INTERVIEW: Coach Party talk ahead of their headline show at Voodoo, Belfast

Coach Party

Isle of Wight rising stars Coach Party have spent the past year honing their explosive live show, playing over 120 shows in total. Particular live highlights included the 100k capacity Stade de France supporting Indochine, a headline tour which included London’s Oslo, supporting The Mysterines in the spring, and Wet Leg on their sold-out winter tour across the UK and Europe.

This week they return to Belfast for their first headline show at Voodoo with support from Casual Riots. Aaron Kavanagh sat down with the band to talk about the Belfast gig and more. 

Coach Party
Photo credit: Martyna Bannister

How would you describe your music to the uninitiated?

Scoldingly hot. You know when sometimes you get a coffee and it’s so dangerously molten that you’re not even annoyed that it’s ruined your mouth for the next 48 hours, you’re just in a state of confused awe at a world where such heat can exist in beverage form? That, right there, is the music of Coach Party.

Your band tends to fuse aspects from various genres together into the mix. Do you feel that being a young band with access to a plethora of music which people hitherto hadn’t had is to credit for your versatility? If so, do you think a band like Coach Party could exist at any other point in history?

I’ve never thought of it like that, but it surely has to have an impact on our style or amalgamation of styles. We don’t try to be a specific blend of genres, but one thing I guess we’re going for is to not be an obvious “thing”. The guitar music which has come before us has already been done perfectly in various forms; grunge, punk, metal, indie, and classic rock, to the point where we’d feel like a pastiche to be going strictly down one of those roads. Having said that, our music is a pretty accurate representation of our personalities, and I’d like to think that if we were living in a different time then our music would at least have the same meaning and personality behind it.

In an era when a lot of artists are choosing to self-release their music, your band signed with Chess Club Records. Why did you decide to go down the label route and why was Chess Club the best decision for you?

We really value the experience and expertise of others. We’re in this to make music and play gigs – that’s it; we’re not interested in learning the intricacies of the industry, or any industry, so if we can partner with people who are as passionate about what we’re doing as we are, and let them take care of what it is they do best whilst they let us take care of the music, then we’ll partner up. The reason for going with Chess Club was just that; they’re super passionate about the band and have a lot of energy for it, just like every part of our small but mighty team.

Your music hits on some socially pressing issues of the time. While modern-day artists who wish to deal with issues – such as, for example, discrimination, sexism, and other societal ills – have the luxury of decades of artists hitting on the same subjects for reference, some of your music deals with contemporary issues which previous generations either didn’t have to deal with or where knowledge of the issue was nascent, such as revenge porn, gaslighting and grooming.

As one of the first generations to tackle issues like these, is it difficult with little-to-no prior exemplars to look to and do you ever think what you write today will set the precedent for what writing on these topics will look like tomorrow?

I don’t think the relative lack of examples makes it more difficult to write about modern topics if anything it’s liberating lyrically as there are less phrases which have already been said a billion times and become obvious or typical. Maybe “You’ve got some pictures of me naked” will become the new “Woke up this mornin’, duhnanananuh”

You’re from the Isle of Wight. Do you feel that the locational difference offers unique perspectives to your art than from other mainland contemporaries or do you feel no difference to fellow UK acts?

Having toured a lot over these last couple of years, we’ve come to know that every region, town, city, island & whatever else has its own very distinct and unique vibe. By that sentiment, we are no different to a band from anywhere in the world but are also completely unique. One thing about the Island which definitely has an impact on us creatively is that it’s the sort of place where you have to make things happen for yourself, or things quickly become boring and repetitive. If you can harness your imagination & creativity, it’s an incredible place to be.

You are friends with fellow Islanders, Wet Leg, who too possess a similar post-punk-infused indie sound as you. Do you feel that you’re both defining what the “Isle of Wight sound” is to outsiders?

There is such an eclectic range of music coming from the Island, and there always has been. Some of our favourite Isle of Wight music over the last decade has been punk, jazz, electro, folk, and indie… We’re careful not to mimic each other down here – it makes gigs more interesting.

You’re coming back to Belfast and Dublin this week for your first headlining shows. How was your first trip here and is there any expectations for the shows?

Our first shows in Belfast & Dublin (on the Wet Leg tour a few months ago) were great; two of the best from that whole tour, of which there were a lot of gigs in a lot of countries. But nothing comes close to playing your own show. We stumbled across Voodoo when we were exploring Belfast on the day of the Limelight gig and got all giddy. It feels weird to have done as much touring as we have and to only now be gearing up for our first headline Irish dates. It’s really nice to have something brand new to look forward to. We’ll play extra loud and fast for you.

What are your plans for the future?

Our future plans are the same as our past plans – to make records in an acceptable balance of quality vs quantity for as long as possible and to try and be the best live band we can be.

COACH PARTY + Casual Riots

Voodoo, Belfast

Feb 22 2023

Doors 7pm

18+ Only

Tickets on sale now from ticketmaster.ie

 

Xsnoize Author
Aaron Kavanagh 24 Articles
I’m a writer based in Dublin. Some of my favourite artists are Therapy?, Big Black, Slint, Shellac, Morphine, Suzanne Vega, Bad Religion, Hüsker Dü, Fugazi, Mission of Burma, and The Jesus Lizard

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