Our Music Reporter, Zoey Robins interviewed Twin Atlantic. Ahead of their incredible Sheffield O2 Academy set, She sat down with Barry McKenna and Ross McNae, 1/2 of Twin Atlantic to find out about touring, future plans, Barry’s Fifa skills and more…
So how are you guys today?
Barry: We’re pretty good aren’t we?
Ross: Yeah, I’ve been better, Barry has beaten me 5-0 and 7-2 at Fifa today. I didn’t even enjoy it, I was too dejected, if it was a narrow victory I would’ve revelled in it. So apart from that, I’m OK, I’m recovering now
Are you looking forward to tonight’s show?
Ross: Yeah! It seems like ages since we’ve been in Sheffield, doesn’t it?
Barry: Two and a half years?
Ross: Tramlines Festival, is that it? Tramlines Festival? Is that a festival?
Yeah!
Ross: Yeah that was the last time we were here
Barry: It’s nice to be back
How’s the UK tour going do far?
Barry: Pretty impressive so far, hasn’t it?
Ross: Yeah it’s been amazing, all the venues have been really busy, the support bands have been great, people have been singing along and our new album seems to be going down great. It’s been amazing!
What’s been the highlight of the tour so far? I know you sold out all the Scotland shows, how was that?
Ross: Yeah, Scotland has been great, It’s hard to pick a highlight because people have been so responsive everywhere we’ve been. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve done our own tour, it’s just weird to be coming back to the same venues we did last time and there’s still the same amount of people here, you know because we took a lot of time off. A lot of bands take time off and then they tend to go down a venue, but we feel really lucky and privileged
How does it feel to have sold out so many shows?
Barry: I don’t think it’s something you ever get used to the idea of, I mean the idea that one person spends their hard-earned money to come and see us play is amazing never mind 3,000 from the same city in the same night. It’s a really bonkers feeling but it’s because of that we always put on the best shows we possibly can and give it everything. We feel like we have a nice little community between us and our fans. It’s not like just a band, everyone’s here and having a good time
Do you ever see a future transition up to arenas?
Ross: Yeah hopefully, that would be good
Barry: Well we’ve played in enough already but it’s always been as a support band
Yeah, I saw you supporting blink-182 on the last blink arena tour
Ross: Yeah that was great for us, when was that?
That was 2012 I think…
Ross: Yeah! Honestly, I think we have a better time when there’s more people there. It feels like you can get even more into it and put on a bigger show. The bigger the venue the more you can do with like lighting and that quite excites us so yeah, hopefully! Tell people to buy tickets and then we can do it!
So, what can the crowd expect to see tonight?
Barry: Ermmm instruments and four men holding them haha
Ross: Haha! We’re gonna play our whole new album. We’ve done it every night so far… not in a row, that would be wayyy too self-indulgent, we’re just gonna be self-indulgent enough to play it all
Barry: Interspersed with other songs
How does it feel to have had such great success with Great Divide?
Barry: Again, it’s like you saying about selling out shows, we never get used to it. I mean, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind the last few months but it’s obviously very nice
Ross: Yeah, I mean it’s like a secondary surprise because you speak to any band or any artist, anyone who makes music… you don’t really make it for what people will eventually think of it, you make music because you love doing it. You make songs that you love playing and hearing so when other people feel the same way about the record that’s great
How was the recording process for the album?
Ross: It was divided, excuse the pun haha! But yeah, it was because we recorded half the album in Monmouth in Wales which was like a really secluded village, kind of on the Welsh – England border, isn’t it?
Barry: Yeah…
Ross: And then we did a week in Glasgow then we finished our album in L.A. so we kind of recorded two with two different producers who had two opposing production styles. We kinda almost felt like we were two different bands in two different places which brought out different sides of our personalities and musicality’s so it was an interesting process wasn’t it?
Barry: Yeah, we kinda went and we had a few errr, well we didn’t really have any disagreements between the four of us but we had like a few outside pressures and things but we managed to overcome them and I think now we’ve got like a pretty good complete album. It took a while to get there but once we got there I think we were really happy that it took a while and we didn’t just settle with what we had
I know you’ve been busy with festivals this summer and a lot of people on Twitter want to know which you prefer, playing festivals or playing your own shows?
Ross: Oooo I dunno, I actually think I prefer our own gigs
Barry: Yeaaaah! *claps*
Ross: I think I do, I really like festivals and they’re really good fun but I feel like it’s always, you see for actually playing you don’t get sound check and erm your crew will just throw your stuff on the stage and you have to kinda go out on stage and kinda hope for the best and sometimes it’s a bit sketchy, you know what I mean?
Barry: Yeah haha
Ross: It’s just a lot more relaxed playing your own gig. They have both got their positives though. I actually like both, if I had to choose…
Barry: Ross likes being in control of things
Ross: I do! I prefer our own gigs though definitely, where as Barry is a little more happy-go-lucky so therefore… festivals for you?
Barry: I actually like them both for different reasons, yeah, I’m just sitting on the fence haha
Who is the best band that you’ve toured with?
Barry: That’s a great question, who was yours?
Ross: I think Kings of Leon were pretty good, they were like the best actual band when it came to playing
Barry: Yeah, I think Kings of Leon we’re pretty good
Ross: But yeah, they were the best actual band like ‘they can actually play here and this is amazing’. We’ve played with a lot of bands but they were definitely the best!
What’s your best personal gig experience?
Barry: Erm we’ve had a few on this tour already , like erm Barrowlands, the second night at Barrowlands… I think the first night we were too nervous but the second night we had all our friends and family there. It’s really hard when you’re touring and you’re away from your home life so it’s good to share what you do and what you care about with the people you love. Last night in Manchester was also a real highlight as well and so was Newcastle the night before that, I’m hoping Sheffield will slot right along-side those three shows
Ross: Or maybe just on the top?
Barry: Yeah, Sheffield could just nestle on the top *laughs*
I’m certainly hoping so!
What’s the best gig you’ve been to as an audience member?
Ross: I went to see Death From Above 1979 the other day at The Garage in Glasgow and that was like very high up there! I also saw them in kinda like a car park in Texas playing to like 150 people and the fence for the venue got knocked down by people trying to get into the gig and then there were police on horses so that was quite good!
Barry: Yeah, that’s like two of your top five watching the same band!
Ross: Yeah, yeah… I quite like you know Phoenix? I really liked watching Phoenix at the Barrowlands in Glasgow that was amazing as well. Shall I give one more just because I’m on a roll?
Barry: Yeah go for it, I’m enjoying listening!
Ross: See erm Kings of Leon at Milton Keynes Bowl when we supported them, that was unbelievable! That was right up there, I don’t know how you can get better than that!
Great! So, what are your plans once the European tour is over?
Ross: We’re going to America!
Barry: We are, we’re going to the States for all of December pretty much. Over in America they have a bunch of Christmas festivals on each radio station, it’s not like here where we’ve got radio 1 and that’s national, over there every state in every city has three or four different radio stations and they all put on these big Christmas events so we’re going over there and playing those so that’ll be really good fun. We did two of our own shows in the States this summer but apart from that we haven’t really played shows there in a while so it’ll be nice to go back out there because we haven’t visited in a while. After that it’ll be more headline shows in the UK and Europe in the new year… we’ll just keep on rolling!
Ross: Yep!
