INTERVIEW: MODEL AEROPLANES

Over the weekend I was given the pleasure of interviewing Dundee band Model Aeroplanes at CloseUp Festival - this is what happened.

[G] = Grant Irvine

[K] = Kieran Smith

[B] = Ben Buist

[R] = Rory Flemming-Stewart

(  )  = My comments during editing


Let's get straight into it, how did you guys get started? How did you guys meet?


[B] Never been good at anything else.

[G] We met in high school, the boys were the year above me and in first year we started jamming.

[R] I think Kieran bullied Grant in the corridor once!

[K] 'Cause he was a first year and I was a second year, it's just what you have to do.

[G] Yeah, he'd step on my heel so my shoe would come off - he's a coward though. We're mates now though so it's fine. But yeah so we met at school and started writing songs, bunking off classes...

[R] Bunking off! (weird hand movement)

[G] Like to write - we're pretty bad ass just to let you know - so we'd go to the music rooms and just sit and write songs when we were meant to be in classes.


That's cool, so it happened naturally.


[All] Yeah, yeah

[G] Yeah it happened really naturally, didn't help our grades though!

[R] I don't even know what I got. I can't even remember what highers I got...I've lost the certificates as well, don't know how to find it online.

[G] I left school with less qualifications than I started with - somehow.

Bellevue Days: 'Sad Boy' EP

After seeing these guys live at a gig last week, I felt they had to be mentioned in this week's post. The immense energy and love for their craft presented on stage transfers to their music. This is Bellevue Days, the 'Sad Boy' EP.

Hailing from Croydon, UK, Bellevue Days are a four piece rock band with a unique sound.

'Down down down it didn't exist' - the EP kicks off with a strong vocal that demands attention.
Accompanied by a pulsing electric guitar, the thunder like crash of drums hits - this is 'Ripped Jeans'.

The first thing you notice about Bellevue Days' songs are the contrast between loud and quiet. After the initial drums comes a period of refreshing quiet, just a guitar and vocal providing an emotive twist to the song. A chorus of voices singing/chanting 'Ripped Jeans' then join even bigger drums than before to finish the track until only the faint clink of glasses can be heard, conjuring up a picture of a crowded bar.

'Ripped Jeans' seamlessly flows into 'Pepper Tea', a song that starts off with a relatively more mellow vibe than the previous track. A smooth guitar and determined vocal set the scene, ready for a build up of drums and guitar parts, only to return to the simple drum/bass beats seen at the start. This was one of the song's highlights in my opinion as you're expecting an explosive chorus, only to find out that this comes later. 'Pepper Tea' is one of those songs that makes you sway then lose your mind.

I particularly liked the start of this next track - 'Something New'. Beginning with a deep, clean guitar, three drum punches lead into the whispered vocal providing a different tone to the rest of the EP. Airy group vocals and guitars ring but don't quite prepare you for the explosion of drums that happens next. Favourite lyric: 'Amongst the anarchy we'll find something new'.

We're almost there, last track but one is 'Gratefully Gracious' - another track that starts off with a whole new tone of its own. A simple solo guitar introduces the track with hushed vocal phrases giving the impression of a chilled, quieter, perhaps more reflective track. This image is shattered a few seconds later when the familiar racing drums and clean guitar patterns return.

Finally, 'Made From The Devil, Heavy Metal' ends the album in typical Bellevue Days style but a much quieter version.

We hope there are big things to come from Bellevue Days in the near future.


Until next time...

@wewantgoodmusic


To find out more about Bellevue Days click here.