Category: Interviews

“Willing and excited and enthusiastic, that’s really what we are” – An interview with Sofi Tukker

The New York duo tell all about their unlikely friendship, what makes a perfect party, and percussive on-stage foliage.

Originally recorded for Surge Radio and published in The Edge

Sofi Tukker (aka Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern) might not be a household name just yet, but you’ll certainly recognise their sound. Since the release of their Portuguese-language debut ‘Drinkee’ in 2015, vocalist Sophie Hawley-Weld and basketball player turned instrumentalist Tucker Halpern have been fusing her bossa nova adoration with his house style for a series of infectious releases, including 2016’s debut EP Soft Animals. Last autumn, they were picked out by Apple to soundtrack their iPhone X campaign, launching ‘Best Friend’ – a lively ode to friendship penned alongside New York duo The Knocks, Australian twins NERVO, and Japanese newcomer Alisa Ueno – directly to a global audience. During their recent headline tour across Europe, we caught up with the pair to dig into what makes their unlikely friendship so special and find out what they’ve got brewing for 2018.

Continue reading ““Willing and excited and enthusiastic, that’s really what we are” – An interview with Sofi Tukker”

“We’re constantly expanding, like the universe itself” – An interview with Harry of Superorganism

Britain’s buzziest band tell all (from their kitchen) about their upcoming album, getting love from Frank Ocean, and plotting worldwide sensory domination.

Originally published in The Edge

As band introductions go, Superorganism’s inaugural missive last January has proved rather striking: “WE ARE SUPERORGANISM, WE ARE IN MAINE/LONDON, WE ARE DIY, WE ARE EIGHT AND MULTIPLYING, WE HAVE BECOME SENTIENT.” To figure out what powers an eight-strong outfit capable of driving copious excitement by wearing coats on TV, deploying bizarre percussive techniques in radio sessions, and, of course, releasing things like new single ‘Everybody Wants To Be Famous,’ we joined de facto frontman Harry in the collective’s kitchen to talk signing to legendary indie imprint Domino Records, hosting antipodean orphans in the house on Christmas day, and how starting a band on a whim over the internet ended up with one of the most anticipated debut albums of 2018. Continue reading ““We’re constantly expanding, like the universe itself” – An interview with Harry of Superorganism”

“Does anyone know if Whitney Houston did a Christmas song?” – An interview with Peking Duk and Icona Pop

If you’re looking for video shoots where people set themselves on fire, these party specialists won’t ‘Let You Down.’

Originally published in The Edge

Coming five years and 10 platinum certifications since they first hit their native charts, the London debut of Sydney-based electronic duo Peking Duk feels long overdue. However, when speaking to The Edge on an open-top Original Tour bus on a crisp December lunchtime between sold-out nights at The Garage and KOKO, Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles already feel right at home. “We went to the West Ham vs. Arsenal game last night – had the time of my life,” Styles says. “It was a 0-0 boring game but there were a lot of loose eastenders out and it was fucking hilarious. It was sick.”

‘Let You Down,’ their fizzy, self-deprecating new release, marks another first, with Hyde debuting his own vocals alongside those of Icona Pop’s Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo. His move comes as the logical next step from the band launching their full Weeknd-inspired live act over the summer at Splendour In The Grass, which one of their crew describes to me as Australia’s equivalent Glastonbury. The result was evidently successful – tastemaking radio station Triple J described the performance as “stepping things up to 11 without sacrificing the simple pleasures of a Peking Duk throwdown” – and, to feature on spring’s impending debut album, it made perfect sense to rekindle a friendship that began with some spilt orange juice in the air years prior. “We met on an aeroplane from Miami to LA,” Hjelt recalls. “We were like, ‘We saw some Australian dudes play last night,’ and you were like, ‘It was actually, kind of, us.’ That was the first meeting, and then we met in Sweden at the Northbound studios [in Stockholm].” Continue reading ““Does anyone know if Whitney Houston did a Christmas song?” – An interview with Peking Duk and Icona Pop”

“Hopefully it cements us as a band” – An interview with Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice

We talk Visions Of A Life, DJing dodgems, and gigs 9,800 attendees apart.

Originally published in The Edge

The way Ellie Rowsell speaks of her recent jaunt to DJ on the Brighton Pier dodgems at Slaves’ Great Escape gig isn’t brimming with enthusiasm – imagine a miserable, rainy Thursday night with decks that don’t entirely work properly. Yet, although it was her only billing during her band’s first summer in five years without a festival tally in the double digits, things aren’t as relaxing as they might seem. Barely nine months on from concluding the run for 2015’s acclaimed debut My Love Is Cool with their first festival headline spot, Wolf Alice has five tour legs in as many months, reaching from Los Angeles to Osaka, lined up around the release of “personal” new record Visions Of A Life. Continue reading ““Hopefully it cements us as a band” – An interview with Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice”

“If somebody likes it, there must be a reason” – An interview with Off Bloom

The Anglo-Danish electropop trio talk Morricone, Mohawke, and playing rugby with tasers

Originally published in The Edge

For Off Bloom, the invitation from producer friend Two Inch Punch – who you might know from his work on chart-topping records from Years & Years, Rag’n’Bone Man, and Sam Smith, in addition to the trio’s ferocious February release ‘Falcon Eye’ – to up sticks and head from their longtime base in Copenhagen to join him in his London studio couldn’t have come at a better time. Or, in other words, “Let’s fucking move over here. We’re here all the time anyway.”

