Introducing Interview: Planes

Planes have spent the last few years struggling to find the time to pursue their passion – playing together. However, recently, lead singer Steve Forrest made the brave decision to call it quits on his Placebo drumming days and focus solely on Planes. Planes are now back with their latest EP, Hotfoot, and are ready to take the world on by storm.

Hey Planes! For those who don’t know, can you tell us who each of you are and your roles in the band:
Steve – Vocals and guitar
Dan – Bass
Char O’Lette – Strings, keys and vocals
Ed – Percussion
Ted – Guitar

Steve, what made you decide Planes was the right way to go at this time in your career?
Steve: Well, I suppose it was an idea that had been developing in my mind for a few years now, and I always knew that at some point I would have to take the band on full-time. It’s our baby, and the more we grew, the less we could ignore the fact that Planes could no longer be kept as just a side project; that it had now created an identity all of its own and, for me, my belly and heart were both screaming at me to go down the Planes path and it feels right. We always say the future looks bright ahead…But it really does.

How did you guys all meet?
S: Well, me and Ted met a few months after I moved to London for the first time back in 2008 – we played music together all the time and finally decided to expand and create a band. First came Char, who I met through Ted who had known her for years from music school, then my good friend Katie Clough introduced me to Eddie, and he in turn brought Dan into the picture. The whole band got put together three months prior to our first gig in 2011.

What would be the best outcome for you in terms of where Planes will end up?
Dan: A headline slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. Lifelong dream completed.

How would you describe your sound?
Char: The collection of our influences are vast and wide – with heavy rock driven anthems, melodies immersed in ambition, epic synth and string arrangements and above all else, heart and soul. Our live shows are the best way to understand this melting pot of chemistry.

Planes’ sound combines our musical strengths. Steve’s transatlantic sound of traditional blues rock, roots and country and exciting and really quite moving lyrics combine with his incredible and unique rhythmic phrasing, which compliments the technical intricacies of our classical and rock trained instrumentalists. Largely self-taught, and prodigally rhythmic, there is no other way to describe Steve as a musician to the core. Whether it’s on lap slide, his guitars and, of course, his vocals and drumming prowess, rhythm and soul pours from every pore of his tattooed skin. Ed and Dan as our powerhouse rhythm section drive us and both have enormous sympathetic skills to dynamic and groove change. They have such open mindedness in their musicality.

Having played in many bands before, this is a rare quality and chemistry. This combines so naturally with Ted’s soaring guitar tones – bold, ambitious, poetic – with some serious classically based technique. Some might say too many composers and songwriting cooks could create a chaotic broth; the truth is, we all write together in different ways and we have refined a sound now that takes all of our strengths. Now we have a formulae, one that evolves daily but one that we now know works. We nod to the psychedelia of Tame Impala, Sleepy Sun, Flaming Lips, the epic-ness of Arcade Fire and the National and Radiohead, surf rock, Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys, the Walkmen… All underpinned with robust and lush string and synth arrangements and authentic hearts with the soul searching vocal blues.

Myself and Steve have developed our ‘blend’ over the years, making the overall sound of Planes vocally unique. This is particularly so in ‘Wait it Out’, our single featured recently on BBC 6Music, our current single, ‘Ole’ and our new tracks ‘Legs’ and ‘Veins’, soon to be released on double A side. We both look up to harmonising lead vocalists and enjoy the strong use of octave unison vocals, which is quite unusual and hard to get right. Think Fleet Foxes, Mcvie and Buckingham, with a more current and softer XX vocal blend and dynamic.

I dislike using these extra ‘sparkle instruments’ as I call them – BVs, violins, violas and synths – as a gimmick. We are a rock band, so they should be used appropriately. They’re orchestrated and fully notated parts. Vast soundscapes where needed, with heavier reverbs, octave pedals and distortions creating a Hendrix-esque violin tones in the string parts in ‘Summer Breeze’, our opening EP track. I am particularly proud that we chose to open our EP with that track. We are an alt-rock band with passion, a little fight in our bones – we have something to prove. I certainly have a gremlin on my shoulder. We have both instrumental and lyrical hooks that could stand the test of time on festival stages regardless of quick lo-fi trends.

Planes is the sound of five individuals who are musicians and vocalists in their own right, who – as fate would have it – passionately set about doing this with the odds stacked against them. We graft, we love, and we will do this. Come and see us.

Your latest EP, Hotfoot, has some incredible anthemic sounds in it. What message are you trying you convey with this EP?
C: The name “Hotfoot” came to symbolise the new beginnings from our earlier struggles; aesthetically we felt the EP artwork, the image of the ballerina, (our lead guitarist Ted’s mother, Lois Brunning, as a teenager) was fitting and iconic. An image pure and beautiful in its own right; dedicated, there alone, in her own dancing shoes. We felt it represented the final freedom, and sense of family that we now have without worry and without creative and physical limitations.

The songs for the extended 7 track EP were chosen from a selection of around 30, firstly to portray the spectrum of our influences, the refinement of our style and our technical strengths and, above all, to represent the hearts and passion of a group who are musically ravenous to fulfil their potential. It was a hard job narrowing tunes down to a seven track concept EP, as we are ready to put out a full length record. I’m proud that we managed to get it done with the relentless determination of all our members and our sixth, our manager Merrington. We love Ed our Drummer for keeping this dream alive, and have tenacious respect every single day for Steve, for wanting to make his own music on his own terms. He is a prolific musician, in every sense of the word, and his enthusiasm and love of life is rather contagious.

Hotfoot is an EP that was released against all odds and recorded throughout the last end of 2014. We had been unable to sign our deal in 2013, and had to cancel a year’s worth of touring and festivals due to the commitments and schedules of our front man Steve, who was also a drummer in the world class rock outfit Placebo.

We have always had huge respect for this situation and supported it fully. We understood, heart-breaking as it was, at that time, as it had huge personal consequences. But, I can say this now, as a TOTAL positive, it helped us realise what we do have; we solidified the strength, sound and unity as a group, and we got better. We healed as people, healed as musicians. We worked harder. We have more respect for each other and our plight than ever before. We have already proved we are unbreakable, and now our sound has refined, and our work ethic is as passionate as it gets. Everything in life is about timing. I can now wake up feeling so thankful that we can do this.

What’s been your favourite venue to perform at so far?
D: I really enjoyed the last Hoxton Bar and Grill show (Dec ‘14). An intimate venue with a great crowd and the most complete set we have played in my opinion.

Huge thanks to Planes for answering our questions!

Hotfoot is out now, on Merrington Music.