Interview by Karley Sciortino

Photography by Ben Rayner

Late of the Pier are music hijackers. They are dreamers, performers and romantics. They are big kids and young adults. They are nerds, they are jokers, and they are lovers of ’80s pop. They are infatuated with fantasy. They have an affection for taking their tops off, and when they do, it’s pretty hot. They get bored easily. They are smart, passionate, and they want to learn. But most of all, they are an inspiration. Since forming out of a messy bedroom in Castle Donnington four years ago, Late of the Pier have become one of the UK’s most talked about new bands. They’ve graced the cover of the NME, and have given the music scene a massive erection with their genre-defining, retro-futuristic rock tunes. Dancey, intelligent, difficult and silly, their songs are aural representations of what goes on inside their collective psyche, and we like it very, very much.

Their debut album, Fantasy Black Channel was released in August 2008 in the UK on Parlophone Records (and in January 2008 in the US on Astralwerks), leaving a trail of both rave reviews and confused music fans in its wake. Produced by Erol Alkan, each song on the album is different from the next. Acutely considered, every twist and turn on the record is completely thought through, from the first falsetto to the last unforgettable hook. Making pop music the only way they know how, Late of the Pier are actively rejecting the idea of having one sound, one voice.

At the time of this article, the band is in the midst of a UK tour. Playing only alternative, warehouse-style venues, the band curated all of the gigs themselves. Like Radiohead before them, Late of the Pier will go to lengths to make sure they maintain their inherent individuality. Today the boys are a bit tired. Not a shock really, as they’ve been on tour since, well, forever. In person the quartet are pretty chill, and surprisingly, kind of jokey about the way in which they write music. Not overly serious, not too cool, they fit well in that neutral space between pretentious art band and debauched rock stars.

What’s important to remember, however, is that Late of the Pier are still a very young band. All just 21-years-old, Sam, Fayley, Ross, and Potter will be the first to tell you that this is only the beginning, what they have created holds no bearing in where they are about to go. They’ve got a lot going on in those skulls of theirs – at times it seems they’re almost too clever for their own good. But hey, the world needs a band like Late of the Pier to remind us that when it comes to music there are no limits, no rules. You can see them following in the footsteps of Bowie, changing with every album, silencing their critics with their ability to challenge and adapt. Because the excitement of not knowing what’s next is always in vogue.

You guys look tired.

Sam: We are. We got about two hours sleep. That’s the trouble with being on tour. But the more you do it, the more you have the strange ability to bounce back.

What made you decide to organize all of the shows on this tour?

Sam: We just got sick of booking agents and promoters doing everything for the money. We wanted to try doing things our own way, so we curated each night ourselves. They weren’t perfect. We made some mistakes this time. But we learned a lot, and most importantly, it meant that every show had an amazing line-up. We got some really interesting acts that we are all really happy with, people like Micachu, Simon Bookish, Munch Bunch, and Midnight Juggernauts. I think you look and feel better as a band if you have amazing acts supporting you.

Potter: All the acts had a mutual respect for each other. There was a definite family vibe. It got to the point where when it came time for us to play, it almost felt like a bonus that we got to be part of it.

It seems you are involved in many different facets of your music.

Ross: We try to do as much as we can, because everything we do is a side of ourselves. We have taken control of things like our artwork, our website, the way we play gigs and the way we release our music.

Sam: Labels tend to frame bands in a way that is very predictable. Our label, Parlophone, is great. It’s just the whole machine that’s wrong. But if you can wholeheartedly be an individual then it’s impossible for a label to make you into something you’re not. That’s why it’s important for us to be involved in everything that happens.

How important is image to you?

Sam: I like to think of it in terms of my own personal experience. There have been times in the past when I really loved a band, and then was disappointed when I saw a picture of them and realized they were just normal, real people. I think you have to protect your fans from that kind of disappointment by creating something in terms of your image. In an ideal world we would all just be robots like Daft Punk or have a cross like Justice. Those are amazing ideas.

You worked with Erol Alkan on Fantasy Black Channel. How did that come about?

Sam: He was a big fan of the demos. He wanted every song to be whatever it needed to be to come across most powerful, and we liked that about him. He chased different sounds on each song, leaving the impression that there wasn’t one single producer on anything.

Fayley: He was good at making us realize that we shouldn’t just write off a song because we had played it to death, and were a bit tired of it. He made us look at things in a fresh way, and he saved some songs that we were convinced had come to the end of their lives.

Was it fun working together?

Fayley: So much fun. There are no set roles with Erol.

Sam: We work really well together. The album seemed like a real collaboration. Some of the songs were even coproductions. I would take over producing, and Erol would take over my roll as the arranger, or even as the writer at times.

Fayley: I think Erol will always be someone we work with. It might not always be as a producer, but he will always be around. He’s a mentor really. I think we trust him too much.

Sam: It’s true. We’re trying to get him to come and play synth with us as our fifth member.

Your songs tend to feel like they have multiple ideas crammed into just a few minutes.

Sam: It’s very true. I think we’re just young and excited. Also, the way we listen to music is a bit like that. I still find myself getting two minutes into a song and saying, ‘Yeah, I like this, but that’s enough now.’ I don’t DJ, but if I did, rather than mixing tunes together, I’d be more inclined to find the perfect place to just change songs instantly. I’ve heard mixes in the past where people do that and it’s way more gratifying. I don’t think music necessarily has to be smooth.

Is that because you get bored easily?

Sam: Perhaps. We might get more patient as we get older, but for now people are going to have to put up with our little schizophrenic, whappy tunes.

Fayley: It’s called the A.D.D. generation.

Do you have a stigma against writing pop music?

Sam: Not necessarily. I don’t shy away from writing pop music. We just don’t want to use ingredients that are stale, or things that people can easily listen to. I think we consciously make things difficult for people, while still trying to appeal to wide audience.

Potter: It’s about provoking a reaction. For me one of the worst things about modern music is that you can make one general assumption about a song. That’s such a depressing feeling. So I think if anything we want to make sure people know that there is no limit to what people can do within pop.

Sam: The best pop music is stuff from the early ’80s, when people made music that somehow broke all the rules but yet was still considered the height of pop music. Or in the late ’60s when psychedelic music was first getting big. Nobody really knew what was going on, but it was new and exciting and people could feel that. Those are the sorts of emotions pop should stimulate.

Your lyrics seem to lean toward the fantastical. Would you agree?

Sam: Kind of. I think our lyrics are subtle. There is nothing political or so overt within them that they would push the listener into any particular alleyway. I like the idea of lyrics being used to scatter people’s thoughts.

Ross: They’re like a collage used to describe a general mood, this way people can almost hear what they want to hear to a degree. I think it makes the songs more personal that way.

Sam: For some reason people do tend to mishear our lyrics a lot. For years our manager thought the chorus of “Bathroom Gurgle”, rather than ‘find yourself a new boy’, was ‘buy or sell a new boy’. That turns the song on its head a bit.

Fantasy Black Channel was the result of over four years of songwriting. Can you still relate to all of those songs, or have you already begun to move on?

Sam: A bit of both. We are beginning to leave that sound behind, but we’re still half submerged in it. We are still playing a lot of those songs live.

Fayley: It’s our first album. Obviously we’re proud of it but it’s not going to represent us forever. It’s a representation of who we were over the past four years, but it’s definitely not where we want to go. I think as a band we are still finding our feet. Who knows, Fantasy Black Channel might turn out to be the album that least represents us in the long run. There will be many, many changes for us.

Does writing music still excite you as much as it did when you first started out?

Sam: I’ve been writing music since I was 10 years old, and I feel more excited about it than ever. There is just so much more we can do. I think the stupidest thing someone can say is that they have nothing else to learn. The last thing we want to do is go into a studio and write a song that sounds like we’ve grown up. Sometimes I feel like there is a general pessimism about the future of music. I’ve heard people say that they think music has run out, and that everyone is just recycling old ideas. I think that’s ridiculous. If there is one thing I really believe in, it’s that music will never run out. For me music is about the individual and their creation, and it will be made forever.

Potter: I think part of our music is about achieving that feeling you get when you first start a band. When you have that childlike wonder about things and see everything as new and unchartered and exciting. I like to think of our music as an adventure waiting to happen. I still feel like we are exploring