Q&A interview with Birthday Card. Originally published in The Argus, January 2018.
Birthday Card are a melancholy pop band who found their beginnings in an Aylesbury garden shed. One year on from their debut release, Josh, Conor, Leslie and Tom are gearing up for another thrilling year. Vocalist Josh Saw talks to ISSY ALDRIDGE about their unusual name, favourite gigs, and what it’s like to keep a band going cross-country.
How did the name come about?
The name came about through listening to a Sufjan Stevens song which had the lyric ‘Birthday Card’ in it and something about it resonated with us. After talking it over and comparing with potential names we just stuck with it as we thought it was peculiar enough to stand out and thought the name promoted a particular aesthetic that suited the sound we wanted to produce.
With the new year now well underway, did you set any band goals or resolutions?
Josh attempted to do dry January and last a couple days, saying a lot about his willpower. Conor said he was going to quit smoking and again that didn’t go to plan. He’s smoking a cigarette as we speak. As for goals we really plan to carve out our sound and show people what we’re about as a band. We were also very conservative with our releases last year so this year expect to hear a lot more music from us.
How does BIMM link to your story?
Josh and Les go to BIMM. Josh is studying music business and Les is on the production course. We’re both enjoying it and met some great people and really good contacts to hopefully help us progress as musicians and as a band. We were together before BIMM, we’re all originally from Aylesbury and all lived 5 minutes away from each other so it’s kind of strange half of us living in Brighton and half back home but we’ve adapted well, we still practise frequently and writing so much new music.
How would you describe your sound, and who are some of your influences?
We have such an eclectic music taste, which I think really comes through within our creative process. There’s something about the 80’s era which is so nostalgic that it’s just hard not to take inspiration from. We love some of the music that’s come out at the moment too - Flyte and Bon Iver’s most recent records are incredible. So yeah, a modern interpretation on nostalgic synth-pop- that’s probably close enough.
How has being at BIMM helped you develop as a band?
We’ve been able to share our music with likeminded people and get not only the input of some great professionals in the industry but of new friends with similar tastes and interests. That’s already helping us to carve our sound out better and really crack down on what Birthday Card is. It’s really great to have the uni facilities available to us too so we keep on exploring in terms of recording.
Last year you played at some incredible events including BBC Introducing and Dork Magazine, but what's been your favourite gig to date?
It has to be the BBC Introducing Uprising showcase at O2 Academy Oxford for sure. It was a complete privilege to be asked by BBC Introducing to come and play for them. The crowd was packed which was such a buzz for us. It was actually the second time we got to play that stage so we felt really comfortable there. We’ve played some cramped stages in the past so it was nice to have some space to get our groove on.
Why Brighton?
When we started the band we were playing in our home county of Buckinghamshire. We’ve played some great shows around there with some really good bands, but the sounds are quite varied so lineups could be really mixed at times. As good as this was, it was hard for us to fit into a scene. Brighton has such a great culture of indie music so we knew it would be somewhere where we can let our music flourish. It’s definitely living up to it so far!
So what's next for you guys? Your new track 'Berlin' is due in the Spring. Is there anything else on the cards?
We’ve got lots more in store for 2018. Berlin is set for release on the 18th March. There’s also a load more music in the pipeline - and then our spring tour starts in February which sees us playing a string of dates around the South. We’re really honoured to have been asked by Sleeper to play three sold-out shows in Bristol, Oxford and Bedford which is really exciting for us. We’re bringing a close to the spring tour in Brighton at The Green Door Store on the 16th April so make sure you come down!
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