Interview: Counterfeit

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Before their Birmingham show at The Institute on Thursday 21st April, I grabbed a quick interview with Counterfeit who are currently touring their new single Enough. The London-based punk band, fronted by Jamie Campbell Bower, have been gathering momentum and recognition over the last few months whilst touring together. The quintet welcomed me back stage to talk about their current tour and what we can expect to hear from the band over the coming months.

Since forming Counterfeit how has your sound changed from when you were formerly part of The Darling Buds?

Jamie: I suppose it’s a lot less folky, it’s punkier and a bit more aggressive.

Sam: It’s louder if anything, more tenacious.

Jamie: Definitely louder. It’s far more aggressive and far more us now, far more me anyway.

So you feel you’ve become more true to yourselves by changing your sound?

Counterfeit: Yeah, most definitely.

Jamie: Yeah. I wouldn’t say I was not true to myself before, but I feel like I wasn’t representing myself, whereas now I’ve got this new found freedom to do whatever I want and it feels great.

How did you all meet?

Jamie: Well Sam and I met in space.

Sam: I met Roland in prison, Tristan at a brothel, and no –

Tristan: Jimmy was the prostitute.

Jimmy: Yeah I was in a spa and they ran out of towels.

Jamie: No Sam and I are brothers. Tristan I have known since school and Jimmy I’ve known since I was about eighteen.

Roland: And I met Tristan at a House party.

Are you working on anything new right now and if so when can we expect to hear it?

Jamie: We are working on a new album. The album should be out towards the end of this year, beginning of next. Expect big things. It’s going to blow people’s’ minds.

What can we expect from the new album?

Jamie and Tristan: Bangers.

Roland: None stop fury.

Sam: Note Killer.

Jamie: Note Killer.

What can we expect to hear from Counterfeit over the next few months?

Jamie: We’re kind of on the road for the next few months, we’ve got this tour then we down tools for two weeks, then back out on the road in June. It’s a busy life being in a band, you know. None of this fancy stuff. And then we’ve got the shortest of breaks possible, before we head back out, yet again, in July. So we’re sort of out hitting the road a bit and getting ‘Enough’ out there, which is our latest single. We’re trying to get that out to as many people as possible, it’s a great track that deserves to be heard and hopefully we’ll pick up some new fans along the way. Basically just touring these two EP’s alongside some other stuff that will end up on the record. In terms of singles and stuff, it depends on what comes up. We’ve got a lot of stuff recorded, it just depends on timing and whether or not we’re ready to go with it, as being on the road so much means we’re limited in what we can produce musically, in terms of studio production and the technical bits.

So we will hear more from you once this tour is over?

Jamie: Yeah, there will probably be one or two more singles. More likely one and then the album.

Who takes a leading role in the song writing for the band?

Tristan: Mr Bower.

Sam: Senior Bower.

Roland: Bower Senior.

Jamie: Yeah I write everything at home. I write on Logic and send it to everyone and just let everyone put their flavours on it. Then we’re in the studio and it’s going. It’s quite a collaborative process, I mean it’s great for everything to have an input, as a collective. It makes for a more rounded piece of music that represents us all.

Which artists do you think have had the most influence on your sound at the moment?

Jamie: I think there’s a lot you know. Like a lot of us listen to very different styles of music anyway and a lot of us play in different styles as well. Tristan is very technical with his guitar playing, I’m very much more like “right lets strangle the fuck out of it” and Sam’s somewhere between the two.

In terms of artists, everything we’ve really listened to has affected this band. We all grew up with our parents loving Rock ‘n’ Roll music, and Sam and I were very fortunate to grow up in a household that accepted different styles of music. In terms of where we are listed and who our contemporaries are, we’re somewhere between Gallows, Rattlesnakes, Marmosets, Biffy, Foo Fighters. The list goes on.

Tristan: We’d jump at the chance to tour with any of them.

Jamie: And Johann Sebastian Bach (Everyone laughs).

What has been the most memorable thing that has happened to you on your UK part of the tour?

Jamie: I didn’t get fucking caught last night in Manchester and I’m furious about it. The sea of people parted.

Oh no, so you landed on the floor?

Jamie: Yeah that sucked last night. It’s funny but I think I’m going to play it safe tonight since we have London on Saturday. I probably won’t play it safe, I can but try.

What’s your favorite gig you have played together?

Roland: We really enjoyed Glasgow that we played two nights ago. It was just a mental atmosphere, like we’d gone up there already being told the Scottish crowd just go crazy. As soon as we arrived on stage it was really loud and we felt like we played a great performance. The crowd just loved it you know? Everyone was going mental. We gave and they gave straight back, so it was a great buzz after that.

What are you guys currently listening to?

Jamie: I am listening to the Black Peaks record at the moment, which is really good. I’m also listening to Bad Luck and A Day to Remember. What are you listening to Tristan, White Noise?

Tristan: (Laughs) Yeah, White Noise. No, a little bit of a band called Intervals, which is an instrumental metal band, so very groovy stuff. A little bit of the new Kill Switch Engage album, which is like metalcore kind of stuff.

Roland: A band called Basement, who we’re playing a festival with called 2000trees. They’re like melodic punk which is pretty cool.

Jimmy: I’m listening to a fairly new band called Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats, they’re pretty sick.

Sam: I’ve been hyping on about this new Landscapes record. They released their first album about four years ago when I was about 17 or 18 and I loved it. For like 4 years since then I’ve been checking most weeks and they’ve just released something new. They’re a wicked band.

Finally, is there anything that you would like to say to any of your fans?

Jamie: Thank you. Thank you and tell your friends.

Roland: Yeah spread the word, let’s make this grow and thanks for your support. Enjoy life.

Counterfeti - Electric Ballroom-4

See our pictures of Counterfeit’s London show here.

Interview conducted by Melissa Churchill

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