BAND OF SKULLS

Band of Skulls is in Australia next week for a flurry of dates on the East Coast. We caught up with Emma Richardson to ask all about their latest opus 'Himalayan' ...

JUNE 2014

Southampton three-piece Band of Skulls are on a seemingly evere upward spiral of popularity - well-known for their killer live show they have snagged some great support slots over the last few years to become one of the most- hyped Rock bands on the world festival circuit. If you like your Rock to sound like it was melded together with crude tools in the middle of a thunderstorm then touched by an angel Band of Skulls should be unmissable. Leslii shot some questions their way on the eve of their Australian tour...

You are back in Australia mid-June for a few dates down the East Coast in support of Himalayan – you’re getting to be regular visitors to our shores. What do you look forward to about coming down under?

We are really excited about coming back to Australia. We always have great live shows with you guys as the crowds are awesome. We get to revisit places and hopefully see things we missed last time. 

2012’s Sweet Sour was one of our favourite albums that year and you spent a lot of time supporting it on the road with Muse, The Chillis, The Black Keys and QOTSA. What did you learn from those experiences?

We always learn from playing support shows. Each band is unique and its great to witness all the different types production and how they structure their sets and the energy everyone puts into making it an exciting live experience.

Was the creation process any different for Himalayan than for previous releases?

We were a little more relaxed and confident going into making this album. We had more of an idea about what we wanted it to sound like. It was the first time we wrote and recorded it in London. We always try and chance the location of where we work as its inspiring to be somewhere new. It was also the first time we worked with Nick Launay producing, which was a great experience. 

You have a very primal sound, but with the new album you can catch an almost softer, glam edge creeping in, which really rounds out the overall sound beautifully. Would you agree?

You can definitely tell its a band of skulls record and there are some primal moments on this album but the glam influence is definitely there yes. That came from wanting to write songs which you could dance to and songs which would really add to our live set well. I think because we all write and contribute to the process there will always be a mixture of styles and atmospheres on each record.

“Hoochie Coochie” is a real stomper that really captures a ‘70s vibe beautifully – I’ll bet that kills it live?

It is a lot of fun to play live and it's been getting a great reaction. The video just came out too and that seems to be going down well!

“Brothers and Sisters” is such a great song, how do you feel when you listen to the finished mix of a song like that?

Thank god it’s finished! That song took a while as we wrote in a lot of tricks and different drum patterns that were difficult to get right but i think it's a better song for it.

The vocal interplay on some songs is taken to new heights, are you pleased how that aspect of your sound has grown? 

It’s important to try new ways of working with what you've got. Its one of our weapons, the duelling vocals.

Which songs are you digging the most at the moment?

At Night In Dreams - White Denim
Do I Move You? - Nina Simone
Curly Locks - Lee Scratch Perry
I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail - The Everly Brothers
Amidinine - Bombino

What are we likely to hear in the live set when we see you next week?

A good mixture of all three albums

What are your plans for the rest of 2014?

A lot more live shows and maybe some more writing.

BAND OF SKULLS AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Tues 17 June - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne (sold out)

Fri 20 June - The Hi-Fi, Sydney

Sat 21 June - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane

Band of Skulls spoke to Leslii Phillips June 2014