Band Of The Week #265 - Dead Pony
This week’s Band of the Week is Glasgow’s Dead Pony - who have just released their absolute firestorm of a debut album ‘Ignore This’.
White noise. Information overload. The inescapable sense that your voice is being lost in the crowd. For these rising Scottish stars, the realisation that keeping heads above water in an oversaturated modern music industry was stopping them from chasing the sort of singular sounds that had led here in the first place was a moment to pump brakes and take stock. They’d done what they were told. They’d tried to fit in. And all they’d gotten in return was dull-eyed apathy and broken promises.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Dead Pony - how are you? So your album is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
We’re super excited to have our album out in the world. It’s the best and most exciting thing we’ve made as a band so far and we can’t wait for our fans to hear it.
It is called ‘Ignore This’ - what is the meaning behind that?
We felt like for years we were being ignored by the industry and the people in it. We wanted to make an album that was such a statement and was so good that it is impossible to Ignore It.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
We recorded the album in a little tiny residential cottage studio in Scotland. It quite literally was in the middle of nowhere and we were locked away for two weeks, in the miserable pouring rain writing and recording 1 song a day. It really was quite an unglamorous and gruelling process but I think that is reflected in the sound of the album. We ended up getting sort of cabin fever because we were there doing the same thing every day, it was like Groundhog Day. It was funny because the closest town/pub was a 30 minute drive away and we decided one Friday night we were going to go out into the town and let off some steam. We called about for about an hour trying to get a taxi but apparently taxis done really exist outside of the city. Eventually we found this number and it was a local old lady with a mini van and she came and picked us up and took us to the pub.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
When we wrote the album, a lot of it was written from a place of anger and frustration. We had gone through a lot together and I think we needed to vent all of our negative feelings into something. There are songs of rage, anger and grief but also songs that are uplifting and more fun. We also take a lot of inspiration from cinema and wanted the album to feel like you were flicking through your DVD collection and these are the songs that would be in the movies.
If the album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
I think that’s quite hard to answer because we took inspiration from so many movies but a few would be - Charlie’s Angels, Kill bill, Scream, The Matrix
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album - if so, which one and why?
I like the lyric from Rainbows that goes
“They say I daydream, I’m lost in space
You know I’m used to it, hated my face
For the first time in my life I’m having fun”
Although this song is a positive and uplifting one, it’s quite a vulnerable one too. I wrote it about how when I was a teenager I didn’t really like who I was and I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin but as I’ve grown older and started to accept who I am, I’m so much happier and more fulfilled.
Now the album is out there - what next?
We’re finishing off the tour with Kid Kapichi and then getting ready for a really busy summer season with festivals across UK/EU. Maybe some headline shows too
