Local lads Reflekter are gearing up for their first tour, and with a sold out show at The Bodega and a new single to celebrate, there’s lots to get excited about. We caught up with vocalist James Gooch to find out what the guys think of it all…
How would you describe your music to somebody who has never heard it before?
I would say it’s classic rock ‘n’ roll but with a modern twist. We want to make something new and exciting, but we take influence from a lot of retro stuff as well.
What artists inspired you to get into creating music?
For me in terms of songwriting, I was into Bruce Springsteen from an early age, and Bob Dylan too. What made me want to be in a band was seeing the performances of people like The Rolling Stones and Oasis and the energy they brought to their live shows. More currently, bands like The Black Keys and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are big influences on our sound.
Having only formed in May 2018, what has been the most difficult thing about being a young band trying to break into the industry?
There’s just so much going on at the minute and so much diversity, it’s not always easy to stand out. All you can do is stay true to yourselves and try to create something unique.
You’re gearing up for a tour, including a sold out Nottingham gig. What are you most looking forward to when you go on the road?
Going out on the road is something we’ve all been dreaming about since we were kids and now that it’s actually a reality it seems a bit surreal. It will be a great experience to get used to playing back to back shows, and we’ll definitely have a laugh in the van. Always a pleasure to visit different cities too.
You’re due to play at The Bodega as part of your upcoming tour, but what in particular makes you excited to play there?
We’ve all had a lot of experience with The Bodega, whether playing ourselves or seeing some of our favourite bands there. It’s a great venue and we all enjoy playing there, so to sell out a headline show there is an amazing feeling and it’s going to go off in there for sure.
Can you describe your new single 75 Trips for us? What are your favourite parts of the new song? What was the production process like?
75 Trips started with a phrase I’d heard describing our average life span and we just built the words and melodies up from there. In the studio we were quite experimental with sounds and our approach, and I think that shows.
What do you want listeners to get out of the new track?
I just hope people dig the vibe of it because we’re really happy with how it came out in the studio. Hopefully it’s one people can sing along to and being a lyrics guy, I hope they can appreciate the words and the message too.
You’re a young group, so it’s probably worth asking where you see yourselves in the next five years?
Five years seems a long time in the future, and we are quite an ambitious group of lads so anything could happen. To be up there with the best is definitely our aim, but we’d also certainly settle for being able to quit our day jobs!
What do you love about Nottingham's music scene?
There’s always something going on in Notts, in all areas of the creative arts, and I love how there’s lots of different pockets of the music scene you can discover. There’s lots of new quirky bars in the Hockley area so whether it’s a touring band visiting The Bodega and Rescue Rooms or a secret open mic night, it’s got a bit of everything.
Reflekter will play a sold out show at The Bodega on Friday 4 October.
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