Ben Johnston - Biffy Clyro (20/02/2014)
"We love Australia, we always feel like we're not there enough, and if we do come to Australia, it's always years before we come back again; it's almost like constant frustration for us because it's a country we want to spend more time in!" Ben Johnston, drummer of Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro says enthusiastically whilst calling The 59th Sound from the east coast of Scotland.
Johnston is preparing to return to Australia with Biffy Clyro for the 2014 Soundwave Festival, and two sold out headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne. "We've been trying to get on any festival which would take us, and Soundwave thankfully said they would have us. We jumped at the chance when asked if we wanted to play it, we cannot wait!"
"I was looking at the line-up, I had no idea there was going to be that many massive bands; we're big fans of Down, Baroness, Clutch, Jimmy Eat World, Rocket From The Crypt, Walking Papers, there's tons and tons of bands on it who I'd go and see if they were coming through town anyway, so it's a real pleasure to be playing such a cool festival with such an amazing line-up. When you go to the website and look at it, it's just mind-blowing!"
While Biffy Clyro have toured Australia several times over the past few years, their 2014 tour will mark the first time that they've been involved with a festival circuit in Australia. As Johnston explains, they'll be using their time on the Soundwave main stage to showcase their knock-about, in your face material to an audience who may not be completely familiar with the bands' eclectic sound.
"At a festival, you never really have long enough to show every side to your band, it's a bit of a different attack. You have to kind of play your most shouty songs, you want to make a statement so you have to create a short set which will blast people around the face and make them take notice. I guess we mostly play some singles, and less album tracks unfortunately. But we've got a couple of sideshows* in Sydney and Melbourne, so anybody that likes it can come and see those shows too."
Back in 2013, Biffy Clyro released their sixth studio album to critical and fan acclaim. A step in a new direction after the massive success of Only Revolutions, it was originally envisioned as two separate records titled The Land at the End of Our Toes, and The Sand at the Core of Our Bones (lyrics which appear in the song Sounds Like Balloons), the two albums officially became known as Opposites. As Johnston explains, the two sides to the album go hand in hand as records which are both simultaneously different, and similar.
"I think every band wants to make a double album at some point in their career. This is our sixth album, it felt like a cool time to do it, and we were in the right place to do it. We had over forty-five songs for the album, which we honestly thought were really good", Johnston explains. "To whittle that down to a normal sized album was just impossible, so we ended up with twenty songs which were really strong, and they fell into two categories thematically. Ten were kind of darker, and then ten were slightly more hopeful, so the double album concept was born, and we were thrilled to do it. Not many bands get to do double albums these days, not many bands get to six albums either, so we're very lucky, and that it wasn't career suicide like a lot of people said it would be!" he says, laughing. "It's been well received so we're happy with how its gone."
While the release of Biffy Clyro's double album marked a milestone in the career of the band, their live shows have gone from strength to strength. Towards the end of the touring cycle for Only Revolutions, Biffy Clyro performed to a sold out show crowd at Wembley Arena, and just last year, they headlined the final night of the Reading Festival in the UK.
"Wembley is such an iconic venue, and it sold out. It still blows my mind that we even get played on the radio at all, our music is still fairly quirky and left of centre, but for some reason we've managed to gain this huge fan base in the UK", Johnston recalls. "We headlined Reading festival which is the biggest festival in the UK, and we played last after Nine Inch Nails, and it just blows my mind that our own little band could play it, and it still freaks me out, almost like something I don't want to accept."
"Playing Reading was definitely a different beast. It's really overwhelming when you're looking out at that many people. It should have been terrifying, but we did a lot of shows that Summer leading up to it, a lot of big festivals around Europe. We got a lot of practice in, and by the time it came to Reading, we just played, nothing broke, and we just genuinely enjoyed it! We had smiles on our faces which we couldn't wipe off for days, so I think we'll never forget those gigs, it was just outstanding!"
With the band constantly on the road, you would imagine the time to write and record songs would be hard to fit into a busy schedule. But when quizzed about the possibility of material for their seventh record, Johnston didn't dismiss the idea; instead enthusiastically sharing with The 59th Sound that Simon, James and himself are constantly jamming out new riffs and ideas for songs in the practice room at their own pace, and leisure.
"We're always working on new stuff, we are continually trying to be creative. There's always ideas kicking around. I guess at sound check you have little jams you play, and they end up being songs, we've been in the practice room over the past few days, and the ideas are really just kind of spilling out! The worst thing would be to be in a band and have to force it, like you have a deadline and you have a few weeks to write an album. That sounds like a nightmare to me, I think you'd end up writing a crap album. I think we're just continually trying to keep the creative juices flowing, and by the time it comes to record, maybe we'll have forty-five songs again with a lot to pick from!"
Luke Sutton
Johnston is preparing to return to Australia with Biffy Clyro for the 2014 Soundwave Festival, and two sold out headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne. "We've been trying to get on any festival which would take us, and Soundwave thankfully said they would have us. We jumped at the chance when asked if we wanted to play it, we cannot wait!"
