Interview: The Blinders - GigslutzGigslutz

Anticipation is building for ‘Glamour at thee Ritz’, which is now less than three weeks away (May 19). The all day show will see Cabbage headline a bill which is frequented by some of the best emerging bands doing the rounds today, including PINS and recently added Afghan Sand Gang.

We met up with The Blinders, who have the ‘number 2’ slot for the day, and spoke about studios, touring… And Doncaster.

How did it feel to go out on a full headline UK tour earlier this year?

Like a warm bath on a cold day.

Do you prefer being in a studio making music, or out in venues playing it live?

I think we are well known for our stage theatrics, but we’ve never really spoken about being in the studio. To be frank, we had a tough time.

Emotional and physical exhaustion took its toll on us all very quickly. We went in with few songs and had even fewer ideas. It was hard to get the stone rolling but when the sparks finally flew, it was like we’d discovered the meaning of life.

And then, you know how it is, an idea quickly turns into a song, a song into multiple etc. etc. and before we knew it we had the album. The whole thing was such a blur, though we were locked in there for about a month.

Once we had that intense creative rush going, it was like we were in a musician’s idea of blissful-stupor, which I imagine only a handful of people get to experience at any one time. It was a very powerful feeling, and in a funny way I can see the next album revolving around chasing that intense creative process.

So yeah, with that being said, I guess the studio is where it’s at… for now.

Being from Doncaster, did you find it difficult at all to get started as a live band, not being in a major city and all the positives that brings?

All things considered, we had it pretty good.

We had a couple dozen friends that would come to every gig we played, and we nested ourselves in a tight circle of people that had connections to the ‘outside world’ if you like. It made moving to Manchester a lot easier than it could have been.

With a headline show at Gorilla coming up, and a slot at the Ritz coming up in May, do you feel Manchester is still a special city to play live in?

Manchester always has, and will continue to be, special to us. Anyone who has visited the city understands the appeal, and those who never left understand it even more.

It’s a creative hub, and we’ve allowed the city to fully envelope our lives.

This won’t be the first time you’ve been on a bill with Cabbage, how have you found gigging with them?

Hell on earth.

The Donny turned Manchester three piece are also starting to pop up across the line-up’s for some great festivals in 2018. We asked them about that and who they’d love to share a stage with if possible.

You’re going to be playing Kendal Calling & Sound City this year, how have you found the whole festival experience in the past?

I think we’ve decided it’s a glorified piss-up. At first we were into all that peace and love stuff which is generally attached to festivals, but if it’s not for charity then in reality it’s just a big piss-up, isn’t it?

Are there any bands / artists you’d like to support in the future? Or are you set on headlining shows from here on in?

No, there are definitely bands we would love to have the honour of supporting. I frequently have dreams that I’m on stage with the Arctic Monkeys, though I haven’t listened to them in what feels like an age, so there’s something in that.

If Iggy Pop ever decided to go on the circuit again it would be a thrill to support the likes of him. Hell, we’ll even play for that motherfucker if he likes. God king Iggy.

If you haven’t heard their latest single yet, you’re missing out. We wanted to find out what we can expect in the wake of this and how experimental they could get with their sound.

How have you found the reaction to latest single, ‘Gotta Get Through’?

I mean, it’s nothing to make a song and dance about. It was intended as a palette cleanser, and a short introduction to the album. It did its job.

Do you have any ideas about where your sound will go in the future?

Sounds, for us at least, go as quickly as they come so I don’t think we’re able to comment on that. I think what we are half-certain of is the direction we want to take our words.

We’re having a lot of fun making up little short-stories in our heads and creating a fully fleshed narrative around them, complete with Rimbaud’s surrealism and perhaps Cave’s delivery/prose. I don’t know, seize the day and all of that.

What are your immediate plans for the future? When will we hear more new music?

We have a collection of singles being released from the album over the year. The album we have created is very much a single piece of work, so it’s been difficult choosing which songs to release. If we had it our way, we’d go ahead and drop the album tomorrow. Alas, that’s not how Capitalism works.

It certainly isn’t, unfortunately for us.

If you do wish to grease the capitalist machine though, tickets to Glamour at thee Ritz are still available HERE.

The Blinders, along with Afghan Sand Gang play just across the road from that at Gorilla in June with tickets still available. You can hear their newest single ‘Gotta Get Through’ in all the usual places.