Romantic and honest, gloomy and curious, melodic and melancholic, Plastic Barricades chronicle life in the troubled yet fascinating XXI century with painstaking sincerity, asking questions and trying to find the answers. Inspired and influenced by almighty Radiohead, Oasis, Coldplay, Muse, Razorlight, Nirvana and many others, the band loves to experiment with styles, sound and approach.
Based in North-West London, Plastic Barricades are Dan Kert on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Daniele Borgato on bass guitar and Frazer James Webster on drums. Over the last two years the band has been nominated for “Oxjam Band of the Year 2014” and “MTV Brand New 2014”, voted #1 out of 222 bands participating in Hard Rock Cafe London Global Battle of the Bands competition, won Camden Rocks 2014 Battle of the Bands, got nominated for “Brand New Artist 2015”, landed 2nd place in Sziget Festival 2015 band competition and won Enfield Battle of the Bands 2016 and Songwall’s “Songs in the Sky”.
The band’s latest album “Mechanics of Life” album was released on the 14th of September 2017. The band played the album launch party at London’s Camden Proud and embarked on a 11 date trek around UK, including a show at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool and a headline slot at the Oxjam Islington Charity Festival. We get a few words from vocalist/guitarist Dan Kert on the new album and a bit of background on Plastic Barricades.
Tell us about the process of writing and recording the new songs.
“Mechanics of Life” was written and recorded in London over the course of the last 3 years. The album ended up having 11 tracks, with 6 of them released as singles and 4 of them (“Masterminds”, “Half of your Soul”, “Around the Sun” and “How Goldfish Grow”) also boasting music videos. We were lucky enough to have our own backyard “Shed Studio” so we could really take our time and get all those guitars, vocals and keys exactly how they sounded in our heads a while back. The drums were tracked at Old Paradise Yard studios and Resident Studios, just because our Shed was a bit too small to experiment with mic positioning. We just thought that we will only ever have this kind of time frame luxury with a debut album.
The album was produced by the band, without any external help, because we thought that we have to really looks inside ourselves and explore what and how are we capable of. However, we were lucky enough to collaborate with talented Stuart Cooney (of London industrial rock band Cohesion) on mixing “Needles in Haystacks”, “Half of Your Soul” and “Around the Sun” and Carl Perkins (of Bad Cow Studios, Isle of Wight) mixing 6 other tracks. First two singles were mixed by our very own bass player Daniele Borgato. And you can also hear some epic lead guitar work by Jonas Svendsen (currently one half of London electro-rock duo MUX). We are especially proud the wonderfully weird artwork for all 6 singles and the album, created by our dear in-house artist Elina Pasok. And then last, but not least, mastering was done by a legendary wizard Andy “Hippy” Baldwin at the Metropolis Studios in London.
What were some of the things you wanted to achieve with the release?
We just thought that it would be nice to have a debut album as diverse as possible, at the same time exploring new structures and sounds – and also talking about things that matter today, in 2017. There was a lot of soul searching involved.
Do you enjoy the process of creating? Are you someone who continually writes or does the best come out under a little gentle pressure?
In my experience best songs come out naturally, you cannot really force it. But I do try to maintain a writing schedule. And yes – I adore creating, that is the reason I play music.
What does it feel like as an artist waiting for the songs you’ve lived with for some time to get released to the fans? Is there a sense of excitement or a little panic in there too?
No panic, just a relief we can finally move on to the next best thing. These songs were tried and tested hard on the road over the last 3 years, so our fans knew them pretty well by the time they have heard the studio versions.
How does it compare to older material?
“Mechanics of Life” is something we’ve worked on for quite a while, so we feel that we’ve grown up as a band while recording this. It is hard to compare the album to our previous releases, mainly because they involved different line-ups and very different working conditions.
What were the lyrical themes of the songs?
