect summer track. The vocals are easy and the melodies glide like the smoothest Margarita you’ve ever tasted!

Burn for You has an 80s New Wave vibe. I love the chilled electro pop combination and I am sure you will too. Collapsing Cities were the same band that gave us Regrets. I think Lunavela has a distinct sound so different from its predecessor and that is good news! Check out the single below via Soundcloud:

http://soundcloud.com/lunavela-1/burn-for-you

Moments In Memory (Improved Version) By: Athuja

http://www.reverbnation.com/athuja/song/23130735-moments-in-memory-improved-version

This band is cooking something delicious. But you have to be patient and make sure you coax lead vocalist Peter Chains into singing more and showcasing his amazing voice. They are from Windsor Canada. Band members are:

Vocals & Percussion: Peter Chains11150682_358959294304643_6986054734366471665_n

Guitars: Ron DeMarse

Bass & Keys: Ralph Billingsley

Drums & Persussion: Doug MacDonald

Moments in Memory is a sexy track that sounds like it came out of a posh cafe. I love it and I hope they can come up with a proper EP or album. Right now they are uploading and refining their demos(as you can see by the titles).