Tuesday 7 July 2015

INTERVIEW - APACHE DARLING

As regular readers will know, I'm something of a fan of Glasgow's synthpop duo Apache Darling, having first fallen under their spell last year when I heard their superb debut single More Than Me. I'm not alone in this as the band's fanbase has steadily grown since that song's release through a series of much talked about live shows, radio appearances (including an appearance on Radio Scotland's Janice Forsyth show this week) and their second single Firebird. Big things are surely about to happen for Apache Darling and this Saturday they take their first steps towards whatever those big things may be with an appearance on the T Break Stage at T In The Park. That will swiftly be followed by an appearance at Glasgow's King Tut's on 21 July as part of that venue's Summer Nights 2015 month of gigs. I caught up with Apache Darling, who are Stefanie Lawrence (vocals) and Andrew Black (synthesizers), to have a chat about T in The Park, King Tut's and more.


APA: You've got some fairly high profile gigs coming up, starting with your appearance on the T Break Stage at T In The Park. Daft question I suppose, but are you looking forward to it?

Stefanie: YES! We honestly can't wait. Although Apache Darling is just over a year old, I've been wanting to play T In The Park for years. For this to be our first U.K. festival show, and with it being the 20th anniversary of T In The Park, it feels like a perfect start.

APA: What can we expect from your T In The Park show?

Andrew: People who have seen us playing live before can expect a totally new experience with this show. We've ditched all trace of backing tracks, which was something we felt strongly about doing, and the band has a much greater energy as a result. Expect huge electronics and pop writing, but with the feel of a pretty heavy rock band. Mixed with the atmosphere of T, it should be an epic sound!

APA: Hot on the heels of that you have King Tut's on 21 July with AmatrAnt, Miracle Strip and Le Thug. That's a rather cool line up - you must be excited?

Stefanie: Yes again! We're really just excited to unleash this new live sound and I think that the line up for Tut's will make for a really exciting night. We still have some tickets available for this one which you can buy via our Big Cartel store for only £5 (http://apachedarling.bigcartel.com)



APA: King Tut's obviously has quite a status as a live venue. What are your thoughts about playing there?

Andrew: We love it. It's of course a very famous venue, but it really does live up to the hype. It's kind of the perfect size and when it's full of people, the energy is amazing on stage. We've played there once before. We've played there once before, but it was a last minute thing and our band weren't involved, so it'll be fun to play there with live bass and drums, and in front of a crowd who know our sound.

APA: You recently played in Toronto at NXNE - how was that?

Stefanie: Toronto was a really special one. We're unsigned and don't even have a manager, so the trip was fan-funded, something we're immensely grateful for. We played two packed out shows in one night and gained a lot of new fans. Canadian audiences are great fun and take live music very seriously: they really have a sincere respect for musicians and Toronto especially is a great artsy town.

APA: What are you plans for the next few months? Can we expect an album?

Andrew: We've just spent a week working on our live show with a musical director from England. He's worked on stadium shows for guys like Robbie Williams and currently tours with Bryan Ferry, so he really knows what he's doing and has really helped us enhance our sound. We're aiming to record some new material in Autumn and start putting out new tracks by the end of the year. We also have some more shows coming up that we'll be announcing soon, so follow our socials for updates on those shows (links below).


Thanks very much to Stefanie and Andrew for sparing the time to chat. As you've read above, keep an eye on the band's Facebook page (Apache Darling Facebook) and follow them on Twitter at @APACHEDARLING for all upcoming gig info.





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