Before their highly anticipated Camden Assembly show, we sat down with self-titled “millennial glam” newcomers Bright Orange Spectacle, who refuse to be known as yet another generic indie band and rightly so, there’s nothing generic about this quartet who blend old but gold music influences with a very modern, zesty twist.
Bright Orange Spectacle may be a band who are very fresh on the music scene, but they’re already more than ready to become a big and bold name on festival lineups in the near future, you really do need to go and see them live because they’re truly something special. At their London show, the band donned an all-white attire, and although looking apt for a stain removal advert, they certainly do have super clean guitar riffs.
BOS consists of Charlie Sinclair (lead singer & keyboard), George Le Page (drummer), Kyle Torode (guitar), Darcy Calton (guitar).
How would you describe your sound?
Charlie: We call it millennial glam
Kyle: It’s a poppin’ new genre that hasn’t existed before
Charlie: It’s just the idea that indie music is such a blanket term now when we live in a time now when The 1975 can be indie, Royal Blood can be indie, and a garage punk band can all be indie, we’re very undefined in the alternative world so giving our own umbrella for it felt natural. We’ve got a lot of our own Bowie and Arcade Fire kind of influences going on, so it’s like the idea of glammy theatrical pop music.
Your debut single She Could Get Better was released to vinyl, what was it like to see it for the first time?
George: It was a very beautiful thing
Charlie: The idea of being tangible especially nowadays is so sought after because it’s kind of a sign that something’s right if someone wants to print you on vinyl. I’m a big vinyl collector anyway so it’s a dream of mine since I was in my old band, so for it to happen on the first single was like ‘I’m holding something that we’ve worked really hard on, I can play it on my record player, I can give it to friends, I can sell it to people’ there’s a power there which online doesn’t build.
Kyle: It feels natural, it’s like the most logical place you can put your music ever, on a vinyl record
How have you found the reaction so far to your music?
Charlie: Uhhhh… Today really good, tomorrow maybe I won’t feel as good, the next day I’ll feel amazing, and the next day I’ll feel alright about it.
George: I don’t really pay attention half the time, if I release it and I enjoy it and I know I’ve done a good job with it, the reception it’s great if people like it, I want people to like it.
Charlie: It’s amazing, if you quantify it it’s been overwhelmingly good but then I think we’re a new band and I have the tendency to beat myself up because you’re looking at the Instagram feeds of the other bands around you, you have to watch your pessimism with it, these guys check me massively with it. We’re so DIY, we’re doing the press plugging, radio plugging and recording all ourselves, so then sometimes when you finally release it to everyone it’s like ‘wow that’s super overwhelming, the world hasn’t lit up, it’s amazing that this part of the world has lit up’. If you’re not getting sleepless nights about your music and your career then why are you doing it?!
If you could collaborate with any artist dead or alive, who would it be?
Charlie: Father John Misty, but realistically speaking, three quarters of the band are from a small island called Guernsey, which is where another great modern artist by the name of Mura Masa is from, the idea of doing an indie dance music crossover with someone like that would be amazing.
George: Electronic music has really come through the woodwork within the last ten years to be the primary consumed form of music, so having a kind of bridge, I’m confident guitar music is on its way back up there’s more popping up into the charts and fusion would be the best way to go.
How does the writing process work for you guys?
Charlie: At the moment we’re adjusting to being in a four-piece band I think, I stay up on my laptop pretty late making pretty much fully completed songs with every part in there, and now I’m adjusting to leaving them out and letting the guys fill the space and sending much more blank stuff. Me and Kyle have been in bands since we were 17, so we’ve been writing together forever.
Kyle: Charlie’s a workhorse, he never stops writing and never stops working on music ever. It’s like 4am in the morning and you get back from a night out and you’re like ‘Hey man what are you doing? Go to bed!’ and Charlie’s like ‘Oh yeah I’ll go to bed after I’ve tweaked the drums in the song I’ve been working on!’
Who are three artists that we should be listening to?
Charlie: Sad Boys Club
Kyle: There are so many artists that everyone should be listening to! I’m a big fan of The Murder Capital at the moment
George: FEET are cool as fuck
Charlie: The Murder Capital, Sad Boys Club and FEET
George: Still Woozy does really cool funky, synthy, airy pop tunes, it’s a shame and a miracle that he’s not blown up and become massively famous.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Charlie: More music!
Kyle & George: Rock out!
Charlie: We’re going back into the studio as a four-piece, we’re going to self-produce a couple of more singles and put them out to the world and just share our creations with people, do more gigs, hang out with more bands and enjoy that process of being in a scene with people
George: Get immersed, grab it by the nuts and get in there!
Charlie: Maybe not, but get immersed for sure!
If you could all pick one person to be stuck in a lift with – who would you choose?
Kyle: Frank Reynolds or Danny DeVito
George: You actually nicked mine!
Darcy: Charlie Sinclair
Kyle: Charlie would be the first person on the phone to the people who need to fix it
Charlie: I’d be with my dad, he’d keep me calm
Kyle: I’d pick Charlie’s dad as well
George: It would probably be my girlfriend
Everyone: Awww
Charlie: She’s a good gal, I agree
George: I’d probably lose my shit and she’d be like ‘just manage, you’re fine’, I’m a bit claustrophobic so she could stoke my head and tell me everything’s going to be fine
Kyle: Or if you’re in a lift for a long time, someone like Banksy would be cool, you could just be like ‘do one in the lift’
Charlie: If I’ve got my laptop with me in this scenario then I’d pick Win Butler (Arcade Fire) and be like ‘wanna mix something?’
Any last words?
Charlie: @dardarguitar is a great Instagram page