Surrey’s Gold Phoenix are a soundclash of 70’s inspired Raw, Riff Heavy, Garage Rock. The Trio release single Lotion today with a music video to accompany it.
The band recorded the single locally at Audio Empire Studios in Bolney with Phil Bashford. The energetic, tongue-in-cheek 3 minute number has been likened to the sound of a lovechild between ACDC and Eagles Of Death Metal.
The video that will be released alongside it has the same nature. Dressed in all white womens clothes. Toy Instruments and lots of paint, the video will sure to be a talking point after its release.
The band have released a self titled EP back in late 2014 which went on to sell out. Last years single Oh So Hard got some fantastic support slots, that included Thomas Truax, Dolomite Minor, The Weeks, and slots at Tramlines & Southcider Festivals. During this time Gold Phoenix embarked on two UK Tours and have been featured extensively online including BBC Introducing and Sound Of Brit.
The remainder of the year will be booked with shows around the UK, with a Europeon tour being booked for 2018. Check out the video below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talk about the latest single and more!
How pumped are you for the release of ‘Lotion’?
Jamie – Very pumped! It’s always nice to finally just relax and let go of it. The process from writing to releasing is such a bloody long winded one! But yes pretty damn pumped.
Fred – I’m very excited about the release. It feels like forever since we wrote it with a fair amount of vodka. I always enjoy releasing new songs.
Is this any different from your previous release Oh So Hard?
Jamie – Oh So Different…see what I did there? But yes, Lotion is the complete opposite. Both “Oh So Hard” & “Lotion” probably wouldn’t fit on an ep or album of ours. So its nice releasing them as singles. “Oh So Hard” was influenced by QOTSA and the dark gloom of She Wants Revenge, whilst “Lotion” is completely tongue in cheek, like the lovechild of AC/DC and Eagles of Death Metal!
Ed – Yeah Oh so Hard was a fairly dark song, whereas this one is definitely more upbeat.
Fred – like chalk and cheese. Oh so hard is dark, mysterious and heavy where Lotion is sexual, funny and comes at you from different angles.
Can you tell us anything about this release no one knows?
Jamie – Hmm…the video was filmed in my mums living room? The white jeans we are all wearing are actually women’s jeans. But they fit pretty lovely, anything else?
Ed – Even Fred didn’t know we were wearing women’s jeggings until we handed them to him! I have to say though, they were surprisingly comfortable!
Fred – We pretty much wrote the song and the complete structure in one 4 hour practice. It’s one of those songs that just ran straight off the bat.
Are you looking to release a EP/Album anytime soon?
Jamie – Man we want to release another EP so bad. Like I said before the last two singles wouldn’t fit with the sound of our next EP that’s why we’ve released them separate. Funds to record it is the main problem. But we’re working on it. They’ll be one next year.
Ed – We’re always looking to record more. Like Jamie said, funds are the main barrier to that. The reason we’ve done a single in each of the past two years is so that we’ve got something new to release while we save up for a longer chunk of studio time. Hopefully we’ll be able to sort something by the end of the year for release next year.
Fred – Hopefully as soon as possible. We can’t wait to lay down a good fresh collection of tracks.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Jamie – I’d get Josh Homme in faster than you can say swish. The work he does on all of his personal projects, let alone the stuff he’s done recently with Iggy. That man can’t do anything wrong.
Ed – For me, it would probably have to be Jack White. The guy is insanely good, and he can do it all – sing, play guitar, drum, write, produce…
Fred – I agree with Jamie and Ed but I would add Royal Blood to that list. Those 2 lads are just on fire at the moment and their sound is very inspiring.
What’s the alternative scene like in Surrey?
Jamie – Surrey’s a big place, so there are a few bands doing good things. But there isn’t really a scene.
Venues are hard to come by also. It’s depressing. But I think a lot of places feel the same!
Ed – Yeah, it’s not great unfortunately, at least not where we are. I guess Guildford has a bit more going on, and you’ve got Kingston going on, but locally there isn’t really too much to shout about. It’s a real shame, because there are a lot of awesome bands, but nowhere for us to play and get all our mates down to. It’s something we, and several other bands we know, are definitely trying to work on.
Fred- It’s not great close to home but we have been very fortunate to play some good and buzzing venues that aren’t too far.
Can you tell us anything about your UK shows this year and the European one in 2018?
Jamie – We have a few announced. We’re playing in Kingston on September 2nd & Brighton on the 7th. We’re currently finishing the writing of an EP, so we’re not going all guns blazing on shows. But they’ll be a few more.
As for European dates, we’ve wanted to do it for ages, but it’s not always financially viable. We’re getting somewhere with it though and hopefully will have it booked for 2018 by the end of the year.
What has been your funniest moment while recording this new single?
Jamie – Haha. I went out the night before the first day of recording stupidly… I woke up to the boys knocking on my door, I was in no fit state to record, let alone be awake.
Ed- Yeah he was pretty bad. He recorded a guide track so that I could record the drums, but each take I did, he was turned down and the metronome was turned up, until eventually he was completely muted…
Fred – Yes, a very green Jamie on the first day of recording was quite a laugh as well as him “shouting soup” thanks to the sinfully nasty smell of a previous toilet patron at the services on the way to recording. Much laughter was had.