Auf den ersten Blick scheint Understatement vielleicht nicht unbedingt die Sache einer Band mit dem Namen Big Deal zu sein, hört man sich jedoch das intim-schöne Debütalbum ‘Lights Out‘ des britisch-amerikanischen Duos an, weiß man, dass der Name hält, was er verspricht. Vielmehr als den Namen konnten wir über die Band jedoch bei unserer ersten Recherche nicht herausfinden, sodass wir beschlossen KC Underwood und Alice Costelloe zu löchern. Daher hier und jetzt: Big Deal im Bedroomdisco Interview!

1.) Band facts

– Name: Big Deal
– Band members (names): KC Underwood & Alice Costelloe
– Founding year: 2010
– Residence: London
– Current album: Lights Out

2.) Questionnaire:

– How did you start making music – had you been forced to play an instrument somehow or was it in your own interest? What was your motivation?
KC: My family is extraordinarily non musical. My brothers were athletes. One day I found a guitar under his bed and no one noticed I was playing it for quite a while.

– What musical influences do you have?
KC: We like loud music and we like soft music and we like the idea of putting them together.

– Do you remember the first song you’ve ever written – what was it about and do you remember a line of it?
KC: Mine was about the movie “The Goonies”. I really wanted friends and to have an adventure like that.

– How did you meet and in which situation did you decide to form a band?
KC: Alice’s mom set us up. Our bands were dying and we became friends. We didn’t mean to start a band. It got out of our hands.

– We read that you would have very different backgrounds – what are they?
KC: I am from California and my back ground is very different from Alices. I think it’s a really good thing though.

– At first glance it may seem as if you have very different backgrounds, with having grown up on different continents and in families with other ideas of raising you. What made you like each other at first and in which situations do you still feel the different backgrounds?
KC: I don’t know. There was just something there, some sort of understanding that stretched beyond the particulars of our circumstances. I think it’s the same thing that allows us to write the way we do. There is a lot of trust.

– What did your families think about you being part of a band?
KC: My family are very supportive now, knowing how hard I have worked on it.

– In which situation did you come up with the name ‘Big Deal’, why did you choose it and what meaning has it for you?
KC: It was not meant to be a band. We were not thinking of people hearing us outside of a few friends and that was the joke. We have since come to regret our decision.

– How did you proceed from starting a band to now having a record released via Mute Records?
KC: It all happened swiftly but naturally. They are a fantastic label with an amazing history so we knew we would be in good hands.

– If you think of your band name – what was the biggest deal in your career up to now?
KC: Making a record is by far the biggest feeling of accomplishment. Some of the gigs we’ve done in wonderful places like Paris and Berlin and Amsterdam is also an amazing feeling.

– How do you normally work on songs? What are the steps/processes, what are the usual problems of finishing a song?
KC: Hm. We usually start on our own then come together in the end. Thats the hard part. The end.

– Could you tell us something about the production process of ‘Lights Out’? How long did it take, where did it happen, what were the difficulties, how did you prepare for it? What was the best, what the worst moment? Most told anecdote?
KC: We did it at the Mute studios in Hammersmith, London. It took us a little over a week there and then we mixed it with Adrian Young at his studio in Surrey. The difficulty was we were still working/going to school so it was tiring having to exhaust yourself there while having to still finish our other requirements.

– ‘Homework’ is one of our favorite songs – can you tell us what it is about, how it was done and if there is a story behind it?
AC: Me and kc had just started writing together and he had sent me the riff for homework whilst i was trying to write an essay on Kant. I sent him back the lyrics and melody i heard and told him that ‘I can’t do my homework‘.

– At which point did you know that your record was finished?
AC: That’s hard to pinpoint, but we basically spent the summer writing everyday until we had enough songs that we could pick the best ones to make a record from. So i guess when the summer was over is when our record was complete.

– In what situations do you write songs/lyrics/which themes inspire you to write songs?
AC: I think we both find it easiest to write when we’re down, it’s quite a productive way of coping when things go wrong.

– As you limited your songs most of the time to two guitars and your voices – would you see this as a challenge to create interesting songs with just this ingredients or don’t you see any limitation at all? 
AC: Using such a simple setup does cause sonic limitations, but it means that we have to concentrate on making sure the songs can stand up to the simple way we perform them, we can’t hide behind sonic trickery, so we have to work harder…which is good.

– What are your next plans?
AC: We are off to Europe at the beginning of march and then on to america, where we’ll be playing lots of shows at south by southwest and a couple in New York and L.A.

– What are you doing if your not making music?
AC: We watch a lot of movies and go to galleries and go watch other bands play. We pretty much just try to make the best of being in London.

– What did you learn in 2011?
AC: That playing the summer festivals is the best part of the year. Reading, Leeds and wireless were definitely highlights of the year.

– Your Top 3 records of 2011? Why?
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for my Halo
Josh T Pearson- Last of the Country Gentlemen
Yann Tiersen – Skyline

– Which song would fit to your actual situation?
AC: Nico – These Days

– Which song makes you dance independent of your situation?
AC: The pixies – here comes your man

– How would your ‘Bedroomdisco’ look like?
AC: Fairy lights, records and wine.

– Who did fill out this questionnaire?
ALICE AND KC.