Interview: Beach Baby

Making indie pop that compellingly blends a wide range of influences, and with plenty of festivals lined up this summer, Beach Baby are about to get very big, very quickly – I spoke to them about their story so far and what lies ahead…

Dominic Penna: With ‘Limousine’ hitting over a million Spotify plays, you’re building a fanbase quickly. What can your listeners expect from your upcoming music?

Beach Baby: Some more good tunes! There'll be an album in the not too distant future (quite soon in fact...) and it's got some really different flavours and moods, whilst maintaining the blue print of what you've heard so far. We've got some

really chilled out numbers on there, and a couple of keyboard led tunes too...

DP: Which acts have had the biggest influences on your upbeat, varied sound?

BB: We all listen to loads of different music. Ollie is a lifelong Beatles obsessive, Shep loves Television and Cocteau Twins, and Lawrence listens to a lot of Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen (not particularly upbeat!) and currently, The Silver Jews. Recent artists that we've all got a lot of love for are Parquet Courts, Mac DeMarco and Angel Olsen, to name a few...

DP: How does the process of writing and recording your songs tend to work?

BB: It's different for each song. Often Ollie or Lawrence will have an idea, which can be quite rough, or quite fully formed. We then hash it out as a band, and it starts to take proper shape. We demo everything ourselves before we record it properly which is a really good process, and can be handy for songwriting problem solving - it solidifies the parts, and allows you to sit back and view the song with a bit more objectivity. We recorded the album with Adam Jaffrey at his studio in Hackney Road. He's a total dude, who we came to know as 'The Prophet', and his all-seeing eye really helped bring out all the best features of the songs...

DP: What has been the highlight of these last couple of years for you?

BB: Our first 7" single release through Chess Club was pretty great - that's a big moment for any new band I think. Getting the chance to record the album over 6 weeks or so was pretty great too, and we've really enjoyed the UK tours and getting to hang out with other bands. Big up to Hooton Tennis Club, Willie J Healey, Babeheaven and Blaenavon.

DP: Who else are you listening to or liking in terms of other up and coming bands?

BB: The guys we just mentioned - Hooton Tennis Club, Willie J Healey, Babeheaven and Blaenavon! Check 'em out. They're pretty much 'up and come' now, but we're also digging the Whitney record.

DP: Which of the upcoming gigs and festivals you have lined up are you most looking forward to?

BB: Reading and Leeds is a biggie. Lawrence went there 10 years ago for a post GCSE bender, and now he gets to go back and play the thing! But we're looking forward to all of them actually. We hear great things about Truck, and Festival No. 6, and the smaller ones are always well fun - Fieldview, Lodestar, Blissfields we love you all!

DP: And what do you hope the future holds for Beach Baby?

BB: More great tours all over the world, and a good few more albums!

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