NEWS / An Interview with Subgiant

First in a series of questions we put to bands attending Blissfields:

How many times have you played Blissfields now?
This argument seems to run and run, the answer is we don't really know and then it depends if you count our Drummer as he played in another band at previous Blissfields.

You obviously have a special relationship with the festival?
Yes, it's been great to see it grow and well, the management are very hospitable all year to us!

The first year wasn’t with your current lineup I believe?
No it was just two of us with no live drums, we didn't even play on a stage we had a our own little gazebo kind of in the audince, but the sound still came from the main stage PA which was bizzarre!

What other festivals have you played?
Loads, playing festivasl is what it's all about for us, we've played at tiny hippy fairs and behemoths like Glastonbury and they all have a special feeling .... of which Blissfields has bucket loads.

So do you stay and enjoy the festivals, or pack up after your set?
We always try to stay for the whole thing, the only thing that drags us away is if we have to play at another festival on the same weekend, which does happen from time to time. Plus we've got a nice big new truck which beats setting up tents all the time, so we may as well make use of it.

Any plans for an album soon?
Yes, it WILL be out in March this year....!

Do we get the chance to see you live other than at festivals?
We are now doing more club gigs, especially in London, and one day we hope to do a proper tour.

How did you all end up in this band, I believe you have played in various other bands with huge variation in styles?
Yes, we're an unlikely bunch really, I'm (Olly) from a punk background, in the nineties I played for the South London grunge band Spire. I met Dan at work in Southampton, not very rock and roll is it, then we snitched Tushar from an indie band at your very festival. Dan hadn't been in a band before but had done a lot of Djing, but keen to use his decks as an intrument rather than just play other people's music. Somehow it works really well and I think people like the fact that the three of us are so different from each other.

Where will we find you at Blissfields when you're not performing, hanging out in the campsite, at the mainstage or one of the smaller stages, or maybe the bar?
The Bar.. although we do all discover a lot of new music at festivals so a lot of time at the stages... we tend to keep away as much as possible from back stage, it's just so bitchy back there!

And finally, what is on the Subgiant stereo at the moment?
There is some really good stuff about at the moment, right now we're listening to Gallows, Trentemoller, Booka Shade, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Chemical Brothers and looking forward to the new Metallica album.

Thanks for your time Subgiant