We caught up with The Roques for a chat ahead of the release of their latest single Fear Me. How would you sum up your 2018 and plans for 2019? 2018 has allowed us to find our feet and our general aesthetic as a band. We’ve had many
memorable gigs last year and met loads of new, upcoming bands who are all playing their part in the Scottish music scene at the moment and we feel that 2019 will be a year where we can prosper in amongst the ever-growing scene around the country. We have further new releases in the pipeline waiting to come out later this year and hopefully we’ll have recorded an EP by the end of 2019 alongwith more gigs and maybe some festival slots. We’re anticipating big things for the year ahead, keep an eye out. What are your influences for Fear Me and how does it compare to your other songs?
For ‘Fear Me’, there’s a big mix of influences that have come together to form the track. For
example, the main drum rhythm gives off a kind of AM vibe whereas the guitar and bass lines take
more influence from the likes of The Blinders, especially in the choruses. The vocals are in a league
of their own compared to the instruments based around them. They provide the main melody that
everyone will remember the song for, delivered passionately throughout and they blend in the mix
of the recording very well. Compared to our other songs at the moment, ‘Fear Me’ has a much more melodic and memorable chorus to the likes of W.D.Y.S. for example and is one of our more up-tempo tracks. It instantly grabs your attention and it’s definitely one of our favourites to perform
live.
Thoughts on the Dundee and Scottish Music Scene?
Since Dundee was labelled as a ‘ghost town’ for live music a few years ago, there’s been a
resurgence in the scene which has been great to see and be a part of. From a band perspective,
there’s definitely more younger bands coming through in Dundee and in Perth as well with the likes
of Parliamo who are really making a name for themselves at the moment. It’s also worth pointing
out that Dundee’s electronic scene is also really thriving at the moment with the likes of Hilltown
Disco for example who are also helping to put the spotlight on Dundee and the Tayside area’ music
scene as a whole. In terms of the music scene in Scotland as a whole, having played in the likes of
Edinburgh and Glasgow, we can tell that things over there are growing at a rapid rate which is
attracting attention from the likes of NME for example. Favourite Scottish bands or artists?
Some of our favourite artists we’re hearing in Scotland at the moment would include the likes of Alligator, Lucia, Rascalton, The Ninth Wave, along with acts closer to home such as PLASMAS and Parliamo to name a few. If you could each cover a song, what would it be and why?
Good question…
Jamie (Lead Guitar): I’d probably choose Handsome Devil by The Smiths. I love Johnny Marr’s guitar lines in the track and it really shows the rock ‘n roll side to The Smiths that most people wouldn’t associate them for. Great track.
Brandyn (Vocals): Moonage Daydream – David Bowie.
Theo (Rhythm Guitar): Send It on Over – Mattiel.
Cammy (Bass): Probably Hell of a Season by Black Keys or Testify by RATM. They both feature really prominent bass lines throughout them and I’ve been a fan of both bands for a number of years.
Blair (Drums): Little Mix – Move. I’d like to cover this song because it’s been my rock over the past
few years. It always reminds me that no matter what life throws at you, you’ve just got to keep
moving. I’d highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t already.
What's the most bizarre thing to happen while you were onstage?
In one of our first gigs, where we were playing on a stage made out of wooden pallets and straw
down in St. Andrews, our planned stage time was way behind schedule on the day of the gig through no fault of our own. Anyways, everything seemed alright with this arrangement until we had a sound guy walk across the ‘stage’ and pull the plug on our set mid-guitar solo due to playing over the planned time. Jamie was not impressed to say the least. Very bizarre performance.
What is the writing process like for new songs?
Our usual writing process normally begins with an idea e.g. a guitar riff or drum beat, then maybe a few of us would go off separately to try and develop a structure and some chords to work the idea around. When all five of us are in a room trying to work on an idea at one time, there’s usually always too many ideas being suggested at once which doesn’t really help the process. So yeah, we find it best to go away with an original idea, form a basic groundwork for it then tweak things collaboratively as a band from there. We’re always open minded though, so there has never been one set way of writing our material. We’re always developing and learning new things with the more material we write as a band and never confine ourselves to limitations in the writing process because there’d be no room to grow creatively and artistically.
What is each of your guilty pleasure song?
Guilty pleasure songs:
Jamie: Girls Aloud – Sound of the Undeground
Theo: Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby
Cammy: Probably Platnum - Love Shy (Virgo vs Agent X club mix)
Brandyn: Electric Six – Gay Bar
Blair: The Saturdays – What About Us
The Roques new single 'Fear Me' is out now! Listen to it on Spotify HERE and keep your eyes peeled for a review to come!
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