When did the initial idea for your latest single come together?
“Winner” was pencilled around the time of our second release “SIGNS” of October last year. Planets is the first band Charlotte and I have been in, so I think the spirit of the song was kind of inspired by the excitement we shared during the recording process. It’s what we love doing and putting the creative and logistical stresses to one side, it feels like we’re exactly where we should be, making music together.
How would you describe the track, to a reader that is unfamiliar with the band?
The track is a nod to that ‘loser’ in my head that’s always working against me; even when I know what the right thing to do is! I know it’s cliche to say we’re always our own worst enemy, but I really relate to it and I’m constantly fighting against this self-deprecating voice in my head.
Can you tell us a bit more about the meaning behind the track?
It’s basically a tribute to people who put their ambitions to one side for the wellbeing of their family and others who depend on them. The words are inspired by my own intuition and regrets for not pursuing music more aggressively. I know I lack a lot of self-belief, so the song is aimed to motivate the listener (as well as myself), because it’s never too late to turn things around, even start again. The words in the chorus are from my memory of seeing my dad’s disappointment in the rearview mirror after a bad football game, where I should’ve played a lot better – and I always knew it.
How would you say that the track compares to anything you’ve done before?
We definitely tried some new things on this one and took a bit of a risk. We knew it was very different to SIGNS, and maybe we strayed too far from what worked well in that song. But it’s important for us to not be scared of throwing paint at the wall, and we’ll take the learning from it all into the next one.
What was the hardest part about putting it together, and why?
The hardest part of this release was capturing the energy and power of what we imagined for the song through new production. We really wanted to try something different, but we didn’t want to lose the vibe of our sound – so the pressure has been on; especially after the (relative) success of our second release “SIGNS”. By the time we get into the studio, we already have a pretty finished demo with everything done. So all that’s left to do is re-record certain parts and properly focus on our own performances. One of the things we set out to do is optimise Charlotte’s vocal and go up another level. Fortunately, with the help of some Neumann microphones and a very talented sound engineer, we were able to get something we’re pretty happy with at this stage. We’ve definitely learnt a lot from the process.
Why should a reader check out the track?
It’s an explosive track with Marshall stack guitars either side of a soaring 70’s inspired vocal from Charlotte. Like never before, she hits you with all of that rock’n roll heritage from her Black Country roots. All the tension builds to a release, leading you to an outro of more beautifully warm vocals, singing the words of a day dream I penciled whilst imagining how my life could’ve been. Check it out now and DEFINITELY play it in the car!
What else can you tell us about the track, that we haven’t covered in this interview?
For the demo I typed out the drums using a standard midi plugin, which meant we had to record live drums in the studio. Thankfully, our sound engineer Nathan is a grade 8 Jazz drummer, so as painful as it was for him to play a ‘caveman beat’, it was actually pretty fun to see him learning the parts (almost against his will!). We actually posted a studio diary of this session on our YouTube channel.
Charlotte and I are massive lovers of ‘Tango In The Night’ from Fleetwood Mac, and we wanted to use some of the pallet used for Caroline in the pre-chorus builds; which I think you can hear with the combination of piano and acoustic guitar before Charlotte sings “I open my thoughts in the dead of night, counting all the times others passed me by”.