Within the pages of our print and online magazine lies a section of great importance. Titled ‘Who Are You?’, we stick our ear to the ground and introduce you to the sounds that are making people whisper up and down the country. Hopefully, some time in the near future, they’ll become the regulars on your Radio Stations, Spotify lists and gig listings! The section only allows for a couple of questions to be printed, so today we bring you the full introduction to one of our favourite new artists. In Issue Seventeen we sent over the basics to ALASKALASKA. Find the key details below.
Hello ALASKALASKA, Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
We are Lucinda, Fraser, Gethin, Joe, Calum and Fraser (yeah, we got two). We all live in London but are from different places originally – Wales, Merseyside, Norwich, Birmingham. We make music for dancing and kissing and crying to.
People have labelled it ‘art-pop’ but really it’s just whatever we feel like making together, inspired by lots of different things.
What’s special about where youre from? Has it inspired your music?
F: We get to combine different cultural & musical influences from growing up in different places with backgrounds in jazz, pop, folk, beat etc – but really it’s from moving to London where our tastes and ideas have been refined, and our own music inspired. What’s special about London is that it’s so expensive and difficult to undertake a career in the arts, that it pushes you to work harder and find something you love, or else it’s not going to work. Plus, London is so diverse and has so much going on musically that you can’t help being inspired. For us, the alt jazz and indie scene around New Cross and Peckham is really strong at the moment, and really exciting to be around. Knowing other bands around there inspires you to keep writing and playing and trying new things.
How did you find each other?
F: A perfect marriage of different friendships. Lucinda and I used to live next to each other at Uni, and both studied music with Calum at Goldsmiths. Lucinda already knew Gethin, Joe and Fraser S through friends in West Wales, who all studied jazz together. After we graduated, Lu and I wanted to work with each other on something new, and she’d just asked Joe and Gethin to play on some songs – so we all got together, then Fraser S and Calum joined in to spread some butter on our musical toast.
What led you to form a band? A particular happening or mutual love for a record or sound?
F: Feeling a bit bored, wanting to write and play with new people, and not get a normal job. Lu and I used to listen to a lot of 80s stuff before the band came together – Sade, Talk Talk, Talking Heads, Mr Fingers.. and as a band we really liked the way artists like Blood Orange, Porches, LCD Soundsystem, Metronomy etc were able to use those kind of sounds and ideas in an interesting, contemporary way. If anything, it’s everyone’s love for different records in different genres that has made us sound like we do now.
Can you tell us something that you collectively really love?
Gethin’s tour quizzes & brown kwab
Can you tell us something that you collectively hate?
Saxophone warmups
What can we be excited for (from you) over the next 12 months?
More music – a new single soon, and a cover track that we recorded ourselves. If Joe manages to get an adidas sponsorship deal then hopefully a clothing range, too (fingers crossed).