Hey, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
For the past year made a big decision to focus 100% on the music so I moved into a tiny apartment at the end of a bridal track so I could set up my home studio and record The Candy Republic, I can make some noise here which is great. It has cost me a lot of money and time but it has been worth it because during this time I found collaborators in Emily (Grit Girl) and Archie our drummer. I am mixing the next single at M&J Studio in Bristol with Jim Bar (Portishead) this is in fact where the Candy Republic began as I did some sessions there with the late and great drummer Toby Pascoe (Breakbeat Era, Moonflowers) and some of those songs will be part of the Candy Republic live set.
I’m very interested in how you started your adventure with music, and did you know from the beginning that this is what you wanted to do?
I started with music from an early age, my parents were not musical, I was the only one in the family, I always knew I would be a musician, I worked as a kitchen porter in a really crumby restaurant to earn enough money top buy my first guitar. Then I was determined to form my own band. I always had the drive to get things done, I knew we needed to record an album so I got a job as a tape operator in a recording studio and that is where it all really began.
Congrats on your new release, ‘I do not write love songs’. Can you give us some insight into it?
Our new single “I do not write love songs” was inspired by my history in relationships, I have difficulty dealing with emotions being “Neuro-divergent” as they say now. So I isolated my self from romantic entanglements to shield myself from the pain but this lead to a profound loneliness. The song starts out as a melodic acoustic ballad then half way through explodes into a rock anthem. It’s a cry out for real connection in a world full of screen addicts.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop?
In order to continue to grow we will release a single every six weeks, each release will show the depth and diverseness of our music yet retain our unique sound as a band. We will perform live and continue to produce interesting video content so people can get a handle on our brand of kooky weirdness.
What should we expect from your next releases in terms of style and sound? How different are they going to be compared to your previous works?
For our next releases our sound will remain the same mix of indie rock / pop with a little punk rock attitude but a little more modern, electronic indie rock would be a better description especially for our next planned single “Supermarket Freak”.
Where are you based? Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
The band is based in South Devon but I grew up in Bristol and there are songs that have my own personal influence from my time growing up there so they have a unique Bristol centric sound kind of trip hop meets indie. I sat in on sessions in the studio I worked in, John Parrish used to produce bands there, PJ Harvey, The Chesterfields, Rodney Allen, Blue Aeroplanes, I also visited the coach house with my friend Justin Reverb while Massive Attack were recording their first album, I remember thinking wow they have a great sound! The Bristol music scene was very friendly back then, people would come up to the studio and hang out, I recorded sessions for the Moonflowers and tons of other Bristol bands so I guess I got a lot of exposure to the local sound. Living in Devon has also influenced my new music, for some reason it has made me a more positive song writer, I guess it must be that good Devon air.
If you could perform at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
I would like to perform in unique venues not necessarily stadiums although that would be great for the band, I would like to perform our full live set in a cave in Cornwall and record that for release. Our song “First ship off the planet” is about being the first band on the moon, so lets do that too.
Can we expect a new EP or an album from you in the near future?
We are recording our debut album planned for release in the new year all platforms and formats including limited edition vinyl. Its a really great collection of songs, aside from the obvious singles there are experimental and deeply engaging album tracks. I always liked albums that you could listen to over and over and really get into the music. Plus we will be releasing the back catalogue on our website in the new year, music from the 1980’s right up to now, so there will be a ton of music out there all at once.
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned for 2023?
We will be performing live in the autumn and over the winter, our sound is very technical so were rehearsing like mad right now to get it all right, we will start with a few local gigs and then move further afield. We aim to have a big album launch party and will be giving away some VIP tickets to the first 50 people who join our mailing list, you can find of that and all our live shows on our website.
