Band of Skulls are not quite as terrifying as their namesake may suggest. But they are LOUD, and will definitely entertain you.
In anticipation of their upcoming performance at the Relentless Energy Sessions, we caught up with the band (currently in Belgium) to talk tours, Glastonbury and new material....
Where are you at the moment?
Leven, Belgium. We're coming to the end of our European tour.
Have you toured Europe much before?
It was a bit depressing for a while because we had been out in the States and it takes up so much time to do it properly that we had kind of neglected Europe. This summer has probably been the first summer that we’ve done it. Before we came out here we had spent a month in the studio and I guess we had forgotten how much we loved being on tour. This is the last tour of our first record and we are playing the entirety of our new record which we have never done before, so that’s the new thing.
What’s been your best show to date?
We did our first performances at Reading and Glastonbury this year and obviously that’s what everybody thinks about when they’re growing up. And it was one of those things when we all looked at each other on stage. It was nervewracking as it’s the jewel in the crown and you really don’t want to fuck it up.
How do you feel that you have progressed as a band since the beginning?
The fact that we’ve been doing a lot more shows and bigger shows in bigger places, we will take that into consideration when putting the next record together. Our first record was made when we were playing very small clubs…It’s just about having more impressive shows so you can make more of a statement on a bigger stage, which is something that bands learn as they go along.
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What can we expect from your live performances?
We’re a rock band so there’s no beating about the bush: we’re loud. And there are lots of different styles in there, with two singers, so the show changes around and changes pace quite a bit. We pretty much seem to play every night so if anything happens by chance everyone raises an eyebrow so we like to keep a bit of spontaneity and if someone comes to our shows twice in a row I’d like to think they’re not seeing a robotic performance so the important thing for us is that we just like to have fun. We like to keep everyone on their toes so there will be a couple of surprises, we may even surprise ourselves.
Are you currently working on any new material?
We try and write all the time and there were some things that we didn’t get to use last time. We’re not taking a holiday after the tour, we’re just going to make the album and put it out asap. We’ve been touring so much that it’s about time we gave some attention back to the creative process. It’s all about balance, you can have a bit of a breakthrough record and tour it forever and then you have nothing to give.
Words by April Welsh
Band of Skulls play the Relentless Energy Sessions Festival on Friday 22nd October. Tickets are available HERE