Interview: Twin Atlantic

Glaswegian four-piece Twin Atlantic have sold over 50,000 albums, and can count the likes of Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens as fans. Since forming back in 2007 they’ve slowly been building their fan base, and wowing the crowds both sides of the Atlantic.

2012 has definitely seen things escalate somewhat, with prestigious Radio 1 A-list status and countless festival and live dates now the norm. Hot off the stage at Leeds Festival we collared Craig and Barry for a catch-up to talk on-stage mistakes, milking their album and how they’re gearing up for their biggest UK gigs to date.

So guys, you played Reading yesterday, how’s the weekend been so far?

Craig: It’s been awesome, we thought the tent at Reading might be about half full at best and we’d have been really happy with that! But from what we could see it was packed out. It went well. We played pretty well and didn’t make too many mistakes!

And how was Leeds today?

Barry: I think we played better today to be honest! They always say the crowds are different - the North and South, but they were  both really up for it, people were really up for getting involved and having a good time. It was nice.

Craig: People come to festivals to kind of let their hair down and have a good time, forget about things, and I think that really came across both days.

Do you think the fact your last three singles have now made the Radio 1 playlist has helped with getting the crowds?

Craig: Yeah I think that’s definitely been the catalyst for the last year or so. It was around this time last year that we started to get played a bit more on the radio, and that’s when we really saw the fan base growing.

You mentioned earlier about not making too many mistakes, would you say you’re perfectionists when it comes to your performances?

Barry: Yeah I don’t think there’s ever been a time when we’ve all come off stage and been completely happy with a performance!

Craig: There’s always one of us who’s a bit unhappy with something. I think it’s good to be critical but we never dwell on it.

You’ve got a new single ‘Yes, I Was Drunk’ out this coming week haven’t you?

Craig: Yeah it’s been on the album for a year and a half so it’s kinda weird for anyone who got it back when the album was first released! But yeah for people who might not have been into us back then it’s definitely a ‘new single’! It’s nice to think that new people are now listening to our stuff.

So have you started work on the new record yet?

Barry: We’re going to start writing again in a couple of weeks, I think we’d love to have that album ready to record by the end of the year at the latest. I think we’re at the stage where we’ve kinda milked ‘Free’ now!

Does it get a bit tiresome touring the same album for such a long time?

Craig: Yeah, I think we’ve played the songs so much now that you start to lose that excitement a little bit, you lose that ‘fear excitement’, it’s all a bit ‘going through the motions’. So hopefully we’ll get some new songs in there and get that fear back!

Have you managed to play any European festivals this year?

Craig: Not really no, we’ve spent so much time in the US that it’s quite difficult to find the time between the UK and the States to get over there. But that’s hopefully something we’re going to correct.

Barry: Beginning of next year I think.

How does touring the US differ from touring over here?

Barry: Well it’s a big place! There are a lot of differences, I mean it definitely takes a lot longer to get from gig to gig but in terms of the crowds they’re all pretty similar. All into the same things.

Have you managed to catch any bands yourselves this weekend?

Craig: At The Drive In. I built it up a lot, and it maybe wasn’t quite as great as I thought it would be. A couple of them didn’t really look like they wanted to be there! The Cribs were amazing though, incredible, really really good.

You’ve got some of your biggest UK shows coming up at the end of October, are you looking forward to getting back on the road?

Craig: We’re really really looking forward to it. Because we’ve been over in the States and doing the festivals, the most we’ve really played is 40 minutes, so doing a headline set again where you’re not having to pick and choose which songs you play so much. The longer sets will be great.

Barry: We’re playing bigger rooms too, it’s nice to know that the fans are still there and new people are getting involved. It’s nice to see the progress.

Have you thought about support acts yet?

Craig: We haven’t picked them yet, but we actually get to ask someone which is nice. We’ve asked a few already but some of them were already busy with tours and other commitments.

Barry: We asked the Foo Fighters and Green Day but they turned us down!

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