The sheer amount of good music and great new bands coming out of Scotland right now is ridiculous. In recent years bands like Honeyblood, Chvrches and Young Fathers have made their presence heard not just in Scotland and the UK, but around the world too. Now Glasgow’s purveyors of electro indie pop Kill The Waves are set to make their mark too. Last month they released their debut album The One That Could Have Been, and are set to release their new single “The Oak Tree”, and it’s accompanying music video this week. Ahead of its release we caught up with the band to find out a little bit more about them, their debut album and who their pick for this years SAYA winner.
How did the band get started?
We met through mutual friends, found we loved similar types of music and decided to start making music together. Initially we were a pretty sparse electronic trio, but as we gained members we fleshed out our sound a bit to something more organic
Who do you see as your inspiration in terms of both songwriting and sound?
We tend to take inspiration from artists’ approaches, rather than specific sounds. We love Four Tet, Caribou and Sufjan Stevens, or anyone who has the confidence to follow what inspires them.
We’ve also got a real soft spot for good pop music, and that’s something that comes through in what we write. We grew up listening to bands like Radiohead and The White Stripes, so that has obviously influenced us too!
With six in the band how do you approach the songwriting? Is it a diplomatic process, or do you have one principal songwriter?
Tim [Kwant] is the principal lyricist and generally writes all the vocals. The instrumentation is much more democratic. Usually, someone will come in with an idea and it’ll be filtered through the whole band. It helps everything feel loose and relaxed, rather than rigid and exact. It’s important to us that it reflects who we all are, as musicians and as people.
What is the story behind your debut album The One That Could Have Been?
The songs on the album are ones that have been with us for a while, in some cases a few years. It’s pretty much the result of our first couple of years as a full band, and all the experimentation and exploration that it led to.
Do you see the record as having a particular theme, feel or message?
The album doesn’t have a specific theme, but all the songs touch on ideas like love, death and loss.
What is the inspiration behind current single “Better Days”?
It’s about hope, I guess. Striving for something better, something more meaningful. Instrumentally, we wanted something that was constantly moving forward, like a train, so we had that driving drum part and the arpeggios over the top. We wanted it to feel like it was in motion.
The album has only been out for a few days, what has the reaction been like so far?
It’s been pretty positive actually!
It’s not unusual for our songs to take a couple of listens to unfold for people, so the fact that everyone seems to be enjoying it so early is really great.
You’ve filmed a music video for your upcoming single The Oak Tree, tell us a little bit about the ideas behind that video?
We wanted something that represented the organic side of the instrumentation, as well as the precise aspect of the electronics. It’s a common theme throughout the artwork done for our album and singles (which was done by Amy Gahagan and Martin Convery).
Our friend Simon Parnham (who works under the name Merkstreet), was kind enough to do a treatment for us that combined these two aspects. We filmed in a huge park in Glasgow, as well as in the Scottish Highlands, and Simon manipulated the footage in really interesting ways inspired by his take on the lyrics.
How did you find the experience of filming the video?
The shoot was great fun, because Simon is one of our friends. We trekked up to the location with the gear, had our sandwiches stolen by a stray dog and got wet. Had it been anyone else filming, it might have been a little more miserable!
What are your thoughts on this years SAYA (Scottish Album of the Year Award) long list, and who would your money be on to win?
It’s a testament to the amount of creative energy in Scotland, because there are four or five albums that would be worthy winners.
For our money, it’ll be between Young Fathers, Mogwai and The Twilight Sad.
Are there any plans in the works for the band to tour beyond the UK?
We don’t have plans at the moment, but it’s something we’d love to do! We’re a small independent band with day jobs and families so it’s a huge undertaking to get overseas for shows, but it’s something we’re certainly aiming for.
What does the second half of 2015 have in store for the band?
We’ll be playing more shows and working on our second album. We’ve already started the writing process, so we’ll be tweaking the new songs and getting ready to go back into the studio.
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The AU review premiered the band’s new music video “Oak Tree” earlier today, check it out HERE
You can also follow the band on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/killthewavesofficial
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