Wie geht's eigentlich...
…PALACE?
“Sphärisch” soll ihre Musik sein, so stecken Leo Wyndham, Matt Hodges und Rupert Turner von Palace ihr klangästhetisches Ziel ab. Mit “So Long Forever” (2016) und “Life After” (2019) sind dem Londoner Trio definitiv zwei “sphärische” Alben gelungen, das dritte ist gerade in Arbeit. Frontmann Leo hat uns im Interview erzählt, wie die drei Musiker als Live-Band gemeinsam gewachsen sind und inwiefern die Quarantäne-Zeit für ihn auch etwas Gutes hat.
M94.5: Word of your live skills definitely spread beyond your home country England, since every show of your first US tour was completely sold out. How would you say you have developed as a live band over the years?
Leo: I think really it all comes down to confidence. We’ve grown as musicians and with our instruments hugely over the past few years. I can remember at the start none of us felt accomplished in our playing. I was a nervous front man, very self conscious about my voice and ability. Now we feel we’ve earnt our confidence through our chemistry and playing together. The live experience is now just pure fun and expression for us. We don’t care about mistakes, all that matters is putting heart into performances. Back in the day we were concerned about mistakes or fucking up. That stuff really doesn’t matter to us now, it makes it more pure and real if anything.
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Was there any significant difference in touring the US compared to the UK or Europe?
I think the hunger and appetite for each show was intense and incredible. It was beautiful to feed off that energy the crowds brought. I think there was a lot of pent up feeling of anticipation as we’d never been over, and when it came to the shows that just reached pressure point and exploded. Some of those gigs were the best of our lives.
In an interview in 2019 you said that you always wanted to play two London venues, the Shepherd’s Bush Empire and The Roundhouse. Meanwhile, you can tick both these venues off your list. What’s next? Are you now dreaming outside of London and the UK?
It makes me smile to think we played our two dream venues and packed them out! What an incredible thought. Makes us feel proud as hell. I think we dream a lot about other countries – Australia, Japan and all of South America feel next up for us really. We love to travel and experience new cultures and meet new people, so that’s a massive bonus of the job. We really want to play Red Rocks in Colorado and the Hollywood Bowl. Those are the ones on our hitlist now. One day!
Your little brother Wilby (Wilm Danby) did the artwork for both Palace albums and the EPs before that. What is there first, his paintings or your music?
Usually it is our music. Wilby is a brilliantly talented artist and creative person. I’ve never known someone with a more brilliant brain in terms of imagination and creativity. We let him hear the music and he just runs with it usually. We trust him so completely that he just seems to nail it every time. He also directs amazing music videos and has a music project called Thool – go check it out, it’s awesome!
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Both of your albums deal with loss, Life After also includes the message of hope and positivity. Can you already make out any themes or concepts that might turn up on your next album?
That’s really what I’m figuring out right now. The one plus about isolation is being able to transfer that feeling into writing. I’ve probably been more productive than I’ve ever been. I’m interested in a number of themes at the moment. I don’t want to give too many things away just yet. But we will be very excited by some of the new songs.
You were forced to cancel your upcoming UK tour due to the corona virus. One of you showed symptoms and had to self-isolate. How are you guys doing now?
We’re doing okay really. Pretty much just doing things to stay sane and healthy. I was fairly ill with it a few weeks ago but feel a lot better now. It’s really shocking seeing what’s happening round the world. It is a very strange and scary time.
You keep yourselves busy though with restocking your online store and creating personal “isolation mixes” on Spotify. Apart from that, what does your daily routine in quarantine look like?
Writing music most of the time really. Trying to find new ideas and things, and also trying to work out ways of making money while in isolation to stay afloat! I’m going a day at a time at the moment. I think avoiding projection and planning ahead is not a good idea right now. I’m just trying to be present and keeping my mind active.
Your recommendations for passing time in quarantine: favourite books, albums, series, games, means of communication, workout exercises,…?
I don’t really like the whole video chat culture thing. It actually makes me feel quite anxious really. Split screen and everyone shouting at the same time freaks me out a bit! So I try to avoid that. Miss a good old fashioned phone call.
But lots of reading has been good. The Offing by Benjamin Myers is quite a beautiful and incredible book. The Beastings by him is also dark and brilliant. I’ve seen a lot of good documentaries recently that blew my mind, some that I rewatched, as I love them, like Dark Days, 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s, Grey Gardens, or Made In America (this O.J. Simpson documentary is one of the best things I’ve ever seen).
