Live at Leeds 2025: The Interviews
Fresh from their Live at Leeds signings in the Crash Records tent, G caught up with Chris Bailey to chat new music, cover bands and albums that make you go ‘holy moly!’, as well grabbing Sports Team for some quick-fire questions!
The first thing we want to know, we're all really big fans of your last album, is there anything new coming that we can expect?
There is a big pile of finished material.
Could you describe it in three words?
Way, way better. Genuinely, a lot of artists feel the same thing where they hate everything they do, and I sort of do hate everything we've ever done. But this next thing, I actually dig it! I think it's pretty good. Which sounds like big head vibes but... maybe it's because I'm getting a bit older, I'm just learning to be less stressy. Learning to let things go and know that stressing over stuff like that, over creative endeavours, has diminishing returns. Because it's good to stress. Stress itself is useful because it makes you work harder, makes you try and be better - but there's a cap. There's a cap at a point where you can go too far and then you make everything you do worse because you're not happy. But I'm learning to be happy. Something I've learned to do very recently.
If your band could be a cover band for one day only, who would you be and why?
Oh that's a horrible question - in a good way! Do you have a lighter? Do I? Does anybody? Surely someone will. Let me see if someone’s smoking, it’s a new age innit? Alright no one's fucking smoking, it's just me.
*at this point we took a brief interlude to track down that all important lighter*
I had time to think about it and they [the band] said some stuff as well, none of which I agree with. One of them said Pixies, which is like an amazing band that you can't really cover successfully. If I had to pick, selfishly, I would say Simon and Garfunkel. And then we'd kick two of the guys out of the band.
Which two?
Who can sing better? Me and Charlie or me and Kasper. That's the sort of music that I grew up on.
It's weird how life has gone for me for the past ten years, to be in a shouty band. I've never been a shouty guy. I just ended up in one. We’re slowly sort of becoming less shouty, more boring and sad. I don't know, if it was just me answering the question, I would say Simon and Garfunkel because I would love to sing all those songs, they're all amazing songs.
I like, in terms of performing, there being two ends. There's the very high energy, rocky end and then there's the very low tempo, low, fucking melancholy vibe. You can get completely different things out of both of them. But if I go and see an artist, the thing that I remember and care about is the slow and sad stuff. Those are the things that touch people lastingly. So that's where you really want to dig into if you can. A long answer to a very simple question!
What band are you really excited about at the minute that needs to be on more people's radar?
I mean, he's on a lot of radars. Cameron Wynter.
So, you know the band Geese? He’s the singer and he's just done a solo album. And the solo album, they're both very different in the same way. His solo thing is a lot more laid back, but it's original in a very interesting way, because he's an amazing singer and he uses that to his advantage. It’s the first thing in a long time that’s been like ‘holy moly’ you know? This is the last album that I listened to that’s knocked me out.
Congrats on the new album! Can you describe it for us in 3 words?
Ambitious, energetic, euphoric.
Who is top of your list to see at Live at Leeds today?
Natasha Bedingfield, Bloc Party and L’objetif.
What band are you loving that should be on more people’s radar?
Ider.
Can you tell us about your most memorable festival experience?
Best Kept Secret in 2019. It was our first proper festival so we packed the van out with all our mates. By day two we were banned from the artist bar! We had no expectations for our set, but the tent was rammed and it was one of the best!
Words by G.
First Picture from Crash Records (@crashrecords).
Second Picture Natasha Dobson (@n_j_dphotography).
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