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“We’ve always had big ambitions and been deliberately anthemic” – Seasfire
Seasfire’s refusal to be pigeonholed through their self-exclusion from genre boundaries has unsurprisingly made them ones to watch for 2013 (earning them many tenuous comparisons in the process). The Bristol four piece manage to incorporate dynamics from various styles without congestion, forming a crisp signature sound that appeals to a fan of Burial as much as a fan of Jeff Buckley (who they cite as influences).
In the simplest possible sense, they mix leftfield electronic beats with guitars, but it is the subdued anthemic nature of their sound that makes it so interesting. At the tail end of a year that has seen them hold the number one spot on The Hype Machine chart and receive regular play on Radio 1, they have just released debut ep “We Will Wake” to positive reviews. We caught up with Josh and James from the band in Bristol on the night of their ep launch to talk about the effects of being described as “dubstep coldplay” and what 2013 holds for them.
“I was nervous about the response we would get, but so far it’s been good. I’m really happy…” Josh.
So the EP came out yesterday, how long has it been in the making?
Josh: We probably got it all done at the end of August, and then the lead track “We Will Wake” got mixed by Dan Grech, which we’re really happy about. It didn’t take that long to make really, and only about two weeks to record.
It’s been anticipated for a long time though, as the hype has stemmed from your first single “Falling” which was quite some time ago.
Josh: That’s kind of a deliberate thing though, as we didn’t want to put out loads of songs really quickly and show all our cards at once.
James: Yeah three of the songs on it have been around for quite a long time, and then two of them are more recent. There are a lot of new songs that could of possibly gone on the ep, but we’ve chose to keep them to ourselves for the moment.
Was there an interpretation about releasing it as the buzz grew?
Josh: Yeah definitely, I was nervous about the response we would get, but so far it’s been good so I’m really happy about how people are receiving it.
James: Like you said it’s been a while, so you don’t want people to say “what were they waiting for”, but the fact that people seem to like it is confirmation that we’re doing the right thing.
A full album allows you to fully explore your sound, which you arguably cant do in an ep. Did you find it tough to condense all your ideas into five tracks?
Josh: I think we tend to stick to a formula when we record a demo, and we know what sound we want to go for and just do it. So when we came to making the ep, it was quite easy to choose what style we wanted, and what songs to pick.
James: I think we wanted to give more of a profile of us as a band, and not give away all of the new songs too soon. Hopefully if the positive response to this ep continues then it will lead onto releasing new material.
So you would say it mostly sums up where you’ve come from, but gives an idea of where you’re going as well?
James: It’s a mix of songs that show a range of mood and dynamic. It’s a contrast but there’s still that core element of us.
One could say this ep is perhaps more accessible and radio friendly than the previous singles, was this a conscious decision or a natural progression?
James: We always said our sound would grow, and “Falling” , which was one of the first songs we wrote did have a more chilled out style than where we are at now, but we always had big ambitions sound wise.
Josh: If you look at “Falling” in comparison to “We Will Wake”, the latter is a lot more of an anthemic song, and that was definitely deliberate.
“We’ve been compared to The Weeknd and Mutemath, but a ‘dubstep Coldplay’ was the worst…”
Would you say the EP is centered around We Will Wake? And why do you feel it’s resonated with people so much?
James: I think it’s a well-rounded song, with the lift and dynamics. People have said it hits at anthemic but holds something back, which is cool.
The fact you don’t confine yourselves to one genre has led to a lot of websites making weird comparisons between you and other bands…
Josh: Yeah “Dubstep Coldplay” was the worst (laughs)
God that’s awful, do you feel the fact that you embrace different genres leaves you pressured to go a certain way? Or does it leave you open to try new things?
Josh: I think it leaves us open to do what we want really. We don’t feel pressured at all, we write what we write and it just goes how it goes. We do dip into different genres, but it’s all dependent on what we’re listening to at the time to be honest.
That’s funny, because when I first heard your sound I immediately thought that this was a band where everyone is listening to different things, but it works…
James: Yeah we’ve always got different stuff on the go. Ironically when we were being referred to as “The UK’s answer to The Weeknd” we were listening to The Weeknd. We got compared to Mutemath about a month ago though which I couldn’t hear at all, but I guess it cant be a bad thing people comparing our music to a variety of artists.
So is there an album in the pipeline yet?
Josh: We would like to do an album, but I feel that we need to write another 4/5 songs before we do anything. We’ve got a few in the making at the moment, and there’s some already done which people haven’t heard yet. But we’re going to focus on playing a lot more gigs really and getting better live, whilst writing between all of that.
“I think we’ve released everything at the right time so far. We’ve developed through the EP and past singles…”
Are festivals going to be on the agenda in 2013? As your Reading and Leeds shows last year received a great response.
Josh: We haven’t heard anything yet but hopefully we’ll be doing festivals. Reading and Leeds last year were amazing, it was our first major festival and it was through BBC Introducing, which was great. Greg James tipped us on that as well which was cool, and it got filmed online, so that was a first for us.
James: It was a learning experience, as it was a completely new surrounding for us, but I feel it went very well.
So would it be safe to say you’re just playing it by ear at the moment and seeing what 2013 will bring?
James: Yeah I guess, there’s a chance of us putting out a vinyl in the New Year, which will be the next step, and we’re just going to be focusing on gigs for now really. It’s still too early for an album though, I think you can take forever to make a debut album and make a fantastic record, but it puts a lot of pressure on you from everyone.
In a way it’s good that you’re not rushing yourselves and putting out a mediocre album for the sake of it. Are you worried about the buzz around you decreasing the longer you wait though?
James: I know what you mean, as the ep took a while to come out, and you want the momentum to keep going so we’ll keep doing little things. I think in this early stage when your twitter and facebook pages are in people’s faces so much, you really don’t want to overdo it.
Josh: I think we’ve released everything at the right time so far, as people have the chance to figure out what we’re about and our development through the ep and past singles. Hopefully this will leave them anticipating more from us in 2013.
“We Will Wake” is out now on Cheap Thrill Records.