There’s a pretty spiffy new Live at Leeds announcement, have you seen it? Dream Wife, Honeyblood, Temples, Get Inuit and loads more ace bands have all signed up for the multi-venue party. Clean Cut Kid are also on the bill, with the band’s Saul Godman and Ross Higginson getting ready – and packing some bananas – for what’s set to be “a mad year”.
Hey guys, how are you at the moment? Is everything okay in camp Clean Cut Kid?
We are all so excited about everything! A new single, the album, rehearsal – everything is happening a million miles an hour right now!
You’ve just announced a headline tour, and you’re playing Live at Leeds too – is 2017 going to be a big year for the band?
It seems so! We are so new as a band, and everything has happened so quick. Everything that happens – we just can’t believe!
What is it about festivals like Live at Leeds that makes them so important to both music fans and young bands, do you think?
Live at Leeds just gives a great opportunity to get everyone together in a big room and feel the vibes, it’s like a huge house party with a bar.
Is there anyone else currently announced for Live at Leeds who you’re especially keen to see?
We have played with The Big Moon and love them, but obviously Slaves and Wild Beasts. We really want to see Jagwar Ma live too.
How do you prepare for stints on the road? Are there any ‘must haves’ that you always pack?
We all like to be health freaks when we can, just to keep energy up on the road, so we pack our own little lunch boxes with a combo of bananas and Cous Cous.
Will you be airing any new material at your upcoming dates? Your debut album is pretty much finished, right?
The new album is signed, sealed and delivered so we will be playing new material that we are reallllly excited about and we think is some of our best yet! Pretty much everything is louder, quieter, heavier, softer, more complex and sometimes simpler!
How did you find putting the album together? Was it tough?
Putting the album together was tough at times… There’s so much that goes into it physically and emotionally, and we have pressure from different angles, but it’s totally worth it to listen back and hear thoughts and ideas in real life. We had so much fun doing it.
What’s your absolute favourite thing about the album?
I’m sure we’d all agree that listening back when it was completed and put into order was very exciting, but there is also a concept behind the whole album that fits together in the order it’s arranged so hearing it as a whole on that level was a proper goosebumps moment.
Looking back to this time last year, what’s the biggest thing you’ve achieved since then? Any particular highlights?
Glastonbury and the Live Lounge were definitely two of the highlights, but just plugging into instruments in the rehearsal room is as good because you can feel a magic in the room, and then we walk over to Mike and Ev [Halls]’ and have little vocal rehearsals. It’s like a little dinner party where Ev is the host, and their flat is decorated so cool, and we get to hang out, and we are such good friends. Also when we come back from a gig and we are all super tired, and everything just starts being funny, and we are like zombies, but we can’t stop laughing. The whole thing is a non-stop high.
Live at Leeds will take place on 29th April across various venues in Leeds. Tickets are on sale now.