Retrofect Interview

Retrofect
Interview

Thursday 30th of August 2007

Interview

By Haydon S

Retrofect are amongst the hottest properties on the South Coast right now. Their album, New York Kiss is a blissful amalgam of all that is good in indie/disco, but also holds within it a timelessness that bodes well for the future. Via the magic of the interweb, I caught up with the band to find out a little bit more about them. Here's the skinny:
Tell me a bit about how the band started.
Joel: "Retrofect started in late 2004, sprung by the fact that four of us; Josh, Ben, Tom and I were put together in a band at college. This was the first time the four of us had played properly together; Joel, Ben and Josh were collectively Beyond Convention and Ben and Tom were half of the fairly successful Hyperfuse. At first everything seemed a little ropey, secretly everyone in the band saw this as a 'side' to what was going on in our other bands and Retrofect become a bit of fun going by the names, Auntie Rene and Your Mum. It was at Christmas in 2004 that we decided to go for it and things began to gel. We recorded our debut EP at Ford Lane studios in early Feb 2005 and began to gig frequently. To run 100 metres forward in the Retrofect race, Jamie joined in September and that is when we really decided to push forth and go for writing the record.
What have been your best moments as a band so far?
Joel: "Personally some of the best moments are the humbling moments. It was incredible going to London for the first time and having a room packed with sweaty teenagers singing, 'Love Will Find a Way Home'. That certainly is a truly wonderful experience. Its also very random when you get recognised!"
Jamie: "I think our recent UK tour was a highlight for me, being able to go round the country taking our music up north and back again, we made tonnes of new friends and a couple of enemies too!"
And the worst?
Joel: "I think the worst moment of being in this thing was the second we found out about Retrofect's much-adored friend James' sadly fatal car crash. That was a real 'bring you back to Earth' moment. Sallyforth were a real favourite band of ours and we collectively believed in them taking their songs to the high places!"
Jamie: "I would also like to mention our worst ever gig, which was at Unit 22 in Southampton. Literally nothing would go right and Ben drums decided to break halfway through the set."
What style would you say your music is?
Joel: "Our music style is a style called 'Dark Disco' - we invented it! [Laughs] To be completely honest, I really struggle when trying to describe our sound. Someone said something rather interesting to me last night, Retrofect is the mangled child of Interpol and McFly. Maybe that is right?"
Jamie: "Ignore Joel; we sound nothing like McFly ha ha. Our sound comes from 5 very diverse corners, as all 5 of us have a shared taste in certain bands, but all go off into our own areas of music also."
You've recently released an album, New York Kiss: how was the process of recording it?
Joel: "We got together with our producer Stu G and did a lot of pre-production. That really is what made the album happen. I personally think without him we wouldn't have these songs. Due to the fact we didn't have too long in the studio we were able to go straight into the studio and pretty much know our parts. We spent two weeks locked inside a very small room, things got sticky - imagine the picture if you will!"
Jamie: "The process of recording it was an excellently fun two weeks; we were with an excellent engineer called Trevor Michael who was very happy to let us experiment with sounds and ideas."
What other bands/artists do you like/respect?
Joel: "What bands do we like? Wow! Here is the part where i get really into trouble for listing my favourite bands! No - collectively we all love Interpol but that goes without saying, they are the most stylish band that graces the planet. There are so many local bands worth talking about though! We love Josh's other band, Joey Nightmare - they have so much groove. To name but a few, Golden Section, Flavour Country - well worth checking out! One band that I am constantly playing the new demo of is a band called Linchpin. We met these guys a while back now and i have really enjoyed watching them run up the steps to stardom - remember the name, Linchpin - girlies will love 'em!"
Are there any new bands on the scene that you recommend people check out?
Jamie: "I really cannot praise the Chichester music scene enough. It really is a fantastic family of bands who all support each other. Newer bands to look out for are Dascha, Pictures and Flavour Country. All quality acts."
What have you got planned for the next few months?
Joel: "I am currently writing this in pyjamas so I think an idea priority is to get dressed!? Erm in all seriousness, an era of Retrofect comes to an end next Monday. For 6 months Tom is stepping down and is moving to London and so we are going to be finding our feet in some shape or form! It's gotta be about gigs, gigs and more gigs I expect! We are about to play potentially the biggest gig of our time yet at the Greenbelt festival in Cheltenham so that will be muchos fun! I guess we'll see what happens!!"
Jamie: "We are just looking to gig as much as possible, also looking to record and release a single late this year (called 'This Be A Plea') it's a new song we have started playing live and it's getting an excellent reaction.

http://www.the-mag.me.uk/Music/Articles/Item/Retrofect-Interview-20070830/