Unless you've been living under the proverbial rock, you've probably heard of Sydney electro-rock quartet Van She. Fresh from releasing their debut album V , the band fill us in on touring, playing with Daft Punk and anticipating a return to the studio.
yourGigs (yG): Tell us about your debut album V. It was a long time coming so why the wait?
Van She (VS): Yeah, it has been a long wait for us all! Our earlier EP came out pretty quick on the momentum of us first getting together and getting out and getting signed, and then that release did better than anyone expected which led us to a whole lot of touring around Australia but also through the US and Europe and more recently South America and Asia. That kind of took a lot of our time which delayed work on the record. We did finally finish recording in July last year so as [for] the year since then you'd have to ask Modular and Universal! We're really happy it's out there because we've been playing some of these songs for a long time and of course no one knew them. Now there's less blank looks 'cause people know the songs, which is a good feeling.
yG: You wrote the album in Australia, so what was behind the decision to go to the UK to record?
VS: We wanted to work with a producer who had some good experience pulling together both production-type records and also live band records. Jim Abiss has worked with the Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, DJ Shadow and loads more so he has a diverse experience that we wanted to tap into.
yG: Your press release states that you are "Unashamedly wearing your influences of French pop and shoegazer on your sleeves". Who do you cite as your main influences?
VS: From the French pop of Phoenix and Daft Punk to the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine and M83, to a lot of influences outside music and from other fields, particularly film.
yG: You've been playing some big supports through your time on stage (Daft Punk for example). What's it like sharing a stage with a band like that?
VS: Well, you kind of get to share the crowd which is amazing because everyone is so happy to be there and ... there's just so many people! And also you get to share the backstage, and sometimes the transfer bus, maybe the hotel and maybe a meal ... which is always cool. Just to share a candid word with people you respect so much you want to vomit on your shoes when they look at you.
yG: Similarly, you've been on your own tour which has included Splendour in the Grass and an upcoming appearance at the Sounds in the Grounds festival. What has been the response to your new material so far?
VS: Not sure whether to say "surprising" or "not surprising" ... Positive, I guess, which is what we of course hoped for, but ... we pretty much made the record we wanted to make and now we're playing the shows the way we do so it's great that people are into it! It's nice when people recognise the song from the first beat or the first chord. With some of the arrangements we've mixed it up for the show so you don't get that look of recognition from the crowd 'til the vocal comes in.
yG: What are you looking forward to most about the Sounds in the Grounds Festival?
VS: Catching up with the Midnight Juggernauts and hearing some of their stories from touring overseas for the last 6 months.
yG: What does the schedule look like for Van She in the coming months and into the future?
VS: Real busy. Malaysia, Japan and Asia then hopefully Europe through November, back here to tour with Bloc Party. Back to Europe then eventually over to the US when the record breaks there. And work on the new record in between!
Carrie Dennes
|
|