Following late 2016’s debut offering of the Love To Hate It EP, the band has toured the UK and beyond in support of Dua Lipa and Polydor labelmates LANY, whilst their summer is turning into a whistlestop tour of electrifying festivals from Brighton to Leeds and everywhere in between. The highlight? Glastonbury, of course, says singer Mette Mortensen. “It was on a stage that was super weird – they had arranged it so it was kind of tables and chairs all the way around, so people were having lunch. When we went on we were like, ‘OK, what is this gonna be?’ But then I jumped out in the audience and then people came in and it ended up being super cool.” Continue reading ““If somebody likes it, there must be a reason” – An interview with Off Bloom”

“I might be doing a heavy metal album next” – An interview with Becky Hill

Between her main stage set and providing the evening’s grand finale with a rendition of ‘You Got The Love’ alongside Pete Tong and The Heritage Orchestra, Becky Hill joined Surge and SUSUtv backstage at Common People to talk about her newfound rivalry with Olly Murs and Louisa Johnson, snubbing DJ Snake as she looks to a solo breakout, and changing things up for her inevitable second LP.

“Maybe we should have more vegetables on the rider” – An interview with Gus Unger-Hamilton of alt-J

We chat all things RELAXER, bassoon, and 19th-century Welsh mining with alt-J’s keyboardist.

Originally published in The Edge

Released at the start of this month, alt-J’s third album RELAXER is their most concise and eccentric to date. It ranges from intricate orchestral recordings at the iconic Abbey Road Studios to gritty pop-conscious basslines and structures paired with compelling tales of typically eccentric natures. To understand the process behind the record and its presentation, we sat down with keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton to pick his mind about hair products, touring and musical greenery, and the underappreciation of the bassoon, as demonstrated on maudlin album track ‘Last Year.’ Continue reading ““Maybe we should have more vegetables on the rider” – An interview with Gus Unger-Hamilton of alt-J”

“We’re the antithesis of Nashville” – An interview with LANY

The ‘ILYSB’ trio spills the beans about their debut album, building a fanbase, and what makes London feel like home.

In the space of just one year, American electropop trio LANY has gone from playing a loft above a Camden bar on a night off from support shows to filling venues ten times the size up and down the land and across the world. With fans already assembled outside and around KOKO in the middle of the afternoon, Surge joined Paul Klein, Jake Goss, and Les Priest up in the rafters to find out all about their plans to make 2017 (and 2018) ((and probably every subsequent year)) the year of LANY.

Continue reading ““We’re the antithesis of Nashville” – An interview with LANY”

“I just want to be a massive artist” – An interview with Raye

Getting to know the ‘You Don’t Know Me’ singer ahead of her XOYO headline show.

After picking up a deal with Polydor in 2015 with the supportive clout of Years & Years and Ellie Goulding, Croydon teenager Raye has quickly begun carving out a name for herself both through prolific behind-the-scenes work and, following a grand splash with last summer’s sharp SECOND EP, breaking through to the charts as a vocalist with huge pop records alongside Jonas Blue and Jax Jones. Mid-preparation for her sold-out headline date at London’s XOYO, we met to find out all about the surprise success of ‘You Don’t Know Me,’ screaming in a driving lesson when first hearing herself on the radio, Stormzy’s songwriting ambitions, and ketchup. Continue reading ““I just want to be a massive artist” – An interview with Raye”

“Intimate is a good word to describe it” – An interview with HONNE

We get cosy in a van just before their sold-out Brighton tour date.

Originally published in The Edge

In July, London-based electro-soul duo HONNE released Warm On A Cold Night, an exquisite compendium of heartfelt musings and engulfing melodies, and their sold-out tour of the nation to support it following a number of sojourns to festival stages across the world saw them take in the chilly sea breeze around The Haunt in Brighton on the first day of 2016’s darker nights. Shortly before the gig we ventured backstage with James Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck, taking shelter in Liv Dawson‘s tour van to talk about the goings-on of their early musical inspirations, why remixing on the road still proves impractical, and their striking recent releases of a sensual ‘Good Together‘ video and ‘FHKD‘ adorned with Kill J‘s whispers. Continue reading ““Intimate is a good word to describe it” – An interview with HONNE”