eGigs catches up with Aussie indie rockers Expatriate

musical influences, UK gigs, festivals, and more on Thu 18th Feb 2010

Expatriate have already been earmarked for success in 2010 after coming 7th in the Rock Sounds reader poll for 'Best International Newcomer' and being nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the year at the ARIA Awards (Australian version of the Brits). Following the band's widely received support slot on Placebo's European arena tour in 2009, they will be making appearances at a number of the main festivals across the UK and will be announcing both headlining and supporting tours in due course. eGigs caught up with them for a quick interview by email.

How long have you been together as a band?
5 years.

Describe your music in five words.
Any one for a Wurst?

Which bands/artists have influenced your music?
The Cure, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, BRMC, You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead, The Presets.

Which band would you regard as the best live band?
Tough call! So many factors go into this answer. I would say Radiohead on the Hail to the Thief tour, or PJ Harvey, or Queens of the Stoneage or Kylie.

Which bands would you like to support on tour?
The Cure on the Disintegration tour. Or The Horrors on their latest effort.

What is the name of your current single?
Blackbird.

Why should people buy your latest single?
So that we can keep on buying the tins of tuna we get by on which means new material.

When will the album be released?
ummm.. dunno I just play guitar. March 1st I believe!

If you were to record a cover version, which song would you cover?
If you Vimeo or Youtube 'Daniel' and 'Missing' you will see we have already done a couple. I'm always fond of M83's remix of Goldfrapps Black Cherry, friggen amazing soundzzzzz.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting a band?
Do just that... start. It should never feel like work (ha ha although sometimes it is) Any form of artistic expression is where you loose track of time and you begin to form something out of the ether. However there is always a fine line between Genius and Shit.

If you could only take three items on tour with you, which items would they be?
ummm... Guitar, microphone, laptop. My roadies would bring my hot water bottle and Eddy my fluffy teddy.

What is the most bizarre thing a fan has done/requested from you?
I am not at liberty to discuss such matters. Thank you.

Are you planning on doing any gigs in the UK?
We played 2 London shows at the Borderline on 6th Feb earlier this month as part of the HMV Next Big Thing Festival and 10th Feb at The Flowerpot as support to The Joy Formidable. Hopefully back later in the year too for some other gigs.

Are you planning on doing any festivals this year? If so, which festivals?
We played most of the great mainland European festivals, it would be great to do some UK ones to.

What can people expect from Expatriate, if they come to see you playing live?
A cathartic onslaught of melody, riffs, textures that make your hips wanna sway and boots stomp.

How do you feel about interviews that are done by email?
My PA's fingers are getting tired... she's off to get a coffee.. now look what you've done!

What do Expatriate hope to achieve in 2010?
A new record!

If you could bring one of the following back from the dead, who would you choose and why? a)Elvis Presley b) Kurt Kobain c)Freddie Mercury d)Michael Jackson....
None, their music was beginning to suck by then anyway. But if I must it would be Freddie Mercury or Kurt because they still wrote pretty good music.

If you could be a Superhero, who would you be?
Lara Croft.

How do you feel about downloading music?
I do it all the time and so do you and your friends;)

Many thanks to Expatriate for taking time out of their hectic schedule to do this interview.

article by: Luke Seagrave

published: 18/02/2010 17:14



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