Interview: Plastic Barricades

Dan Kert, singer and guitarist of London alt indie rock band Plastic Barricades tackling the latest questions from Original Rock

So, when did the initial idea for ‘Counting Fireworks’ come together?

This was one of the last tracks mixed for our third album – and I think it has all the qualities to be the opener of the record. I wrote it just before the end of 2021, but it lived as a demo for quite a while as I just couldn’t figure out the chorus melody. And then one day in summer it all clicked and I could record the proper version fairly quickly.

Leading on from that, what else can you tell us about the creative process for the song? What followed the initial idea, and how did it grow into the song that we hear now?

A lot of the arrangement you hear on the finished song (keyboards, lead guitar) were transplanted from the demo version as they sounded nice and fresh. The rest of the instruments were redone when Chris recorded his drum parts. And then the chorus was rewritten to accommodate a simpler melody and leave some space for thoughts in-between the lines.

In regards to the lyrics, can you tell us a bit about what readers can expect from that, and maybe, what you really want them to take away from listening to the track?

“Counting Fireworks” is a song about expectations that we set ourselves during the last days of a year that’s about to end. Uncertainty of what to comes is usually frightening, but it is also exciting! And we can face it together, holding hands and singing songs.

Who produced the track, and what were they like to work with?

Tom Hill of The Bookhouse Studio in South London mixed the whole album and helped achieve the sonic sparkles that I couldn’t get on my own. All the instruments were recorded in my home studio except the drums, that Chris recorded in Sheffield. Tom is an indie rocker and a guitarist himself, so working with him was easy, mainly because he was spot on when it came to genre stylistics and sonics. I was very lucky to be able to work with such a talented and enthusiastic producer on “We Stayed Indoors” album.

Looking at ‘Counting Fireworks’ how would you say that the sound of Plastic Barricades has

changed/progressed over the last couple of years?

It is quite hard for me to judge that objectively, but I would be surprised if it didn’t. My songwriting keeps evolving as I am getting older. Our first album was definitely too bombastic and over-the-top (some people still like it though), our second album was much more introverted and explorative and I think “We Stayed Indoors” sounds even more intimate and introspective.

As usual you’ve put together another highly creative music video! What was the music video for ‘Counting Fireworks’ like to put together, and what does it mean to you?

Thank you so much – we love music video for adding an extra layer of meaning and context to our songs. We were always inspired by the mega-creative yet truly DIY approach of OK GO, so we wanted to do a video with no edits or cuts – just one full 4 minute take. It took a while to rehearse all the sequences but I think the take you see is somewhere around number 7 or 8, so not too bad at all! It was a lot of fun to work around the limitations of a typical London flat and use projections alongside props to create a bizarre first-person-view experience. Our lovely art-director Elina Pasok is responsible for the camerawork and colour-corrections – it is always a privilege to work with her on artwork and videos.

What can you tell us about the b-side ‘Forever is Made of Nows’, and what did you enjoy the most about collaborating with John Sibley?

I was a fan of John’s work for a while now, both Victory Kicks and The Young Flood, so it was so cool to be able to write a song together. John had the instrumental arrangement for a while, but he couldn’t find the melody or the lyrics. We then went on to replace the drum-machine with Chris’ epic drums and the song exploded into something we are all very proud of now. John’s songs always take me into that dreamy place and they soothe my soul. If you haven’t heard Victory Kicks or The Young Flood – you are missing out big time!

What else can readers expect from Plastic Barricades in 2023?

We will most definitely film more bizarrely DIY music videos and release one more single before the album drops around the beginning of summer. “We Stayed Indoors” will be our third record and I just cannot wait to share these songs with the world. They helped me during lockdowns so I hope they might be able to help someone else through a tough time as well.