00:00 [Music]
00:13 So the Isle of Wight was absolutely surreal.
00:19 One of our most favourite gigs ever. It was absolutely crazy.
00:22 It was absolutely scorching. It was like 31 degrees.
00:26 We were absolutely sunburned with our Scottish skin, which was brilliant.
00:30 Not used to it up here in the north.
00:33 I applied to play at the Isle of Wight through a team called Amplead,
00:38 who I found online.
00:41 And they emailed me back maybe I think a week or two later,
00:47 "We'd like you to play Isle of Wight." And I was like, "What?"
00:50 So, pretty mind-blowing. And I was phoning the boys up like one in the morning.
00:54 It's like, "Answer the phone!" You know, because it was buzzing.
00:59 And then I had a call with Gavin, who is one of the guys that run Amplead,
01:05 who's a really great guy. And he was like, "We're just going to get you a helicopter in."
01:10 And I was like, "Yeah, that sounds, yeah, no problem."
01:14 So, treated like celebrities there.
01:18 I think only the headliners actually get a helicoptered into the festival.
01:23 So, that was really cool.
01:25 I think it went really well, because we spent a lot of time leading up to the gig.
01:36 We were handing out cards and speaking to people,
01:39 trying to get as many people to come see us as possible.
01:44 I think it went really well.
01:46 Excellent.
01:47 We put on the same show that we always do, the high energy.
01:52 And I think it really went down really well.
01:56 Yeah, no, just like Sam says, it was really cool to play to a tent full of people
02:03 800 miles away from home. It was absolutely pretty surreal.
02:06 Especially in one of the biggest festivals in the UK. So, that was insane.
02:10 For us, live, we love recording in the studio and all that kind of stuff.
02:16 But live is kind of our niche.
02:18 When we hit the stage and tour in festivals and that, it's just kind of like a different beast.
02:24 You can really just kind of let go.
02:27 Personally, I watch bands live all the time and it's all about energy for me.
02:33 If energy is there, then it's just like hooked.
02:37 So, you just love creating that energy live and having a good old sweat.
02:44 If you're not sweating, you're not doing it right.
02:46 [Music]
02:54 So, I played in Rhythm and Real and a few other bands.
02:58 I've been playing since I was about 12 years old.
03:01 So, I've been doing it long enough.
03:04 And then I met Robbie and the rest of the boys when my other band, The Clampdown,
03:08 we supported Forgetting the Future at MAP Art.
03:12 And since then, we just kept in touch.
03:14 And I did some wee photos things for the band and stuff up in Thurso.
03:20 We became mates and started talking and stuff like that.
03:23 So, then when Rob contacted me just to see the opportunity to come out,
03:28 I was happy to join them.
03:33 I thought I could definitely bring my flavor to the band.
03:38 I think so far it's definitely worked. I don't know what Robbie's take on that is.
03:43 You've got a very spicy flavor.
03:45 [Laughter]
03:48 [Music]
03:58 Yeah, definitely.
04:01 It's difficult.
04:03 You meet lots of great musicians along the way and things like that.
04:07 It's the hardest part is finding people that have the passion and the drive
04:11 and the work rate to get to that next step.
04:15 Because you could be the best band in the world or the best players in the world
04:19 or whatever, but if you don't have the work, the work rate and the desire to take it further,
04:25 then it's not worth it at all.
04:27 But I've definitely lucked out with the boys anyway in that regard.
04:32 Yes.
04:33 Yeah, so the plan is, obviously we're still very much Highland boys.
04:38 Yes.
04:40 And we love our home up here, you know, like Thurzo and Invergarden, Inverness.
04:45 It's absolutely amazing.
04:47 So, we're always going to be partly based up here.
04:51 Yes.
04:52 But the plan is to kind of go down to Glasgow for a bit and just jump into the pond.
05:00 You know what I mean?
05:03 Because at the moment, this year we've started branching out to Brighton and Isle of Wight
05:11 and stuff like that.
05:12 And next year we might be playing in Europe and all that kind of stuff.
05:16 So, basing ourselves in the middle is going to be probably quite beneficial for us
05:21 so we can nip down to Brighton and Columbum and come back up.
05:25 Yes.
05:26 And then we're still going to be based partly in Thurzo and Invergarden as well.