Humans don’t come with a manual, so we thought we’d create one. The album starts with the song we usually end our gigs with called How Goldfish Grow. It is based on a simple fact that if you take a goldfish and you find a big tank for it – it will grow BIG! The environment affects the size of the goldfish, the same way as our environment affect our own growth. There is a funny animated music video for this song on our YouTube channel. Then we sing about artificial intelligence helping humans get their s**** together (Singularity-2045), being able to reinvent yourselves again and again (Our Favourite Delusions), caring about the environment and throwing all the mindless consumerism away (Be the Change), looking back and overthinking it instead of moving forward (Around the Sun), searching for meaning (Needles in Haystacks), shining a light to show others the way (Shine!), finding the one intended for you (Half of your Soul), Big pharma conspiracy (Medicine Man) and mental illness (Voices). The last song of the LP – Masterminds – kind of summarises the whole experience, reminding everyone that they are the ones responsible for the things happening around them – and they can take back control!
What were the main inspirations for “Mechanics of Life”?
Life, inside of our heads and in the outside world. From daily news to TED talks and personal experiences, as well as works by Orwell, Huxley, Hemingway, Murakami, Salinger, Werber and many others.
Any favorite moments or songs on the album?
They are all favorite, each has a personal story. They are our kids, so we cannot choose.
Did you imagine how these songs would play out in a live situation?
We did a lot of UK touring, playing everywhere we could set a drumkit at. So most of the songs were tested on the road before they made it to tape.
How did the band form and get started?
Current line-up with Dani (Borgato – bass) and Frazer (Webster – drums) is active since 2013, we’ve met at ICMP (Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) in Kilburn and decided to conquer some hearts and heal some wounds together. We were playing our first gig together at The Water Rats (Bob Dylan played his first London show there in 1962) two weeks later.
What have been your greatest challenges to date, and your favourite moments musically?
It is always challenging to create art, but I guess that is part of the charm. There is always sun after rain. As for our favourite moments – playing at the iconic Hard Rock Café London and touring UK for the first time were definitely amongst our happy moments. Releasing our first album felt great too.
With technology changing so much over the last few years and seemingly not slowing, and TV force-feeding us the lowest common denominator, what hope is there for rock & metal music?
There is always hope, and musicians need to try to use tech to their advantage and come up with new exciting ways to make and spread their music. Good honest songs and a fiery performance should always be the priority.
From what you’ve learned so far what is the most valuable advice you’ve been given so far as a musician?
Stop pretending you can predict the reaction that your new song will evoke. Just write it. Record it. Release it. And while people decide if they like it you can write and record some more songs.
Who are some of your main influences?
Our latest released was definitely inspired by brave and honest musicians like Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, Nirvana, Dave Matthew’s band, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Coldplay, Biffy Clyro and many others.
Who or what inspired you to be in a band and play music?
I was brought up with classic music and still consider Frederic Chopin to be one of the reasons I love romantic, melancholic and introspective music. But when coming back home from music school at the age of 12 a colorful cassette tape with a familiar band name caught my eye in one of the kiosks in Tallinn, the capital of a small country called Estonia. That cassette was “The Very Best” of Nirvana – and it changed my life forever.
How do you feel about the current music scene right now?
It has its ups and down, but I guess that was always the case. There are some really awesome cutting edge acts appearing all over the world. They are rarely seen in Top-40, but I am sure that some day soon they will be on everyone’s lips. London music scene is very diverse and sometimes musicians do forget that they are not competing with each other, they are all in the same boat. More moral support is definitely needed within the industry
Do you believe music can still change the world?
Absolutely! And it is changing the world every single day. It would be a very bleak and pathetic place otherwise.
If you could be a fly on the wall for the recording of any album in history, what album would it be?
I guess I would love to be a fly on the wall at Pachyderm Studios in Minnesota in February of 1993.
What is the meaning of life?
The whole reason for us all being here is to have a chance to keep evolving and becoming better human beings.
For more info on Plastic Barricades head to plasticbarricades.co.uk
