Gestern Freiburg, heute im Keller Klub in Stuttgart – die nächste We Have Band Tour-Runde durch Deutschland geht gerade in die heiße Phase. Kurz bevor es richtig losging, erreichten wir Darren zwischen Tour-Euphorie und Reisestrapazen, um ihn über die Geschichte des erfolgreichen britischen Trios, Party-Ideen, die aktuelle Platte ‘Ternion‘ und alles andere, was uns zu We Have Band einfiel zu löchern: We Have Band im Bedroomdisco Interview!

© Jo Henker

1.) Band facts

– Name: We Have Band
– Band members: Darren, Dede, Thomas
– Founding year: 2008
– Residence: London
– Current album: Ternion

2.) Questionnaire:

– You formed We Have Band while being at a party – why didn’t this idea turn out to be another nonsense drunken party-idea?
Maybe because Tom and Dede are husband and wife so they spoke about it again the next morning. To be honest though it was just an idea until about a month later when we actually got together for the first music making session.

– The myth says that you also decided about the name of the band during that party – were there also other names talked about, which?
The name was decided before that in fact. Dede told me at the party and I loved it right away. There were never any other name options.

– When you look back – would you have imagined such success and potential for your band? What did you expect when forming We Have Band?
We expected nothing so everything that has happened is great. I think its often the way with indie music though, its only really pop stars that dream of fame! We didn’t even have plans to do gigs or anything when we started, it was really just for our own pleasure but then we did one show and right after we came off stage we got offered another 2 and then its never stopped!

– How do you normally work on songs? What are the steps/processes, what are the usual problems of finishing a song?
Thomas does the production in the band so he normally starts with beats and loops perhaps with a bass or guitar line in or some synth stuff and then we all take these away and come back with ideas and start building on it slowly. Melody and lyrics we all do together.

– Before you released your debut album you did tour a lot and played the songs live – how was it this time?
Its been much the same to be honest, on the live scene we’ve never really stopped. Its nice also to keep going to new places and revisit places. We were in South America earlier this year for the second time and it was great. It really felt like way more people knew of us this time.

– Could you tell us something about the production process of ‘Ternion’? 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?
Well most of the record was done by us on the road and in London and Hereford near Wales over nearly a year. Then at the end Luke Smith came in to do some additional production for 4 weeks which was great. He’s an amazing guy and he gives so much to a band when he’s working with you. We were in the studio all day having breakfast, luck and dinner so we all got very close.

– ‘Tired Of Running’ 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?
Its a song about being honest with yourself and not running away from the parts of you that you might not like to face. We kind of see it as a disco liberation song so hopefully it feels quite uplifting to people. Its one of the racks we most enjoy playing live because people in the audience always do really groovy dancing to it.

– The record was produced by Luke Smith – could you tell how you choose the producer, how he was involved and what influence he had on the sound of the record?
We liked Luke mainly through the band Clor that he used to be in but also from the last Foals record which he did before our record. Luke was very encoouraging in making our sound very open doing a lot of things in one take or with us all in the room.

– ‘Ternion’ seems to have much more of a common sound than your debut album – how did the sound develop and was this one of your aims for the record?
We had that a lot in mind here. The record before was more like a collection of singles but we wanted to do something more together this time so it was best listened to from beginning to end. Luke also helped to create a sound that we could put across the record.

– What meaning has the name of the record ‘Ternion’ for you as a band?
Ternion is about 3 which and of course there are 3 of us. Its about our unity as a band but also our individuality that allows us to bring different things to this whole experience.

– In what situations do you write songs/lyrics/which themes inspire you to write songs?
There are so many to be honest, we write all the time so its just our lives and experiences that inspire us. Things we read and see and stuff like that. But its also kind of undefinable what ultimately makes you write something down or sing it so we don’t look into it too much.

– The songs for your debut album did exist a long time before they got released, other songs where written in the time before the production of ‘Ternion’ – are there already other songs written for the next record?
We’re thinking and talking about stuff but nothing is done yet. We have a new studio in London so its been a great place to be.

– What are your next plans?
Touring, more videos and eventually we’ll write some more music.

– What are you doing if your not making music?
Living like anyone else. Seeing friends and family. This summer we did a lot of olympics watching!

– Your Top 3 records of 2012 up to now? Why?
Purity Ring. Beach House. Chromatics.

– Which song would fit to your actual situation?
There seems to be an LCD Soundsystem track to soundtrack every moment of life!

– Which song makes you dance independent of your situation?
Robyn – ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’

– How would your “Bedroomdisco” look like?
The morning after the night before.

– Who did fill out this questionnaire?
Darren

We Have Band – Where Are Your People? (Official Music Video) from We Have Band on Vimeo.

Wir präsentieren via Bedroomdisco.de das We Have Band-Konzert am morgigen Donnerstag im Schlachthof Wiesbaden – das bedeutet für euch, dass ihr mal wieder die Chance 2×2 Gästelistenplätze zu gewinnen habt! Wer mit Begleitung zum Konzert will, schreibt uns bis morgen 12 Uhr eine Mail mit dem Betreff ‘We Have Band‘ an gewinnen@bedroomdisco.de – wir benachrichtigen die Gewinner umgehend!