"I was looking at the line-up, I had no idea there was going to be that many massive bands; we're big fans of Down, Baroness, Clutch, Jimmy Eat World, Rocket From The Crypt, Walking Papers, there's tons and tons of bands on it who I'd go and see if they were coming through town anyway, so it's a real pleasure to be playing such a cool festival with such an amazing line-up. When you go to the website and look at it, it's just mind-blowing!"
While Biffy Clyro have toured Australia several times over the past few years, their 2014 tour will mark the first time that they've been involved with a festival circuit in Australia. As Johnston explains, they'll be using their time on the Soundwave main stage to showcase their knock-about, in your face material to an audience who may not be completely familiar with the bands' eclectic sound.
"At a festival, you never really have long enough to show every side to your band, it's a bit of a different attack. You have to kind of play your most shouty songs, you want to make a statement so you have to create a short set which will blast people around the face and make them take notice. I guess we mostly play some singles, and less album tracks unfortunately. But we've got a couple of sideshows* in Sydney and Melbourne, so anybody that likes it can come and see those shows too."
Back in 2013, Biffy Clyro released their sixth studio album to critical and fan acclaim. A step in a new direction after the massive success of Only Revolutions, it was originally envisioned as two separate records titled The Land at the End of Our Toes, and The Sand at the Core of Our Bones (lyrics which appear in the song Sounds Like Balloons), the two albums officially became known as Opposites. As Johnston explains, the two sides to the album go hand in hand as records which are both simultaneously different, and similar.
"I think every band wants to make a double album at some point in their career. This is our sixth album, it felt like a cool time to do it, and we were in the right place to do it. We had over forty-five songs for the album, which we honestly thought were really good", Johnston explains. "To whittle that down to a normal sized album was just impossible, so we ended up with twenty songs which were really strong, and they fell into two categories thematically. Ten were kind of darker, and then ten were slightly more hopeful, so the double album concept was born, and we were thrilled to do it. Not many bands get to do double albums these days, not many bands get to six albums either, so we're very lucky, and that it wasn't career suicide like a lot of people said it would be!" he says, laughing. "It's been well received so we're happy with how its gone."
While the release of Biffy Clyro's double album marked a milestone in the career of the band, their live shows have gone from strength to strength. Towards the end of the touring cycle for Only Revolutions, Biffy Clyro performed to a sold out show crowd at Wembley Arena, and just last year, they headlined the final night of the Reading Festival in the UK.
"Wembley is such an iconic venue, and it sold out. It still blows my mind that we even get played on the radio at all, our music is still fairly quirky and left of centre, but for some reason we've managed to gain this huge fan base in the UK", Johnston recalls. "We headlined Reading festival which is the biggest festival in the UK, and we played last after Nine Inch Nails, and it just blows my mind that our own little band could play it, and it still freaks me out, almost like something I don't want to accept."
"Playing Reading was definitely a different beast. It's really overwhelming when you're looking out at that many people. It should have been terrifying, but we did a lot of shows that Summer leading up to it, a lot of big festivals around Europe. We got a lot of practice in, and by the time it came to Reading, we just played, nothing broke, and we just genuinely enjoyed it! We had smiles on our faces which we couldn't wipe off for days, so I think we'll never forget those gigs, it was just outstanding!"
With the band constantly on the road, you would imagine the time to write and record songs would be hard to fit into a busy schedule. But when quizzed about the possibility of material for their seventh record, Johnston didn't dismiss the idea; instead enthusiastically sharing with The 59th Sound that Simon, James and himself are constantly jamming out new riffs and ideas for songs in the practice room at their own pace, and leisure.
"We're always working on new stuff, we are continually trying to be creative. There's always ideas kicking around. I guess at sound check you have little jams you play, and they end up being songs, we've been in the practice room over the past few days, and the ideas are really just kind of spilling out! The worst thing would be to be in a band and have to force it, like you have a deadline and you have a few weeks to write an album. That sounds like a nightmare to me, I think you'd end up writing a crap album. I think we're just continually trying to keep the creative juices flowing, and by the time it comes to record, maybe we'll have forty-five songs again with a lot to pick from!"
Luke Sutton
SOUNDWAVE 2014
Saturday, 22nd February
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
Sunday, 23rd February
Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
Friday, 28th February
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Saturday, 1st March
Bonython Park, Adelaide
Monday, 3rd March
Claremont Showgrounds, Perth
BIFFY CLYRO*
Presented by Chugg Entertainment & XIII Touring
MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY – SYDNEY, FACTORY THEATRE - 18+
http://www.factorytheatre.com.au SOLD OUT
WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY – MELBOURNE, CORNER HOTEL - 18+
http://cornerhotel.com SOLD OUT
Saturday, 22nd February
RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane
Sunday, 23rd February
Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
Friday, 28th February
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Saturday, 1st March
Bonython Park, Adelaide
Monday, 3rd March
Claremont Showgrounds, Perth
BIFFY CLYRO*
Presented by Chugg Entertainment & XIII Touring
MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY – SYDNEY, FACTORY THEATRE - 18+
http://www.factorytheatre.com.au SOLD OUT
WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY – MELBOURNE, CORNER HOTEL - 18+
http://cornerhotel.com SOLD OUT