Once in awhile, you accidently stumble across a band that makes you believe it is a gift from the music gods for believing in good music. November's Band of the Month is one of those bands. Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle are a young band, barely out of their teens but in the 18 months or so our paths first crossed they have grown into one of the finest prospects this country has to offer and has been crying out for.
Already getting airplay on major radio stations in California and New Zealand, it is about time we took care of our own and made sure we let all up and coming bands, like Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle, know we love them. After all, how many established bands do you know have an official listening party all the way over in America for a new single?
Polly Mackey kindly answers our questions.
Members:
Polly Mackey - Vocals / Guitar
Tomas Hassall - Guitar / Vocals
Paul Bates - Bass
Adam Valentine - Drums
Influences:
Arcade Fire, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, LCD Soundsystem, The Kills, Beach House, Roxy Music, Velvet Underground etc.
Sounds Like:
Come to a show and you'll find out...
Current release and where it's available:
Debut single 'Higher' released 7th Nov on The Playground Records.
'Higher' has seen a major change in sound on this single to when it was on your self released EP, did you feel nervous about changing the sound so much:
I think it represents our sound as a whole slightly better. The old version was very guitar based and quite heavy, whereas the new version has a bit more atmosphere.
I love songs that are produced with an atmosphere to them, the stuff I'm doing on my Mac at the moment is all showered in reverb and delay with drum machines. But when we eventually play these songs live they'll no doubt take on a heavier more anthemic feel.
I think we're paying more attention to the sound now as oppose to a year ago.
2010 has seen a busy year for you, what have your highlights been:
Personally, I think getting in the studio and recording is where I feel most creative, but it obviously doesn't provide the adrenaline rush that performing on stage does.
We all really thrive from performing live.
SXSW is the highlight of this year, playing 8 gigs in 5 days certainly keeps those rushes going.
We remember you telling us about your bassist waking up with a broken hand and Texas tattoo during SXSW, any other stories that you would like to tell us about your boys:
Valley (drums) has an obsession with turtles. If you've met him, you'll have probably seen him donning his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hoody and bag. He'll have probably shown you pictures of his pet turtles and mini dragon too.
Tour Dates / Any in the pipeline:
We've got a few gigs on the run up to Christmas in Cardiff and London, and we're hosting a Christmas gig in our hometown too.
We'll be touring in the new year which we're looking forward to.
On top of the official 'Higher' single launch party here in the UK, we hear there is a listening party all the way over in Austin, Texas on the 8th November. How did that happen and are you planning to attend?
Having played the last couple of SXSW's over in Austin, we've actually got a bit of a fan base there... as well as having made some really good friends. We were actually asked if we would hold a US single launch party in Austin as well as our UK launch in London but other commitments meant that this has proved impossible.
Our good friends at Dart International have therefore decided to hold a listening party at Momo's on 6th Street next Monday night to celebrate the single's launch in the US. They will be playing loads of our stuff and, as well as local DJ's, they've arranged a live session from one of Austin's hottest up-and-coming singer songwriters, Lauren Burton . We're hoping to arrange a live video stream so we can at least say hello to everyone during the event... but we'd much sooner be there in person!
If you were the prime minister for one day, what would you do:
I would realise how much the country benefits from the music industry and invest more in the arts council.
And go and play basketball with Obama.
Video for new single 'Higher'