05:30 So, it's basically just branching out, you know.
05:33 Yes.
05:34 We want to be a worldwide band.
05:38 So, you know, branching out I think is the next, the best step.
05:42 I think we're at the point now, you know, we're 22, 23 and we're really happy with our sound
05:50 and our kind of live gigs and stuff.
05:53 So, we want to jump into the world, you know, we want to really push it as far.
06:00 We feel like we're really ready, which is great.
06:03 So, that's the plan.
06:04 Well, definitely we'd like to put great ideas forward.
06:14 Yes.
06:15 And you know, if it works, it works.
06:17 If it doesn't, it doesn't.
06:18 But definitely, in terms of writing the parts or, you know, definitely putting ideas forward.
06:26 Yeah, I think that seems to be our fans' jobs now, just to catch me in the crowd.
06:44 That was really great.
06:46 It was a really, really fun set.
06:48 Obviously, it was a massive stage.
06:49 Probably at that point, it was the biggest stage that we've played so far.
06:52 So, that was really cool.
06:53 And we had a great, you know, crowd there, even though it was like three in the afternoon.
06:58 There was a bunch of people there, which was really great.
07:01 Really cool to see support and enough people to crowd surf on.
07:04 So, that's always a good sign.
07:06 They don't hit the floor.
07:08 So, yeah, that was really great.
07:11 So, we played in the Hothouse, which is the main stage this year.
07:14 That was really, really fun.
07:16 So, obviously, that was main stage at like three in the afternoon the first day.
07:21 And now, this year, we're playing a smaller stage, but a really great stage just next to it, called the Seedling Stage.
07:29 Oh, yeah.
07:30 At like half seven.
07:32 So, that's a really, really good jump up for us, you know, because it's going to be swandered, you know.
07:38 It's going to be a really great set time, you know, later on in the day and the last day of the festival, and everyone's there and raring to go, you know.
07:47 So, we've got some big surprises.
07:49 It's going to be really, really fun.
07:52 And we can't wait to see a tent full of people again and to play in Belgium.
07:58 Because Belgium is one of our favorite festivals as well.
08:00 And, you know, Sam, he's played it a bunch of times himself.
08:03 We played it, you know.
08:04 So, it's a great, great festival.
08:07 So, we're really, really excited for a big old forget-the-future set in the Seedling Stage.
08:12 Thanks to Off Axis for having us.
08:14 Definitely.
08:24 I mean, I've been to, I think, every single Belladrama apart from the first one.
08:29 Wow.
08:30 You must have been very young.
08:32 You must have been very young.
08:34 Yes. I think I was, like, a few months old or something like that.
08:39 Oh, my goodness.
08:40 It's been a festival that's obviously been part of, you know, like, the local culture really for the last, you know, almost 20 years.
08:53 And, yeah, so I've been lucky enough to, I think the first time I played it I was 13.
09:00 That was me and my dad.
09:02 We were on the Free Range Folk Stage, which is in the Walled Garden.
09:05 Yes.
09:06 That's a cracking stage.
09:08 And since then, I think I'll probably be coming up for maybe 10 or 12 shows now.
09:15 Gosh.
09:16 I've got five this year.
09:17 Yeah.
09:18 So, yeah, it's a Belladrama.
09:21 At the same festival?
09:22 Yeah.
09:23 At the same festival.
09:24 So, people can see you five times in different guises.
09:28 Yeah.
09:29 Mental.
09:31 But, no, I'm so lucky to have played it a lot of times.
09:35 Yeah.
09:36 But the Seedlings is one I've never actually played.
09:39 Oh, right.
09:40 So, it'll be a new challenge and a new excitement for me, which will be great.
09:44 After Belladrama, we've obviously got Belladrama as well, and we're so excited for that.
09:54 Yeah.
09:55 I mean, you know, Seedlings is crazy because you've had, like, Sam Fenders play it.
09:58 You know, I've seen Tawan Atlantic play it.
10:01 Yeah, yeah.
10:02 Really great stage.
10:03 So, that's going to be amazing.
10:05 And then, at the end of the year, maybe start of the year, we're going to obviously release
10:10 the SEP and tour, you know, the whole UK.
10:13 So, that's going to be really fun as well.
10:14 We're going to go everywhere.
10:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments