- Interviews
Hi how you are today and where are you?
I'm at home editing a video for Where Do You Go? It’s off the new album and it's coming together.
How did Stratus get together and become a band?
Martin and I worked at
What does being a musician mean to you, does it feel like you are living the dream?
I'm never happier than when inspiration hits and I'm writing new material but after years of doing it I know that when you're in the musical doldrums you just have to wait it out... and that the pub is not necessarily the best place to search for the muse.
How easy is it to fund the recording of an album and do you think that organisations like Pledge Music and Kickstarter are the way forward when getting a record made?
It depends on the nature of the release - with a small budget we can't record strings at
- Interviews
Hi, and how are you today, what does the day ahead hold for you?
GP: Sunny and clear as the blue skies. I'm off charity shopping; not shopping for charities, that would be daft, but going to charity shops, checking for vinyl albums and non-vinyl shirts. And books.
GP: Our variously talented drummer Nick Moore designs all the animals that have adorned our sleeves - Catdog, Bluebird, and now Sharkduck. Sometimes they're mash-ups of animals - like Octomonkey! - but not always. We just let him create a few, choose the best, and then "Griff takes the raw 'Mooroanimal' image and fully designs the cover, adding other stylistic elements, putting them on a background and choosing fonts, that sort of thing. It gives us a good visual identity, which is important – any band can stand around looking moody for a camera, but our 'cartoon animals' imagery raises some more interesting questions. Besides, I'm not sure people want to look at us... Pink Floyd were never on their covers, were they?
Anglo-Welsh-American, that's a mix, how did the band get together?
GP: Griff's from Aberystwyth, and come to London to make music. He met Nick, who's from Merseyside. Nick knew me (I'm from Bolton in Lancashire). We had a Tasmanian bassist but he went home, so we advertised and one of Griff's mates recommended Steve Kennedy: Texas-born, with all the politeness of a Southern gentleman, but has spent more time in California, with the openness and creativity that can bring.
- Interviews
Hi there, where are you today and is the sun shining?
Fifth (?) album, do you still feel as ‘fresh as daises’ being in this business?
Haha! I don't know if daisies would be the metaphor I would associate most within the plant kingdom. I've always though of us as more of a tough shrub. I guess we're still learning lots of things and having fun as we go along though, so there is an element of "freshness" either way.
What do you think are the major changes on ‘Hello Hum’ and where did the album title come from?
I think perhaps the most noticeable difference is the Fridmann mix, which is quite a lot more psychedelic than our previous records, and stranger, & just immense & sort of its own universe. A very significant difference maker too was the collaboration this time around with Dave Fridmann & Tony Doogan on the production side. We had a lot more home time with this record, when we were working on it in the initial song writing stages, as well as extra time actually recording and mixing it. I think there is something a little more comfortable about it, or "fleshed out" about it, probably due to all those aspects.
- Interviews
How do you find people react when seeing the band perform for the first time?
To be frank while we're playing we're not looking at audience reaction though it's true most seem engrossed in our percussionist. half naked, hitting the floor tom as if there was no tomorrow
What is the
Nowadays I think there are some very good bands, with a wide variety of sounds and different influences, but I don't think there is a proper scene just yet.
Do you personally feel close to any other band?
Musically we don't have much in common with most bands , we appreciate the variety of bands we're seeing nowadays, we love bands like Rosvita, La Debil, Disco Las Palmeras, Jysus, Telephones Rouges, Unicornibot, Traummaschine, Siesta, Fasenuova and His Majesty the King...
Is psychedelic Krautrock in fashion in
I don't think so but, I do believe that people today are more willing to accept certain bands or music styles than in the past due to the internet that allows us to reach audiences in every part of the world.
What's your biggest achievement so far?
i do believe that our biggest achievement is to keep the band united, there're five of us with our jobs and daily problems and the five of us try to take time to spend the most time we can at the rehearsal studio, I think that's the key.
Have you played outside of
During the last three years we've been lucky to have played in
- Interviews
Did you wake up this morning with a smile?
It all depends on the kind of night I've had. If we've spent the night comforting babies and listening to them cry or if I find myself trapped within the suffocating grooves/eternal loop of idee fixe, usually focusing on a small event in my past where I was faced with a fork in the road and I took the wrong one, these things can have a detrimental effect on my ante meridiam tenor but it doesn't last long. Once I'm up I'm ok and kids are great at raising the spirit. Before I had children I would get up before six anyway but in those days I had the sweet luxury of an afternoon siesta.
*Reads question again* Oh, did I wake up this morning with a smile? No.
How has the new record been received and what is the idea around issuing a series of singles rather than an album?
It was reviewed, it got played on the radio, it sold a few. That's what it's all about. I can't make a whole album on my own, I've got the songs but I'm too distracted and it takes too long. Working on two songs at a time is much easier. I haven't released enough music over the last few years; I need to step it up.
The current single is just available digitally. With such a delightful cover, why is that and, any thoughts about a
I would love to release seven inch singles, the seven inch single is the pinnacle of human endeavour, but I can't afford the outlay. It's an ambition, no, a cacoethes!
- Interviews
Questions answered by Fraser Harvey of Cameras
Hello and how the devil are you today and what’s the view like?
I am well thank you, but I'm packing to move house, so the view is one of boxes and mess.
