INTERVIEW: BLACKWATERS

BlackWaters have torn up every stage they've ever played. Loud, fast and visceral the quartet are destined to go big and with their DIY ethos, the world is their oyster.

1) You're preparing to release a new EP, 'People Street', what can you tell us about the tracks on that EP and how excited are you to get that out in the world?

We started writing the EP in August last year so it’s been a long time coming. We’ve gone backwards and forwards on a lot of songs and wrote about 30 odd tunes before we decided on these 5. The message of the EP is all centred around the title track, ’People Street’ and focuses on social observation. Some tracks talk about people we have met and the struggles of trying to get by in a world where these people exist. Other tracks talk about the daily struggles of getting fired from a job and having no money or just being too drunk and needing your friends to help ya out. In short, we are very excited to release this EP as it’s been far too long haha. 

2) You're also heading out on tour in support of the EP, what can people expect from your live shows?

We always bring a lot of energy to all of our performances and something different happens all the time. We will always give it our all wherever we play regardless on how many people are there but its always more fun when the crowd get involved. We do our best to make sure everyone can have a laugh with us and we’ve always aimed to break down the imaginary barrier between the audience and ourselves. I think that a lot of bands tend to put themselves on a pedestal when they perform and that's definitely the wrong way to go about things. 

3) Your music is generally fast and visceral, have you always been interested in making this music and which bands have influenced you?

We’ve always been interested in making energetic music but when we started I don’t think our sound was as intense. We used to be into really indie music and we were this weird wannabe shoe-gazer band and then we discovered a band called FIDLAR and got into a lot of old school punk like Iggy Pop and The Clash which changed our sound. Recently we’ve been really influenced by bands like The Fall, Joy Division and Nick Cave which has shaped the sound of this EP. 

4) One of your earlier releases talks about a 'Jarr'ed up Generation', what do you mean by this?

At the time of writing Jarr’ed Up we felt that there was a lot of angst amongst people our age in the UK and the world. This was the time of Brexit, Trump running for presidency and feeling unheard on how these things were going to effect us. Musically and lyrically, we have moved on but the message is still relevant. 

5) Your songs have a punk flavour to them, would you describe yourself as a punk band at all and do you aim to include punk messages in your songs?

I like the whole idea of being in a punk band, whether our sound always replicates that I wouldn’t know. But we do call ourselves a punk band, however we always go in with the attitude of making something big that most people can vibe off. 

I don’t tend to write lyrics with big fuckin’ statements in them, I mean maybe a few but I tend to be enjoying writing about everyday life, people I meet. Usually if I try and write something unorthodox it’ll be crap, but they’ll always have some form of meaning to me. 

6) You've spent some time with Carl Barat as well as playing some shows with The Libertines too, what experience did you gain from this?

Yeah we’ve worked with Carl in the studio, he was a proper grafter picking apart my words and melodies, producing the songs to their best n squeezing our juices out of us. To sum it up I will include Timothy’s 3:17 quote ‘so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work’.

7) What do you guys want to get out of 2018, what are your plans and goals for the rest of the year?

2018 is as follows- Keep writing top tunes, shave well, stop picking our toenails, eat a little healthier, watch gigs, play gigs and domestically take apart each others personalities.