The award winning “Folk-Glock” band Pocket Satellite are due to release their third E.P entitled ‘8-BIT ME’ on the 18th of November. Already a familiar name in the festival circuit, the band have regularly shared the stage with artists such as Lucy Rose, Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran touring Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and other countries in Europe. The Playground met the band to discuss influences, live gigs and more.
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
We’re great! Right now we’re eating Jelly Babies and writing songs on our new Ukelele.
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
We’re a little folky, a bit poppy and perhaps slightly alternative. We like to experiment with a variety of instruments and styles and are obsessed with glockenspiels.
What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?
Slow Club – Yeah So
Fionn Regan – The End of History
Broadcast 2000 (Self Titled)
Lucy Rose – Like I Used To
Jenny Owen Youngs – Transmitter Failure
What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?
Paul Thomas Saunders – He creates breathtakingly beautiful ambient music. We recently left a festival early to see him perform in a church, and it was incredible!
Keston Cobblers’ Club – We’ve been listening to their newest EP on repeat lately, it’s fantastic. Saw them at Glastonbury this year and it was one of our highlights.
Team Me – Brilliant Norwegian band who are creating such interesting music, and have incredible artwork too.
What are some of the key pieces of gear you use to write your tracks?
We tend to lay down the basics of a track with acoustic guitars and vocals, generally recording straight into Cubase once we have the beginnings of a song taking shape. We then reach for the violin/banjo/glockenspiel (whichever is nearest) and start building up more and more layers.
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
We couldn’t decide between these two.. our Paper Aviator EP launch at The Bull and Gate in Kentish Town or our support slot for Jenny Owen Youngs at Monto Water Rats.
The launch was incredible, it was a sell-out show and the crowd were just amazing.
The Jenny Owen Youngs show was just one of those special nights – it was over 4 years ago and we still get people talking to us about it now!
What’s the worst gig you have ever done and why?
We once had two of our guitars break during our soundcheck at a gig in London! Luckily the sound man was an absolute legend and sorted us out with replacements for both!
What are your thoughts on the following music genres?
Classical
We really enjoy the complete contrast of live classical music to other genres. We were recently blown away when we went to see Einaudi at the Barbican.
Blues
We always enjoy watching blues artists, definitely a genre for picking up on great banter!
Soul
You can’t beat a bit of James Brown!
Hip-Hop
Our bassist’s secret love of hip-hop was allowed to shine through lately when Dr. Dre appeared on some mix CDs we all made to accompany us on our European tour.
Folk
We love folk, although our tastes are generally for contemporary and alternative folk artists rather than traditional ones.
Dubstep
There is an amazing night called Tuesday Club at Sheffield University where we all met, which plays a lot of drum & bass and dubstep amongst other genres. These bass-driven genres are so good to hear on a night out, you need a huge sound system to really appreciate them!
Trap
Googling this right now!
