Artist of the Month interview: Blushes

NME described Blushes as “music for psychedelic nights in, mad nights out” – a description that has stuck with the band, and rightly so. In their unique blend of indie and RnB, a sound which has been compared to Foals but is, really, in a league of its own, Blushes have created something that transcends genre and, indeed, fits most occasions.

How, though, did a marriage between indie and RnB come to be? “Before Blushes began Brad [Ayres] was a solo musician inspired by RnB classics, his early acoustic demos are very reminiscent of Justin Timberlake’s early jams,” guitarist Sonny Ford explains. As the demos were fleshed out by Blushes, the band kept the RnB element, and it’s unlikely it’ll ever go away – “Based off how Blushes began RnB will always be in our music’s DNA.”

And why wouldn’t they keep it? Blending shimmery, almost shoegaze indie influences with a funky RnB twist makes for something hugely addictive. And something that translates just as well into live shows as recordings. Blushes work tirelessly at both, somehow balancing constant gigging with just as constant recording/releasing, this month sharing ‘Cielo Rosa’ / ‘Dust’ – a double A-side and their third release of the year. How do they manage it?

“Any free time between gigs doesn’t get wasted, our most recent releases were recorded completely by us when we had a gap in the calendar,” says Sonny. “We decided to book out a youth club in our drummer’s village and just see how many tracks we could cook up in the time we had, I guess at the moment we’re just juggling between everything and making it work.”

It definitely does work, with Blushes getting added to various playlists, ones to watch lists and radio play from the likes of Phil Taggart. “It’s still pretty surreal to us,” admits Sonny, “And not only that but our local radio station Mix 96 have also given us so much love since day 1 and we can’t thank them enough, it’s still crazy to this day hearing us randomly come on the radio while driving about.”

They’re obviously humbled by it, but is it ever daunting? There must be some pressure that comes with being put on NME’s 100 Artists for 2018 list?

“I feel like we’re more excited if anything! We’re extremely proud of our music and the fact that other people are loving it is the biggest compliment you can ever receive; everyone’s support means the world to us and it drives us to achieve.” And they’re doing just that, constantly working to achieve bigger and better things.

So what do Blushes have in the pipeline? “Many, many, many, many, many gigs, and some tricks ready to jump from our sleeves.”

‘Cielo Rosa’ / ‘Dust’ is out now