The Boxer Rebellion: Interview

The Boxer Rebellion released their third album 'The Cold Still' earlier this year. Now with their first adopted hometown show in six months, Lawrence Poole caught up with the lead singer of globe-spanning indie scamps The Boxer Rebellion, Nathan Nicholson, on a filthy September day in London to talk ski lifts, new material and upgrading family and friends:
 
So after a few summer festival dates, you're back in London....

Yeah, we've been back for about 10 days writing and starting the process for the next album, which is fun as I get a lot of enjoyment out of that.

Has your summer been hectic then?

We've kind of been flying over to Europe for various gigs in between writing and recording, it's been quite a low-key summer but we've played a few in Europe.

Is studio time something you relish then?

It's great to get back to London to pick up the writing as it's the most creative part of being in a band.

What have the festival crowds been like?

We've done a lot of European festivals, there's a lot of local bands who play so I hadn't heard of many of them, the crowds have been great though. In Holland they tend to turn up and watch new stuff, which is great as you pick up new fans that way.

Any highlights?

The best one we played was in Grenoble, which is right by the Alps and you got a ski lift up to the gig - it was really pretty and the crowd were great. I had to check the calendar there as we've been pretty busy - I couldn't remember which one was which!

You're rounding off the month with a date at Shepherd's Bush Empire - excited?

We haven't played here since March so I'm really looking forward to doing a few gigs here, we're playing Shepherd's Bush and I've seen a lot of gigs there and always wanted to play so that's going to be great.

Are there any perks to playing in London?

We've got our own VIP area for our friends and family for the first time at this one, so that will be great!

You came over to London in 2000 to form a band from Tennessee - does it feel like home now?

I've lived here for 11 years and I'm in my 30s so it's no longer a vacation! We rehearse in Old Street so we hangout a lot in Shoreditch and around Liverpool Street and Brick Lane, which is really cool. I've literally lived all over London during my time here so I've got to know it pretty well.

I imagine there's no place like home though - what do you miss about Tennessee?

I guess I miss the people, there's so hospitable and really friendly, I lived right near the mountains which was great too - it's just a really pretty place. Everyone knew everyone, with a really slow pace of life where as in London everyone moves fast as they have a place to go!

You got to record a live album there too...

It was really cool to record the live album in my hometown - a friend, who's a tech, asked to come down and record the show and we weren't expecting to do anything with it but it turned out so great we released it.

Your third album has been out since February - pleased with how things have gone?

The Cold Still is a more downbeat record and a bit more of a grower than the other two, but people have taken to and it does us proud. I'm looking forward to playing it live more before recording the next one.

The Cold Still is out now. The Boxer Rebellion play Shepherd's Bush Empire on September 29. For more details and to buy The Boxer Rebellion tickets, check out Gigwise Gig Tickets.