So, you come from Australia, tell us about your home town / City and if there is any influence in your music, from the places you reside in or come from?
We live in
How did you come together as a band and with what hopes/aim?
Eleanor (Dunlop) and myself started writing together, I don't know if we had any ambitions when we started - but I think we received enough encouragement in those initial stages to spur us on a little bit. I think the best part of that time was that we didn't have any expectations or particular aims, just to write.
Your debut album, In Your Room is out on Manimal Vinyl on 6th August. How important do you think it is to have a record label deal as against the indie DIY approach?
It helps to have a label behind you, even if it's just for the extra support, but we're still very much a DIY band - we still do most things ourselves.
- Interviews
Hello, how are you all today, and where are you?
Naoko: I'm in
The new record Pop Tunes is now out. How did the approach differ between making this album and your early albums also, did you still have the same burning ambition to make music this time around as you did in the Eighties?
Our new album "Pop Tune" became a very pop album as the title. In these 3 albums, Super Group, Free Time and
You have toured in many different countries and lots of different venues. Do you have a favourite/most memorable venue to play at overseas? How about in
Hmm... I love outdoor music festivals. I always enjoy them. We've have performed at many big rock festivals in the 90's and we played at
Is there a city/venue that you have not yet played in that you would like to?
I like to play in South America, more cities in
- Interviews
Hello Martin and how the devil are you today?
A little stiff. Going for a swim soon so that might help.
You are based in
erm, I’ve got no idea! There are some really good bands here at the moment but that's the same everywhere if you know where to look. We’re still waiting for a good guitar shop.
How and when did you decide to make music your career and with what hopes/aim?
it's kinda just happened. I finished a course at university and then Nine Black
- Interviews
Is heavy sonic psych rock the new sound of California, have the days of love & peace all run dry?
There is still plenty of peace and love in
Is that how you would describe your sound to people that had not heard your music yet?
If someone asks me, I usually just say psychedelic rock....
There are a lot of bands making a lot of noise out there, Wooden Shjips, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky,
We're named after a hamburger diner in
- Interviews
Tell us about your band, how did you get together and how would you describe your sound for people that have not heard your music yet?
We got together through school and stuff basically. Sam and Jack are step brothers and so kind of bought us together… half of us went to one school where we live and the other half went to another so we just kind of knew each other and wanted to start a band. I would describe our music as; big, up beat pop songs.
School / College days... What was the hot music exchanged in the playground or at college?
I remember when the Arctic Monkeys first single came out… I must have only been about 11 or 12 at the time but I remember people playing that around and thinking this is incredible - I guess the Arctic Monkeys made me want to pick up a guitar and start playing properly so that’s the thing that stands out for me. People are always telling their friends about new bands and stuff so you are always discovering new music when you’re growing up.
Was there any inspiration from your parent’s records collection on the music you are making today?
I wouldn't really say it has any conscious influence in our music as a band but my parents have showed me a lot of great music from bands they were listening to when they were my age - Joy Division and stuff like that. My dad used to listen to John Peel's shows a lot on the radio so he has shown me a great deal of bands that he discovered from there.
- Interviews
G’day .. ‘Major’ the new album is getting ‘life “affirming” reviews. What’s the feeling now that the album is completed? Relief, satisfaction, or working on songs/ideas for number 3?
Definitely satisfaction. I'm very proud of this record and the work the three of us did in the studio. It's also a really crazy feeling that no has heard the record yet.
As I write this, there is still another whole month before the album is released. I've listened to Major thousands and thousands of times and our fans haven't heard a note. That completely blows my mind. I can't wait for everyone to hear it.
We've also been working on some new material to keep busy and we still have tons of riffs we've been sitting on since our college days that definitely need to see the light of day. We have riffs on riffs on riffs.
What did you learn from recording your first album that you took into the studio for the new record?
One of the things that carried over from making the last record was the way we break up our sessions. We did about 30 days in the studio for Major broken up between 6 months. This way we could sit on things and think about how we wanted to treat the next session.
Going into this record we knew wanted to put a lot of energy into the production. During the recording of the Self Titled record we weren't able to spend the amount of time we wanted to mix because at that point we were funding the record ourselves. For Major, we had our label, Sargent House, behind us from day one.
They were extremely supportive and helped us achieve the way we wanted our record to sound. We also learned from the last record that if everyone in the studio is cracking up and having a good time it means you're on the right path. Recording music with
What is it like living the ‘Rock n Roll’ dream today.. Life in a band?
I think the Rock and Roll dream is very different today than the classic dream of the 60s and 70s. As opposed to striving for sex, drugs, and Godlike status, I think the dream today is to say something new in a genre that is nearly 60 years old. However, playing music onstage with my friends is probably the best feeling I've ever experienced and is positively a dream a come true.
- Interviews
Why the change from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone to Advance Base and why not just Owen Ashworth?
I just didn't like the idea of putting my name on the cover of a record. I prefer the pretence of a band. I like some degree of separation between myself & the thing I make.
Wiki has you being born in
Oh I don't know. I sing about
Back to college days, what were the hot Albums/CDs exchanged with fellow students as you went through the education system?
My first semester in college, a nice guy named Josh loaned me Wild Love by Smog & I thought it was so weird. I went out & bought it the next week. If I hadn't dropped out of school, I probably would've found out about all kinds of crazy music.
