Tayla Davie caught up with brothers Ewan and Callum from Bad Sounds, where they told Platform all about their weekend at Dot to Dot Festival, the northern and southern divide and what they hope to achieve in 2018…
Hi guys! Howās the weekend been so far? Any highlights?
Callum: Highlights have been outside the van, all the gigs have been a highlight to be honest. But Iām not just saying that because weāre here, but Nottingham was probably my favourite show of the stretch.
How do you think the set went?
Ewan: Pretty fun, I really enjoyed it. Iām also really surprised about how many people were in that massive room.
C: We havenāt really played Nottingham much and itās like the biggest venue that weāve played on the whole tour, so we were kinda like this is a weird choice.
E: Actually, when our intro started, and the lights dimmed I heard the audience and I was like that sounds like a lot of people. We loved it.
What made you decide to go into music?
E: Itās weird because neither of our parents were like musicians or anything, our Dad played a bit of guitar, but I donāt think we ever sort of entertained doing much else. It was just like, we were always really into music and our parents supported that so even though we went separately for a while, it was always to do music things. Itās never been anything else really that weāve been focused on.
Can you describe Bad Sounds for someone whoās never heard of you before?
C: Thatās hard. We just see it as our music tastes, just like merged and we write with a hip-hop mindset in the sense with like traditional hip-hop you sample something or a cool bit from something that you really like. We kinda do that with genres and eras that we really like, so itās just like a really cool guitar sound from that record in the 70ās, or like a really cool drum sound. Itās just a blend of our music tastesā.
So, as a southern band is it any different playing up north?
E: It tends to be. I donāt know why, we played our Bristol hometown show last night and we were kinda expecting it be the maddest night because we havenāt played there in a long time and to be fair when weāve done our own shows where it has been like that. But I think maybe, it just felt more like a chin rubbing crowd. But yeah, I dunno it does seem the more north you go the wilder it is. Glasgow is my favourite place to play, it always seems like everyone is so up for it.
How was it supporting Rat Boy earlier this year?
E: Yeah it was wicked. Weāve supported them once before, so we kinda knew the guys anyway. Itās kinda weird thing when youāre on tour because youāre on slightly different schedules when theyāre setting everything up we have chill time and when weāre setting all our stuff up, they have chill time. Thereās not really much of a crossover, but because we already sort of knew each other you chat a bit between stuff. Their audience is always so welcoming to us and it was kinda nice to go back and do it a second time because I felt like weād really come on a long way and improved a lot. The first time we did it was the first time we played properly, so it was good we felt like weād sort of gone up a notch in peopleās books when they come back.
You released a single last month āEvil Powersā, can you tell me the inspiration behind the single and what the recording process was like?
E: Weāve always been obsessed with the evil dead saga, and into spooky and goofy stuff so whenever weāve had the chance to exploit that we have, and we really had that hook with the Evil Powers chorus. Then we kinda just got that in our heads that we could absolutely milk it to shit. And we did.
So, who are biggest inspirations?
E: I think weāre into a lot of different stuff, but Iād say things that have really changed the way we work is a production duo called The Dust Brothers who did Pauls Boutique by the Beastie Boys and a lot of what they have done has influenced us in a big way.
C: They also did MMMbop by Hanson.
E: Song of a generation. But then also like Curtis Mayfield, loads of people, The Gorillaz obviously. Gnarls Barkley.
If you could play/record with one musician dead or alive, who would it be?
C: Michael Jackson.
Whatās your greatest achievement as a band?
C: You know what, it never feels like weāve achieved something because it always feels like weāre on a slow steady incline. I feel like when I was a kid, I thought there was gonna be this one moment and then it will all happen for us but in reality, I donāt think it really happens like that. Itās the sum of all parts. It was amazing when Annie Mac first played āAvalancheā, she bigged it up so much for us and then straight after, I think it was like two weeks later we played the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury and that sort of like fell into place all at the right time. Then we released āWagesā and she championed that as well.
E: I donāt think either of us have like milestones that weāre aiming for, itās more just wanting to do it for a living, which I think when we got to quit our jobs that was probably the biggest thing. That and just finishing the album recently, those are things that I saw being big moments but thereās never been like a venue Iāve had in my head thinking oh I wanna get there. So yeah, itās just kinda doing it I guess.
Do you have any advice for people trying to make it in the music industry?
E: I think it depends how far along you are but first and foremost itās write as much as possible and get something that you feel really strongly about and that you know is good. But then I think when youāre at that stage finding decent management is definitely, in terms of like sorting out your career and like the industry stuff that is the number one thing. In terms of writing, itās just doing it as much as possible.
C: I also think just like be realistic about the time scale as well, itās never gonna happen as quick as you want it too. Thereās a lot of patience and you are gonna have to work and do gigs, then go to work at like 7 in the morning and stuff like that. Unless youāre really lucky, youāre gonna have to do that stuff, so donāt be a bitch about it.
E: I also think the best bands do, do that stuff. The bands who seem to get signed really early, I almost feel like itās come too easy for them, they donāt really appreciate like the great situation theyāre in.
C: Weāre so terrified that weāre gonna have to stop doing this and go back to normal.
E: I think all of our family think weāre like absolute slackers, but genuinely Iām working ten times harder at this than I did at my old day job.
And finally, what do you hope to achieve in 2018?
E: Well the album is coming out, so thatās kind of the focus of it. I guess weāre hoping that does well. But I think itās kinda almost out of our hands now, obviously, there is some marketing stuff that will happen but in terms of what we can actually do, weāve put in all of the work into that. Then itās just planning shows.
C: I just want people to like the album. That would be my biggest thing.
E: When we made the album, it really did take some time and we worked really hard and we always kinda went in with the mentality of like if it sells nothing and we hear it in ten-years-time we still want to like it and feel like we did the right thing. Obviously you want people to like and for people to be into it, but itās okay if they donāt because weāve definitely made the best album we can make in our eyes right now.
By Tayla Davie
Photos taken by Katie Addy
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