Oranj Son:'There is more engagement now from the music industry with students than ever before.&
The artwork for your single STILL is amazing, who was the person behind the design?
Agreed. A very talented friend of ours, Ryan Harding (also from Ellesmere Port), designed and produced it. Paint on canvas. We spoke a lot about the work of Peter Saville, particularly his work with Joy Division and New Order. Next thing I know, he'd conjured a really great piece. He's just graduated from Manchester Art School. He's got a lot of great work. Can be found on his Instagram page
Kieran you spent last year in Shanghai, how was it and did it benefit your song writing?
It was great. It's just a very absurd life over there. A lot of random occurrences. The Chinese people are great and have always got time for others, especially for people of different nationality.
In terms of songwriting, I think it definitely had an influence. I'm very interested in Chinese culture anyway, but actually experiencing it first hand over a prolonged period of time was enlightening, particularly from my Western perspective.
The track 'Still' which we've just released was written whilst I was in Shanghai. I think that China is generally a very stimulating place, but particularly Shanghai and Hong Kong. A recent example of China as a musical influence was when Blur went over to Hong Kong to write and record The Magic Whip. That record even smells of Hong Kong. Environments play a big part, even subliminally.
How did you guys come up with your name?
I was sat waiting in Asda car park for me dad. Just thought of it like.
The music video for your 2015 single Psycho Disco Face ,was filmed completely by students from Edge Hill University. How important is student involvement in the music industry and do you think enough is being done to get young people involved?
Yeah, I thought they did a great job. There is more engagement now from the music industry with students than ever before. Often, they are the antithesis of the greed and politics of the music industry. These are students who have a purely vocational interest in their work and are really ambitious. They bring a youthful enthusiasm to the industry. Universities like Edge Hill are highly renowned for finding ways that their students can gain experience. Their own record label (The Label Recordings) is pioneering in its approach to student engagement. The university understand the importance of funding such projects and place the responsibility in the hands of very talented and experienced individuals, notably Carl Hunter of The Farm. I think this student engagement will have a snowball effect. It'll continue to expand.
Who have been your biggest influences when making music?
We listen to a lot of different stuff, but artists like the Velvet Underground, Ride, The Bunnymen, Massive Attack, Kraftwerk, Air and Scott Walker often play a part when we produce music. That's the sort of work that all music should be measured against as far as we're concerned.
You’ve got a cool band name, how did you come up with it?
In terms of our name, we didn't think about it too much.
What is to come from you guys in the near future?
We're writing lots of music.
