WEIRDS recently released their dystopian new video for PHANTOM, which documents the slow burning of the stunning artwork for debut album SWARMCULTURE, due 26th May on Alcopop! Records.
WEIRDS saw a flurry of interest recently after their Facebook page was bizarrely hacked and transformed to a viral videos page. After each member received a notification that they had been removed as admins from the band page, they reached out to Facebook to begin the long winded process of restoring the page. When it was eventually resurrected, their online following had exploded from around 3K Likes to over 100K Likes. However this was short-lived, as the page was hacked a second time last week and WEIRDS have been unable to regain control since, forcing them to create a new page entirely. You can check out Phantom below!
We caught up with Weirds vocalist Aidan Razzall as talked about the latest single, upcoming album and more!
So you’ve just released the video for Phantom, how has the initial response been so far?
It’s been really cool- we had a lot of fun making the video so to see that people are into it has been humbling. It’s also quite ironic that after our Facebook hacking stuff, the latest thing we put out is a giant effigy of our album cover being burned to the ground. We filmed it before any of that happened, so maybe we foreshadowed it.
The track off your debut album SWARMCULTURE, how pumped are you for the release off this?
We’re really excited to release the album. We’ve been itching to get it out for a while, so for people to finally be able to hear what we’ve worked on should be fun. I think people might be surprised by some of the softer, more ambient songs on the record too.
What is your favourite track from the album?
My favourite tracks are either ‘Things that Crawl’ or ‘Past Life’, the opening and ending tracks. We wrote them specifically to open and close the record, and they’re fun to play live.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
I would love to see how The Black Angels record their albums, as sonically their records always sound rooted in well honed studio techniques. I love all their records, they’re a really prolific band.
So how pumped are you for your tour in June?
We can’t wait! We love touring, getting to see new places and venues, and seeing how different crowds react in different areas. It’s going to be great to play some of the new tracks from ‘Swarmculture’ too.
So you’ve got 2000 Trees and Truck Fest coming up, do you find it different playing at festivals rather than live venues?
From a technical point of view its different, you don’t get a long soundcheck and there isn’t the sweaty, intimate nature of club shows, but that’s not to say we don’t enjoy them. We love playing at festivals, hanging out with other artists and being able to see loads of your favourite bands all in one day. 2000 Trees and Truck Festival have always been ones that we’ve wanted to play at so it’s a real honour for us to be there this year.
How helpful have the guys at Alcopop! Records been?
They’ve been great! We share a similar ethos on the way we do things, it’s one of the reasons we signed to them in the first place.
What has been your funniest moment while recording the album?
We liked to incessantly question Matt Peel, the producer, about completely ridiculous hypothetical situations involving certain scenarios in his studio, pretty much throughout the whole process.
What’s the alternative/rock scene like in Leeds?
The Leeds music scene is really varied genre-wise. I dont think you can really pin down a specific overarching sound. There’s a huge variety of artists. One of the reasons for that is the cultivation of the scene by venues like the Brudenell, Wharf Chambers and CHUNK. It’s great to know that every night of the week, there will be different Leeds bands playing all over the city, from noise rock to jazz to punk.
What was your first ever gig you attended?
I think it might have been Slow Club and The Heebie Jeebies at a venue called The Box in Crewe, when I was about 14.