We caught up with Coastal Fire Dept. for an interview following the release of their brilliant EP ‘Radio’ enjoy now!
How did you get together?
Bobby: Well, in short, Ollie and I got the band together back in 2013 when we realised we both loved the same grunge, alt-rock and shoegaze bands.
Who influenced your latest release ‘Radio’ EP?
Saad: No particular band influenced Radio really. We tend to write songs in our own style and occasionally if a song reminds us of another band or song we sometimes feed into that… we’ve used bands such as Pixies, Swervedriver, Ride and QOTSA as reference points during recording sessions…for Radio…we were probably feeling a little Pixiesish!
What motivates you to make music?
Ollie: Dunno really! Haha! We love playing live and off the back of that love trying to put out the best-recorded music we can. In the studio, it gives us the freedom to experiment or add a little to the live vibe… we’ve also enjoyed putting our a view music videos too!
If you could open for any artist/band who would it be?
Ollie: There are a few bands we all love…and one of those is the Pixies. We’d love to open for them!
What’s the music scene like in Guernsey?
Saad: At the moment, it is buzzing! We’re lucky to have been out of lockdown a while, and there is live music every week. It’s not only busy, but we also have some great original bands covering most genres. Guitar music is very much alive and well right now.
You’ve been working with Fabian Tormin (Biffy Clyro, The Kills etc.) what’s that process like?
Ollie: Well Fabian contacted us after our single ‘You Are Stuck’ was released and offered his services. We recorded and mixed our single ‘I Don’t Wanna Hold Your Hand’ and sent it to him. He then asked for some tweaks and adjustments then mastered it in his analogue studio in Germany. It went so well we now just leave our producer Mikey Ferbrache deal with Fabian and what he wants then listen to the output. We’ve loved the results!
You have a new album due for release on 15 January 2021. It’s called ‘Connected’, can you tell us any more?
Gareth: ‘Connected’ was conceived as an album that was intended to be a little grittier and punchier than our previous mini-album ‘Control’. Whilst rehearsing and writing we realised that the songs were all about the various ways humans interact with each other and the seemingly endless need to connect with someone at some time; so ‘Connected’ was chosen as the album title. As is our way there are nods to other genres in there and a few surprises here and there!
What are your other passions aside from music?
Gareth: I own three border collies, and they keep me busy, and as an English teacher, I enjoy drama and reading. Oh and I really love kebabs! And zombie films!
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Ollie: Well streaming and the revenue to bands have to change at some stage. There are so many bands putting out great music at a cost which then (from some platforms) get paid an absolute pittance…like significantly less than a penny per play.
What new music are you listening to at the moment?
Bobby: Ollie and I have got into a lot of Australian bands in recent years like Violent Soho, DZ Deathrays and Dunerats… they’ve been putting out great music for some time.
What musical plans do you have for the next two years?
Saad: Our plan is to keep on writing new material, recording music and putting out the occasional music video. For us, it is always about the music first and foremost, so we want to focus the majority of our time writing and creating the best music we can whilst challenging ourselves in the process.
We’d also like to tour a bit outside of Guernsey. We have some provisional dates in the UK for 2021 but looking for more! And I’d like to play a few gigs further afield.
FV Music Blog December 2020
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