Interviews

Interview: Brigade

Brigade have been described by NME as “a towering beast“, by Rock Sound as “a British talent truly capable of a long and exciting career“, by Kerrang! as “a band who now deal in ascendant tunes of rare quality” and by Sonic Dice as “an infectious blend of all-out rock“. So the plaudits have been raining down upon them. We thought it was about time we caught up with the lads from London and found how things were looking from their side of the fence. Jon Sidwell caught up with frontman Will Simpson.

How and when did you guys first meet?

I’ve known James since I was 17 but Brigade started out with me, Naoto and a Japanese drummer called Jumpei following an advert in Loot and a recommendation from a friend. Once I realised I needed more help on the guitar I called up James and he went from initially helping me out to joining the band full time. We met Andy in June 2007 while holding auditions for a new drummer.

Where did the band’s name come from?

While I was at university I recorded some music under the name Homespun and called it the ‘Brigade EP’. A friend suggested that Brigade would be a much better band name so from then on it stuck.

Did you just all naturally click together straight away or did you take some time to develop your sound?

It’s definitely taken some time to develop the sound. When we started out it was a three piece playing simple pop rock and we have evolved massively in certain respects since then. Listening to bands like Oceansize and Tool pushed us to sound as big as we possibly could and with the addition of James we started to try to create soundscapes through big walls of guitar. Also my voice has developed from sounding a little too close to Brian Molko to something stronger and more unique. We clicked straight away but it’s taken a while to nail that Brigade sound.

Your debut LP, ‘Lights’, was well received by critics and fans alike. Did you expect that sort of high praise?

It definitely exceeded our expectations. ‘Lights’ was a collection of songs written between 2001 and 2005 so we weren’t sure what people would make of it but the response was overwhelming. We’ve always felt we have the potential to be something special and so in many respects it was a dream start.

What was the thinking behind re-releasing your debut?

Being on a small label you are constantly battling to get racking in music shops and to be heard above all the big hitters and so putting it out a second time was the only way we could get re-stocked and that was really important following the press, touring and TV play we received after the album was first released. We needed to keep momentum up and it was a fresh chance to be noticed by people who had never heard of us.

When putting together your 2nd album did you feel much pressure considering how well your debut did?

It’s always scary thinking about the “difficult second album” especially as we had to write it amidst full-time day jobs. But it didn’t take long to feel that we were definitely upping our game and writing better songs with bigger melodies. Once we realised it was shaping up well the pressure was lifted and so writing the album was a really satisfying experience.

This new album sounds like your really expressing yourselves and experimenting, both musically and lyrically. Was that a conscious direction you decided to take?

Definitely, every band needs to evolve with each album or things quickly go stale. We knew we needed to push ourselves and write a better, more mature second album and so we concentrated on being more ambitious musically and more concise lyrically.

What do you think it is about Brigade that draws people to your sound?

It’s simple solid rock songs bought to life with a massive wall of sound and so I think people are drawn to the fact that we aren’t over complicating things or writing songs within a specific genre. It’s just good rock music with no frills or bullshit surrounding it and it’s all about the melodies which people can easily relate to.

I saw you live supporting Aiden earlier this year and thought your display was really energetic and full of passion. Do you consider Brigade to be a live band first and recording band second?

I always felt that, up to this album, but now my attitude is changing. I got into playing music in the first place simply to play live, but recording the second album opened my eyes to just how fulfilling the recording process can be. So now, though ultimately we are a live band, i’m excited about the possibilities for the future and where the Brigade sound might be taken. I can’t wait to get in the studio again!

You’re touring with Kill Hannah again, did you make good friends with those guys whilst on the Aiden tour?

We did and were delighted to be asked personally by them to support on those dates. It’s great when you click with a band on tour and it was sad to say goodbye at the end of the Aiden tour. Both bands were incredibly warm and welcoming and inspiring to watch live.

What’s life like on tour with Brigade? Do you have many Rock N Roll stories to tell?

Not really, we aren’t that sort of band unfortunately! Saying that we are sponsored by Jagermeister and so get a free bottle for every show so the hours following a gig can often be very hazy and quite messy!

What would be on the dream Brigade rider?

Bottles of the finest red wine, a Jagermeister machine, unlimited supply of Cheese Moments, unbuttered sandwiches and Mars Revels (separated into bowls of individual flavours).

What are the band’s main influences?

Bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize, Mad Capsule Markets, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana.

What do you have planned for the summer? Many festivals lined up?

We just played Download which was an amazing experience and are looking forward to Guilfest and Offset Festival very soon.

Finally, any new bands you’ve been getting into lately?

This City, Prego, In Case Of Fire, Vessels & Slaves To Gravity.

Band Link = Brigade
The band’s latest album, ‘Come Morning We Fight’ is out now.

Many thanks to Rachel @ Hero for setting this interview up.

Photo by Holly Swain