Brand New Friend

CASTLEROCK, UK

What sort of themes do you like to explore in your music? Is there one that you are particularly most passionate about and find is written about most often?

Love and reasons why i’m terrible at it comes up a lot. It’s all true to my life, growing up, finding out that the world is actually quite terrible, but holding on to the beautiful bits in between.

When it comes to images and symbols what do you think best represents the idea of Brand New Friend?

Great question, I think we sound like a polaroid. Maybe like a warm summer’s evening. Maybe you’re with your mates playing football in the park just as the sun is beginning to go down. Or you’re on a beach and playing rounders with your family & decide to just jump in the water before it get’s too dark. Then there’s the long walk back to your car knowing something is over forever. It’s the whole spectrum of being alive!

How do you feel that your hometown has lended to you pursuing music and creating this art?

My sister Lauren and I come from a tiny fishing village called Castlerock on the North Coast of Northern Ireland and without it our band might be very different. It’s a place that will forever hold beautiful memories for us, we’d write songs on the beach and our first gig was in the pub at the end of our road. Those people made us who we are, they constantly inspire us to try and make them proud.

How do you feel writing music differs with Lauren being a classically trained musician? Do things usually remain on instinct or is there always that element of technical proficiency in the back of your minds?

It’s all actually all 100% instinct. We’re not perfectionists, if it feels right, it stays in. If it feels anything other than class, we bin it. Lauren’s genius helps, but thankfully she never holds it over the rest of us!

Even more specifically, with your art work for “I Was An Astronaut,” you use this really nostalgic and playful looking image. What was it about this image and idea that really spoke to you? Is this the sort of thing that you want to create to encapsulate most of the work that you put out?

Thanks so much! I actually just snapped that on my phone while we were shooting the music video! I just thought it was cool. The kid astronaut is our little brother Evan, so it’s sweet to have him on it. I wanted the picture to have Mussenden Temple in the background, it’s a Castlerock landmark built in 1785 by some famous Duke. The couple walking in the distance have no idea they’re in the picture, but they were walking a really beautiful dog.

What do you feel having family members in your band with you affects the dynamic of everything, whether it’s writing music, or setting off on tours?

It’s just cool, Lauren is my mate. It’s no different to anything, except we can be really honest about everything to each other. It’s our band’s greatest strength.

In the few years that you have been playing and writing music together as Brand New Friend, what are some important lessons that you have learned?

Always trust your gut. If a song doesn’t make you feel something it’s not worth having. Money is never more important than the music. Family comes first. Always have spare picks in your back pocket. Always be grateful. Thank the sound engineers and promoters for their time and effort. Don’t tell a crowd the Vengaboys have sold more records than the band they’ve paid money to come see. Don’t tell a crowd the headliners are doing class A drugs back stage. Don’t swear live on Radio 1. Don’t tell Sean Paul to fuck off. Don’t ever think you’ve made it. Do hang out with people at your gigs. Do follow your heart.

Back in April you released your debut record, Seatbelts for Aeroplanes. How long had you been working on this release? What kind of narratives were you exploring on this record?

It’s a concept record in many ways, chronicling my first ever relationship, beginning to end. It’s about falling in love, making huge mistakes, fixing them, making it worse and in the end just trying to remember who you are underneath everything. We never thought it would come out, they were all demos picked up by our label. We recorded 20 songs in 3 days. Picked 13 and went for it. It was rushed, a snapshot in time.

What do you hope people get when they see one of your live performances?

I hope they feel a comfort in it. We get you, you’ll never figure it out completely, but neither have we. We get you mate.

What are some of your main goals for 2019? What should people be expecting to hear from you next?

We want to keep touring and release a new record. We all lost our jobs to go on this tour, we have very little money left. So more of the same please. As you were.