PRINT

Interview with Prides

Jon Berrien
Latest posts by Jon Berrien (see all)

 Glasgow based electro pop band Prides, have been on the grind, creating upbeat tunes that make you move your feet. And with the recent release of The Seeds You Sow EP, the trio clearly haven’t missed a beat. GroundSounds recently caught up with frontman Stewart Brock for an exclusive interview, check it out below and discover Prides. 

For those just discovering Prides how did you guys come together and form the band?

Lewis and myself had been in bands before, and met Callum when we were looking for someone to help us play live. Gradually he became more involved with the writing side of things too, and that’s when things really started coming together. 

How and why did you guys decide on the name Prides?

Well we tossed around lots of ideas, but it really came from the fact that we’d all been in different bands with ‘Lion’ in the name, so we became Prides.

Can you tell us about the creative process and inspiration behind the track “The Seeds You Sow”?

I think Callum had the original concept which we all started putting our own ideas into. We knew we wanted to have something that was big and bold, and that hit straight away. Lyrically it came together really fast, I had a specific idea in mind and put it together in about half an hour. The last thing to be added was the ‘Ee-yeah-ee’ vocal hook. We’d played around with a few ideas similar to that but none were really connecting. Callum added that melody and we were done. 

You guys recently announced a spring tour which include performances at SXSW and major U.S. cities. What do you guys enjoy most about being on the road? What are you looking forward to most on this tour?

Playing generally is just great fun, we always throw ourselves into it, and make sure that we enjoy ourselves. It’s just like hanging out with your pals, but you’re in the back of a van instead of the pub. Otherwise it’s very similar. 

I think I’m most looking forward to SXSW for sure. Having never been I’m really eager to check it out. Plus it’s such an iconic festival, we’re chuffed we’re getting the chance to play.

What is one thing that visitors should see and do in Glasgow?

There are lots of things, but I would say honestly just get amongst it. Go to a gig at the Barrowlands, get a burger at Sleazy’s, cocktails on Bath Street. You know when you go out in Glasgow you’re going to have a good night.

Can you tell us about signing and working with your labels? What has this experience been like?

They got on board quite early, and have been really supportive whilst we’ve gotten stuff together. Because of the way we work, recording and producing everything ourselves, we wanted to make sure we had everything ready to go with our first album, and now working with them towards how to get it out to as many people as we can is really exciting. 

What is it about the synthpop that attracts you guys to it?

It’s the scope of what you can do. There really aren’t many rules. Coming from being in guitar bands in the past, I always felt a little hindered by the format. Now if I want to have a string section I can do it. If I want to have a trance breakdown I can do it. If I want to make horrible digital noise I can do it. It also comes from some of our inspirations, especially artists in the 80’s. That’s the kind of music I’ve always wanted to make.

What are you guys currently listening to?

I’ve been listening to some Volcano Choir, The National, Taylor Swift, I still can’t tear myself away from Arcade Fire’s Reflektor,  and just recently gotten back into Fleetwood Mac – Tango in the Night. 

What advice would you guys give to aspiring musicians?

Make sure you want to do it. There are hundreds of thousands of aspiring musicians, you have to really work to make yourself heard, so make sure you want to do it, and then work your arse off. You can always be better than you are now.

What will guy be working on after the tour? What can fans expect from Prides in the future? 

Well we have our EP coming out at the end of March, which we’ll follow up with another release, more touring, hopefully loads of festivals, and work towards our album. So expect blood, sweat, tears and synthpop. 

SHARE THIS FRESH NEW INTERVIEW WITH PRIDES!

facebook