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With the burst of the so called new rave movement last year, it was only a matter of time until the electro electricity would strike a chord and churn out an endless supply of bands to mark a new chapter. And there’s always a moment when you wonder which ones will actually stick around and craft a new niche in the market, rather than disappearing into obscurity. Late Of The Pier, with their edgy, synthesized clappy sound have often been tarnished with this label, but are they aiming to be the next Klaxons? Gigwise catches up with Andrew Faley from the four piece outfit and he’s only too quick to nip the idea in the bud; “We were doing what we’re doing before Klaxons even came out. We’re electronic odd-sock pop-rock”
With influences ranging from jazz to hip hop to punk and obscure 60s rock n roll, it’s a safe bet that this is a band that don’t want to be pigeon holed too quickly. What does make Late of the Pier so special is the fact that they’ve all been friends since babies, rarely argue and just want to make music together. Far from your average indie band who meet at university, then. And that’s how simple it was. “We were just four kids who thought ‘fuck it lets make music.’ Sam (Eastgate) was very musically inclined and Ross (Dawson) already played drums. The rest of us just picked up instruments and started playing”
Did they have a lot of support in making the band? “Well our friends didn’t really listen to us. But now we get old mates ringing us up or people thinking they like it then going ‘oh I used to know them.’ Our parents weren’t really up for it at first either, saying ‘go to Uni and get a job’, but now everyone’s supporting us” Intrinsic to their independent nature, Faley tells us that they didn’t ever go to any music lessons, but taught themselves how to play. A very natural bunch then with a modest motto of “whatever happens, happens”
Despite their modest, but growing reputation, we put it to Faley whether they have big aspirations: “There’s no half heartedness, we’re playing pop that people used to stay away from but now we’re playing it and it feels good. Maybe by the fifth or sixth album we’ll be world dominating.” The fact is though the world hasn’t even seen their first album. Is it a case of more words than action? Well we’ll soon find out mid next year, which is the planned release of the album, but what we do know is it will feature the mighty Erol Alkan. It’s an exciting time for them, one day jamming in a bedroom; to deciding who to work with on their debut “We’d love to do something with Metronomy too,” Faley explains.
We ask him about the direction the album is taking: “We’ll incorporate all our many different styles and genres. It’ll have a lot of the songs we play at gigs but new songs as well… (laughs)… I actually had a dream that The Avalanches saw us and said they really liked how our album sounded like something they did” So what will their essential tools of their trade be? “Basically synthesizers and a lot of amps to create waves in the sound.”
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Thanks to the world of technology, many of their fervent fans have jumped aboard the Late of the Pier ship, by downloading their demos on the internet. We ask the band if they’re pro or anti downloading. “Soulseek (file sharing application) is really good because you can type in a genre and get all sorts of stuff. It can broaden your music. I have fuck loads of downloads. It can be really good as well when you look at Arctic Monkeys and what they did with it” They’re not only focussed on making money either! But if they are dominating the world in five years time who would be the perfect set of bands to play with? “The Doors, Daft Punk, Ray Charles and Dr Dre would be a pretty epic show.” A huge fan of Daft Punk’s legendary stage production, Faley explains they would love to do “something with lights, visuals and robots” on a future tour. Something to look forward to then.
For the youngsters out there you’ll also be glad to know LOTP love playing under 18 gigs too - the band played the first ever Underage Festival this summer. “It’s a lot more fun and everyone turns up and gets involved. It’s a really good atmosphere” They also agree that these shows important, especially being young themselves, “Kids can go to a show and think yeah, I can do this” There aren’t any plans for a tour yet though as they’re concentrating on recording and spending hardcore time on the album. We can expect the release of ‘Broken’ in February however. And luckily for us gig lovers, they want to be a band with depth; “Our live shows will definitely sound different to the recording. There’s no point in it sounding the same. You might as well just listen to our album rather than come to a gig if that’s what you want,” Faley proclaims.
Worth noting is the way they remember their roots and still live close to their home town of Nottingham. Is there an established music scene in Nottingham or are Late Of The Pier the only ones worth knowing about? “There’s quite a few Nottingham bands we like. An old band called Punish The Atom and a band called The Grips and we’re good friends with Clarky Cat. La La Lepus is good too and there’s the DJ remixers Nightmoves.” If you ask other bands what their favourite Nottingham bands are however Late of The Pier often crop up. But which band do they hate the most? “It’s got to be The Enemy - they’re just shit.”
It sure looks like a promising future for the four Nottingham lads and if their dream is to have Daft punk style robots and a support slot with Ray Charles, then they’re definitely a band you wanna keep your eyes and ears on.
