Welcome, welcome to Beneath the Surface, the series where we get down to the good stuff. This time we have Northern Irish indie-emo band BIRCHES joining us today, off the back of their new single and video ‘Be Unknown’. Super excited to have this bunch of lads with us today, so grab a cuppa, get cozy and lets dig in!
What would you say first sparked your interest in music/who inspired you to make music?
Liam: For a lot of us it probably started with our parents and their love of rock, country and folk music. Which lead all of us to English indie pop, metal and punk down the line. I can say for me My Chemical Romance, Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon were the first bands I listened to and just went whoa that sick, maybe Busted, Green Day and Blink 182 helped a little.
How would you describe the music you are currently creating?
Liam: I would say at the moment we are a indie, emo, folk, punk band. I know it sounds funny but that’s how I feel all the elements of what we create come from. While lyrically a lot of our inspiration come from The 1975, Tyler the Creator and LCD Sound System.
What does your creative process look like?
Liam: It’s very different from every band really. Because I’m in London and they boys are in Northern Ireland, some people just can’t be bothered with that, but honestly that just sounds like excuses or can’t be arsed. Basically Jordie or me or together, we write something and then I’ll take finish it then demo it, send it to the boys, they will write their parts and then we put all together, work on stuff we all collectively don’t like and go till we’re comfortable playing it then we go record.
Who would you most like to collaborate with? (let’s send it out to the universe and make it happen!)
Liam: If Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz), Mike Kinsella (American Football/Owen) or James Murphy (LCD Sounds System) ever wanna hit us up, we will be waiting. And John Mayer for Jordie, he loves him and I’m sure he would love to work with him to. If there was a engineer I would personally love to work with us it would be Mike Crossey, he’s from Belfast, basically worked with every big indie artist that came through the 2000s, we from Northern Ireland as well. He’s just a guy I’d love to have in the room with us.
What is the one message you would like to send out to your fans?
Liam: They are the best. They come to every show. They grab every t-shirt. They tell all their friends about us. It’s honestly means the world to me and the boys. It’s crazy because honestly we had people say some of the nicest and kindest things to me like how our music means the world to them, it helps the get through the day and that they listen everyday. It’s just mental, as long as one person gives a fuck, I’ll keep making music for them.
What’s your top tip to rejuvenate your creativity/get over a writer’s block?
Liam: I don’t really know if I have an answer for that. It’s kinda weird, sometimes you’ll just be in a constant flow or you won’t. Sometimes I feel like it just when it’s right for you. Like I could write a tune at any time, but writing a banger it just has to come or you just know it when your start playing it for the first time.
What’s next for you, what do we have to look forward to/ what are you currently working on?
Liam: For this year we got our final gig at the Deer’s Head Belfast on the 8th of December which we are super excited for. Myself and hopefully the some of band will be in London for January for a supporting gig will be announcing soon. Though the music, we have something ready, it will be next year, but it’s another step up and were just gonna keep on stepping it up every time, can’t go backwards.
Watch ‘Be Unknown’ below:
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