The relatively newly formed Southampton trio have done alot in their few years together with things moving at an astronomical pace of late. Their recent inclusion on the soundtrack for record breaking Twilight film New Moon, something many bigger bands were falling over themselves to get on is surely also something of a coup.
Q caught up with them to see what they make of it all and being on Twilight. Then we asked them to pick a playlist for us...
Want some music whilst you read? Jump to the Band Of Skulls: Spotify Playlist.
You all met at college... how did the band come about from there?
We started putting on club nights in Southampton and London and continued to write and play together, showcasing new songs at these nights. After a year or two we took some time out to record and made our debut record with Ian Davenport at Courtyard Studios in Oxford then mixed it in LA. iTunes picked up on I Know What I Am for the free single of the week and ever since then we've been super busy. The album has been released and we have been touring our asses off in in America, Canada and the UK, good times.
Where does the name come from? Did you have any alternatives and what made you discount them?
Our club night was called ClubSkulls so we pinched it for the band. We used to be called Fleeing New York, which was taken from Hunter. S. Thompson's Songs Of The Doomed but after writing this new set of material it felt like a new project so we renamed ourselves.
Formed in 2008, Lollapalooza and Twilight soundtrack in 2009, what's happening with Band of Skulls in 2010?
Looks like it gonna be a busy year again. We will be touring Europe for the first time in January, then a UK tour in Feb then off to play SXSW and Coachella festival in the US. Hopefully we will get on a few festival line ups in the UK this summer too. We would love to play Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds as we all grew up going to these festivals.
Is it true you'd just got round to making a Myspace page when things took off?
No, we have always had an active online presence, especially before we were signed as we needed to promote our club nights and let people know what we were up to.
How did the Twilight soundtrack offer come about?
We were working on the song Friends in the album recording sessions, a couple of months later we read in the LA times that the Director of the movie was including it in the film. It hadn't been confirmed to us so we spent 6 weeks denying the rumour as we weren't sure but it's all very real now.
Were you already fans, did you think twice about doing it?
We didn't really know much about Twilight beforehand but to be in the company of other great artists like Thom Yorke and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Grizzly Bear amongst others was a real compliment. I think it will hopefully introduce us to a new audience.
Who on the Twilight soundtrack would you most like to collaborate with?
There are are so many great bands on this soundtrack but if we had a choice probably Thom Yorke, St Vincent or Sea Wolf.
U2, Coldplay and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have been referenced all in one review, which of those comparisons are you most happy with?
We don't compare ourselves to any band, we set out to do something which is unique to us.
Twilight's helped bring your music to a whole bunch of new fans though you were already doing your own thing before. What should those new fans know about you or might they be surprised to hear?
The song Friends isn't actually on our debut album which came out this year.
Find out who they picked for the Band Of Skulls: Spotify Playlist.
Band of Skulls on myspace.
Band of Skulls' website.
11:54 AM | 26/11/2009
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