Despite Airship having a tight schedule, the band from Manchester somehow managed to squeeze in a chat with one of our overseas reporters, Coco Wong. Here she interviews Elliot from the band.
A while ago you posted two tracks on your MySpace which are going to be featured on your debut album. Can you tell us more about the album?
You are touring with The Joy Formidable, can you give us a deeper insight into the tour and JF?
What are your plans for summer 2011? (Any exciting tours or festivals planned yet?
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Airship - Spirit Party
A while ago you posted two tracks on your MySpace which are going to be featured on your debut album. Can you tell us more about the album?
Yea we did the record towards the end of 2010, spilt between an old residential studio in Wales and a studio in Bath. It’s all finished and mixed so we are planning it to bring it out the second half of 2011. We're really pleased with the results and can't wait to get it out. We really haven't felt like a proper entity yet because we haven't had a record out, so this can really show our true colors and what the band’s all about.Are there any interesting stories/anecdotes that took place while recording the album?
The studio in Wales Rockfield is where Queen recorded "A Night At The Opera" so prior to the recording I spent time perfecting my Freddie Mercury mustache in order to channel Freddie’s vibes. I think it worked pretty well, I spent a lot of time drinking red wine and playing the piano Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on, it’s a beautiful instrument. The other thing we did was set up a synthesizer room, as we borrowed a lot of vintage synths from all over the place. That pretty much turned into a rave room, you would generally find one or a few of us in there late night after a few to many shandies with a strobe light, blasting synth noise past the twilight hour.Being from Manchester, do you seek any of the local bands, both past and present as your influence?
Yea I think to a degree. I guess we're all fans of Joy Division and The Smiths, it’s hard to tell if they have been a massive inspiration on our music but i guess they have played their part. On a local level I think it’s a different kind of influence. We don't want to sound like any of the bands that are around like Dutch Uncles, Everything Everything, Delphic or The Answering Machine but I think we inspire to push each other further, you always keep an eye on what they're doing. I guess it’s like healthy competition, where you want to see everyone succeed.
You are touring with The Joy Formidable, can you give us a deeper insight into the tour and JF?
Yea it’s currently four days in, it’s been great so far. The Joy Formidable are a great live band and brilliant people, having toured with them previously makes the initial settling in a lot easier. It’s great to see them getting the recognition they deserve. The Chapman Family are also on the bill and it’s been good getting to know them, they have been a great laugh. We’ve been running out of booze continually every night due to poor riders, so the other night the Chapman’s guitarist resorted to downing a massive bottle of milk half full of vodka. I have never seen anyone drink that much milk that fast and keep it in their stomach, it was an amazing achievement.
What are your plans for summer 2011? (Any exciting tours or festivals planned yet?
Yea there is definitely some stuff in the pipeline but unfortunately i can't give away anything at the moment.Once again my thanks go to Coco Wong for this interview!
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[MYSPACE]
Airship - Spirit Party