INTERVIEW: Judas - GigslutzGigslutz

As festival season draws closer and closer (yay!) announcements have started rolling inm and with yesterday’s Live At Leeds announcement welcoming almost 100 of the biggest names in new music, it’s shaping up to be an exciting one. Ahead of their appearance at the festival, we caught up with Judas …

We’ll start with Live at Leeds. It’s part of a growing number of inner-city festivals, a number of which you’ve been part of recently. Are they something you particularly enjoy?

Yeah they’re boss. We’ve played a few – ones like Tramlines, When In Manchester and Kazoopa are all such a good thing to be part of.

And since we’ve just had independent venue week, how do you think they help independent venues, and in turn, you guys?

Obviously we support all independent venues. We did a ‘fight back’ gig not so long ago and if it wasn’t for those venues and festivals and venues there’s no way we wouldn’t be where we are now.

With that, you seem to be part of a big group of new and exciting bands, do you feel like that’s more of a support network than a competition?

Yes, definitely. When we started out doing This Feeling, everyone in that circle of bands is just so sound. We’re friends with everyone and everyone wants everyone to do well.

And with This Feeling, it’s amazing because you get such a solid group of bands and musicians circulating the scene together and working their way up, but do you think it’s almost quite difficult to break out of that?

I think it just gets to a point where you’ve got to move on, and you want to start doing your own headline tours and stuff; when you want to go to more cities that they perhaps don’t go. It just comes with the general upscaling of the band and that’s to no discredit to This Feeling: that’s what they want from their bands.

Of course, and they’re working wonders for so many bands at the moment. You’re also part of a new generation that seem to dominate the live scene before releasing loads of stuff but what are your plans for releases?

Well, we’re currently stood in the studio. We don’t have any dates but we will have stuff for you very soon. It’ll be before festival season, that’s the only thing we can say for sure.

And what about after festival season, or is that too far ahead?

Another tour and then more studio time! We’ve got loads of tunes.

Speaking of festivals – last year you found yourselves on the main stage at Leeds, quite early on in your career. How did you make sure that didn’t hinder and maybe take away from things that happened afterwards?

I think if anything it opened opportunities, rather than us getting ahead of ourselves. I think it showed us what we wanted to achieve more than anything. It spurred us on to be better live and make our live shows more exciting.

I suppose you can take that experience and use it when it comes to smaller gigs. And what’s your ideal festival lineup – to be a part of?

Dead or alive?

We’ll stick with alive…

Kings of Leon, Tame Impala, Bruno Mars for the party vibes after, and Natasha Bedingfield….

An eclectic mix. And you’ve been on a lot of ones to watch lists for this year, but who’s on yours?

Us! We’re on there. And MINT, they’re really good. The Amazons, Bang Bang Romeo.

All on mine as well! I’ll let you get on with it and I look forward to hearing what you’ve got in store.

Amazing, thank you!

Live At Leeds takes place on 29th April. Tickets and more info here.