Introducing Interview: The Phantoms

Having supported the likes of Catfish And The Bottlemen, and played Isle Of Wight festival, Scottish band The Phantoms have been wowing crowds over the last couple of years with their sweeping indie rock anthems.

With a new single out next month, we caught up with the band to find out more…

Hi The Phantoms, welcome to Gigslutz! How are you all doing today?
We are all fantastic, working hard as always!

Can you tell us a bit about how The Phantoms formed and started making music together?
We started out as mates at school with similar passions. As we got older the band changed – new members came in and the band evolved. We are all now in the band through music and shared interests.

Your new single ‘Shadows’ is out next month, can you tell us a bit about what influenced the track?
I wanted a big sweeping chorus to it. I feel it has the swagger of early Oasis with a hint of Kasabian. I also think it has a different direction than our other tunes, which I love.

You’ve often been compared to Kasabian, but who would you say are you main musical influences?
Kasabian, Joy division, Foals and Oasis. These bands are bands that have a massive sound in their own right. We just love things that sound huge and that could fill a stadium.

Recently, Kasabian were quoted as saying they were ‘saving guitar music’, do you think guitar music needs saving? And what bands stand out for you as great pioneers of the guitar music/indie rock genre?
I don’t think guitar music needs saved. It’s out there and it needs to be discovered. People need to go out and save it. Instead of sitting in the house moaning about the X Factor and how talent is lacking, people need to go out to music venues, discover new music and support it.

And what else inspires you to write songs?
Everyday life – if I see something that annoys me or gets to me I’ll write about it. Occasionally I will see a live band and it will kick me on to write a tune. I like to think my songs are a timeline of my life that I can relate to.

I’ve seen that you’ve previously supported Catfish And The Bottlemen and played at the Isle Of Wight Festival, but is there a particular gig that stands out to you as a career highlight so far?
Isle Of Wight by far. It was our first festival experience and it was a major festival. Seeing the feedback and the people we met was unreal. Also it was surreal taking songs we’d written in the house to something like that – it still blows my mind.

Can you describe your sound in five words?
Songs ready for main stages.

And, finally, apart from your single release, what else does 2017 have in store for The Phantoms?
Hopefully lots of good gigs, more new music and a lot more fun with my band!

Huge thanks to The Phantoms for answering our questions!

‘Shadows’, the upcoming single from The Phantoms, is out 21 April.