By Making a name for themselves and putting their name firmly on the map is, Atlas. Hot out of Hertfordshire, they’re creating a great local presence. We at IndieCentralMusic see great things in Atlas, and we think you should too. Check out our exclusive introduction interview with the band to learn more about this exciting four-piece.
Stephen McMahon: Tell us about your aims when creating music, and where does that aim stem from?
Atlas: We try to create music that people can enjoy so that all our live shows can be a great night out! The buzz from being on stage and having fans sing our songs back to us is unbeatable.
Stephen McMahon: What was the catalyst for picking up instruments and wanting to start a band?
Atlas: Playing an instrument for most of us really stems from wanting something to do. Ben (sax) picked his instrument because it was big and shiny.
Stephen McMahon: We’re you very influential to music when growing up or did you establish your own musical preferences?
Atlas: As a whole we all listened to the music our parents did when we grew up, such as Queen etc. but we now all have very distinct tastes from them.
Stephen McMahon: Tell us about what it was like when you first started writing?
Atlas: The first song we wrote ‘Free’ our guitarist had for about 5 months before we started doing any work on it.
Stephen McMahon: What’s the music scene like in st albans at the moment? Any band recommendations?
Atlas: It’s
a very good and exciting area to be in with venues like ‘The Horn’ and ‘The Factory’ offering bands such as ourselves great opportunities to play to local crowds. There is such a diverse range of talent around here right now which has allowed us meet lots of other great bands in the local scene. Personally we love ‘Hide&Seek’ at the moment, we have played a couple of gigs with them and they perform amazingly!
Stephen McMahon: You recently performed at The Horn in a Battle Of The Bands. Tell us about that?
Atlas: The Battle of the bands final was one of the best gigs we’ve played as a band. The energy in the room was amazing and the other contenders were extremely talented!
Stephen McMahon: What and who influences you musically?
Atlas: Each member has varying influences but we all have a common grounding in Indie Music. Our lead guitarist probably has the widest range of influence, from Folk (Stornoway), to Jazz (Snarky Puppy), to Metalcore (Beartooth).
Stephen McMahon: Describe your song-writing process?
Atlas: One of the members, typically one of the guitarists, brings an idea to a practise where we all develop it, adding our own influences assisted by copious amounts of tea.
Stephen McMahon: What was it like recording your Campervan EP?
Atlas: It was a very manic experience. We completely recorded all four tracks in one day’s studio time, having finished writing all the songs within a mo
nth of the session. At the same time it was a great day and the studio we used (Grand Chapel in Bedfordshire) was very impressive, as was the engineer, Mike Pearce.
Stephen McMahon: Although you are in a band, do you still have to work day jobs in-between live shows?
Atlas: We’re all students heading off to uni later this year. Some of us also have part time jobs but nothing serious.
Stephen McMahon: How would you like people to respond to your music? Do you wish to connect emotionally with the audience or is it just about having a party?
Atlas: This very much varies on the song. The majority of our music is just about having a good time but most of the lyrics are drawn from personal experiences.
Stephen McMahon: Do you ever see your sound changing from the type of upbeat guitar music you write?
Atlas: We’ll always have the base sound that has become ‘Atlas’ but at the same time our wide range of musical influence means that we will and currently do write some songs with a slightly different sound or feel. We’re not going to suddenly change into alt j though!
Stephen McMahon: Do you ever see Atlas expanding with more members?
Atlas: No, there’s not enough room in the drummer’s garage for any more people!
Check Atlas out on Facebook and see if you can make it to one of their gigs soon!
[…] them up last summer when they were in performing at The Horn’s battle of the bands competition. You can read our Introduction Interview here. And our review of the battle of the bands competition […]