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Absolutely

smashing

Be totallyfloored

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Glass Animals

Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | February 26, 2015 | 31

SO, are you ready for the tour?We’ve had a couple of weeks off which

has been blissful, but that’s about to cometo a very abrupt end. This is my last day offreedom – that sounds ridiculous! But yes, verymuch, we haven’t been around England for awhile touring, so it’s going to be really fun. I’mpumped. We’ve had enough rest to get that outof our systems, so everyone is ready.

How would you describe your sound tosomeone who hadn’t heard you guys before?

Haha, that’s the killer question! It’s so hard,it’s the hardest thing to do for me to describethe music. I think I’m probably the worst personto describe it. It’s like me asking you to describeyourself. I have no idea what other people thinkof me as a human being, I hope things but Idon’t know, if you see what I mean, so it’s reallyhard to say our music sounds like this becauseI hear it every single day, and I have done foryears. You stop hearing things in the music aftera while in the same way you probably don’tthink about what your office looks like anymore, it’s just there. It’s an impossible question.

You often get called “mysterious”. Wouldyou say that’s fair?

It probably was to begin with. I think we

wanted the music to do the talking, wewanted people to judge us on the thing thatwas important, which was the music we weremaking and not the people that we were. As theband got bigger and the music got played more,people were obviously interested in that side ofthings. I care about who the people who makethe music I love are, so I think we’ve got lessmysterious.

So you don’t mind me asking how you allmet then . . .

We all met when we were really small. I wasmaybe 12 when I first met Ed [Irwin-Singer]and Drew [Macfarlane], and then Dave [Bayley]showed up at our school when we were about14. We just hung out and just did stuff that kidsdo. Watch music, listen to music, we went tofestivals together and hung out at each other’shouses.

Do you ever get sick of each other?Occasionally, haha, I have days where I’d

rather be doing other things with other people,

but I love them all very dearly. They’re myoldest best friends.

What are your thoughts on Cambridge,considering you’re an Oxford band?

Hate it. Absolutely hate it. Can’t stand it! Ha,I’ve only been once weirdly, we played at a balla couple of years ago. It’s just a slightly smaller,more beautiful version of Oxford as far as I cansee.

What are your inspirations?I could go on for hours, days! I’ll give you one

record that changed the way I felt about musicwhich is one by a guy called Tom Veck. His firstrecord [We Have Sound] totally blew my mindwhen it first came out, I was about 15, and itwas just amazing. He made the entire thingby himself in his parents’ garage as far as I canremember, and it’s just amazing, rhythmicallyand melodically. I’d never really questionedmusic or thought about it, other than to enjoy itwhile it was there, and that really changed theway I thought about it which was wicked.

And what are you listening to right now?There’s a band called Hiatus Kaiyote who are

wicked, a jazzy, hip-hop thing from Australia.It’s the brainchild of this woman, she’s got thistotally amazing band, they’re great. There’sthis guy called D. D Dumbo who I think isamazing; I’d only heard his EP, but I saw it liveand it made it even better – I love it whenthat happens. There’s Gilligan Moss, a guyin America who did a remix for us and he’scoming on tour with us; he’s freaking cool. I’mlooking forward to the Kendrick record. Thenew D’Angelo record is beautiful and brilliant.

There’s a chunk of stuff!What was the last gig you went to?I went to see Caribou in Paris recently. It was

in this huge, enormous, massive warehouse andthey had a net of balloons in the pitch blackand at the very end they dropped thousands ofballoons on this crowd that completely lost itsmind while the lights were going mental. Thatwas quite an experience.

What’s been the craziest moment so far?That’s a good question. No TVs out of

windows. There was one really cool storyactually, we were in LA and went to a musicshop to buy some guitar strings or something.We were standing around, Ed the bassplayer got bored, wandered off into the bassdepartment of this enormous shop, disappeareddown this labyrinth, found himself in the bassdepartment where there was just one other kid,and Ed heard this kid playing something. Thekid turned round and thought Ed worked thereand said, can you help me with this bass line?And Ed was like, what are you playing? He saidit’s by this band called Glass Animals, it’s a songcalled Toes, and Ed was like you’re joking andthe kid was like no, and Ed said, that’s my bassline! This kid totally lost his s***, and then Edlost his s***, so they were both in the middleof this labyrinth losing their minds. That was anamazing moment, and I wasn’t even there. Andit’s the sort of thing if you’d made it up, peoplewouldn’t believe. But I didn’t make it up!

If the band hadn’t kicked off, what wouldyou be doing?

I’d probably just hang out with Dave and eatcereal all the time. Dave’s got a bunny rabbit,so I’d probably help look after the bunny andbe at a loss. It was a very convenient, brilliantthing to happen to me, because I don’t knowwhat I’d be doing otherwise.

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MUSIC

Glass Animals

HOT TICKETS WHAT’S ONWHAT’S ON HOT TICKETSHOT TICKETS WHAT’S ONWHAT’S ON HOT TICKETS

Glass Animals, Cambridge Junction,Monday, March 2 at 8pm. SOLD OUT.

“It’s really hard to say our music sounds like this becauseI hear it every single day, and I have done for years. Youstop hearing things in the music after a while in the sameway you probably don’t think about what your officelooks like any more, it’s just there.”

– Glass Animals drummer Joe Seaward

Four-piece indie outfit Glass Animals create tracks that swarm and writhe with rhythmand ideas. While musically they aren’t all that big on using words, Joe Seaward,drummer of Glass Animals, is wonderfully chatty. He spoke to ELLA WALKER aheadof a sold-out Cambridge Junction date

A TOUCH OFGLASS: JoeSeaward, left,with the band