Rhys Buchanan caught up with Peace frontman Harrison Koisser to talk about the new album, the NME Awards tour, their upcoming UK tour and confetti….
Hi there Harry! How are you doing today?
I’m good! What’s up?!
So you’re relatively fresh off the NME Awards tour – how did it all go?
It was one big barrel of laughs, just a classic bunch of lads on a big tour really… It was like one of those old 50’s tours where they have four bands rolling around the country. Very enjoyable for all!
Palma Violets, Peace, Miles Kane and Django Django; were there any antics?
There was quite a few! I can’t remember much… but yeah there was a lot of tom-foolery on the tour and plenty of big nights out!
Congratulations on completing the album! It’s sounding great, you must be very proud of the result?
It’s all of our favourite songs really. When we signed with Columbia we decided that we wanted to make songs which were honest and not hiding behind any production or overly trendy metaphors. I wanted to write songs that people can connect with… I think we’ve pulled it off and it’s a really strong first album.
The new album also features a few tracks from EP ‘Delicious‘… it’s interesting you left off “Bloodshake”, tell us about the decision?
“Bloodshake“ felt like it had past it’s time. It really stood out from the EP, so we thought maybe that’s a good place to leave it. It feels weird putting tracks from the EP onto the album because EP ‘Delicious’ was much bigger than we ever thought it was going to be. Loads of people got it! We thought it was going to be quite a rare thing but then it spread faster and bigger than we thought. When we were making ‘In Love‘ it almost felt like we were recording our second album because the EP was so successful, we thought it wasn’t necessary to put “Bloodshake” on. We thought it would be better to include a new song instead.
It sounds like the success of EP ‘Delicious’ came as a big shock to you all?
It was a terrible shock because we thought it was going to be a really small thing, like maybe around a couple of hundred people would buy it but then it just got so big! That really long track at the end, “1998“, we thought people would turn off at that point but everyone really loved it! It came as a great surprise.
So the album has it’s emotional moments. “Float Forever” is my favourite! It gives me the goosebumps… what’s the track all about?
It’s like the sad song on the album isn’t it?
Yeah…
I can remember it was really late and I was sat on a bridge near Birmingham when I wrote that chorus. I can’t remember where I was on the way back from and I can’t really remember what I was upset about but it is a really emotional song.
Also “California Daze“ is the other emotional ballad on there…
Yeah, I really like the slower ones. They are not harder to write, but it’s harder to pull off a slow honest song because some people might feel uncomfortable going to that level of honesty. But if you want something to have substance and feel real I guess it has to be about yourself, it’s never really felt awkward for me to go to that level when writing.
Those slower ones contrast really nicely alongside the more upbeat psychedelic tribal tracks on there, what would you say gives Peace such an all out range of styles?
I think it’s just us, we’ve all got really diverse music tastes and our idea of the Peace was to have no idea of what the band is and just to make whatever music we wanted to regardless of genre. Not to be a psychedelic band, not to be an 80’s revival band. We all decided we are going to do whatever the fuck we want to. This is what gives the album so many styles.
So would you say genres tie you down?
Well they’re useful if you want to be a band of a certain genre. You kind of need it because you’ve got something there to do. But for us it’s different. I think someone from Columbia, right before they found us, said: “We like how you have no respect for genre”, and I was like: “yeah it’s never been an issue.” I have always had a really diverse music taste so I don’t see why the music I write should be limited by genre.
The album is also going to be released on vinyl, what value does the format hold for you?
Me and my dad used to have loads of records. To be fair our record player was broken through most of my teenage years so CDs did dominate more but I was always liked us putting on records. We’ve always supported the idea of vinyl. It’s the most physical format, there’s something quite magical that simply grooves in a piece of plastic can make the sound. I’m a fan of it! Also records are physically the largest format, so you hold it and it’s right there in front of your face. It makes total sense.
‘In Love’ – Out March 25th
I think people try parachuting in these days… though it isn’t too discrete is it?
No it’s not that discrete! I might try that… It would be quite a good entrance! I’m up for it!
Now is a very exciting time for new music. What are you into at the moment?
New music wise… I love the bands that we hang around and play with like Temples, Wolf Alice, O Children, Swim Deep, Splash… we’re all part of the same thing. I went to see The Strypes the other day and I was really into them! They reminded me of a high school band but they were just really decent!
Thanks so much for you’re time Harry, it’s been great! I’m sure I’ll see you at the Bristol gig!
Awesome! Alright yeah I’ll see you there! Catch you in a bit!
Peace’s debut album ‘In Love’ is released on Monday 25th March. The band will also be performing at The Fleece in Bristol on Monday 22nd April. To find out more about this and the band in general visit their official website www.peaceforeverever.com