Introducing #125 - Ski Lift
Let us introduce you to South London’s Ski Lift who have just released their jangly indie pop track ‘Portal’. They took a moment to talk to us about their music.
Hey there Ski Lift, so your new track ‘Portal’ is out now - can you tell us what the track is about?
Hey, thanks for having us! Portal is an escapist dream-song. It’s a chance to transport yourself away form the madness and take in a few gulps of fresh air. I wrote it a couple of years back but I think it really hits home for me right now being mostly stuck inside.
This is your second single, how does it feel being a band, quite fresh in their existence, to be releasing music right now?
I think it feels surprisingly simple to be honest. The to-do list for independent, self-managed bands can be really overwhelming. It’s so difficult to know where to focus your energy, but with the live music element out of the question, it’s been a catalyst for our release plans. I hope that this single (and the two which are soon to follow) will provide some entertainment and relief to our listeners (and hopefully some new ones too!) during this weird time, and then we can all celebrate together as a new post-lockdown family, when we’re able to gig again.
You are based in London? Where are your favourite places to go for adventures?
Benji: In ‘normal’ times, there’s no finer place for a musical adventure than The Windmill, in Brixton. It’s currently massively at risk of closure, and you can support it by donating at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/savewindmillbrixton
For lockdown adventures I love Addington Hills just outside Croydon, it’s full off beautiful fir trees - feels like being in Canada! And you can get it on a tram, so bonus points because trams are fun.
Ailsa: Sydenham woods
Jovis: I like to go to London Zoo!
How did the band start?
In 2018, after a creative hiatus, I had a songwriting flurry, where I sat in a dark cupboard with a guitar and wrote a number of songs in quick succession. I took those to Jovis Lane (our drummer), a university friend and regular collaborator, and we thrashed them out on guitar and drums at a local rehearsal studio. Anna Vincent then joined the live band for around a year. We were sad to part ways but she has her hands full with some other amazing projects, including playing bass for Max Bloom and Happyness. Ailsa Tully took over bass duties at the end of 2019 - we grew up together on the Welsh border, and she also studied at Goldsmiths around the same time as me and Jovis, so we all have a lot of shared history.
What are your key musical influences?
For childlike wonder and boundless energy: Jonathan Richman / The Modern Lovers.
The band that actually inspired me to write, and who I’ve probably seen play the most over the years is The Mystery Jets.
I always come back to Neil Young.
Right now I’m loving early PJ Harvey.
And the debut LP from Superorganism.
Ask me tomorrow I’ll say something completely different.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to you before?
That’s such a difficult question! But I can tell you that according to the last Jackbox game I played, I am a ‘barely carefree social quasi-slacker’. Is that helpful?
Okay wait… ummm… enthusiastic anti-pop? I literally can’t. Sorry!