Sue Northam spoke to Starseed brothers Russ (lead singer) and Andy (on drums) about the journey and the meaning behind it all.
1. It’s been nearly a decade of Starseed, how does that feel?
Andy: Can’t believe it’s been that long already, madness I tell you. Forming this band back in 2000, you couldn’t have told me then we’d be living in London about to release our second full length album, headline the IndigO2 and confirmed for the Freestyle Festival at Alexandra Palace in November.
2. Where do you wanna be 10 years from here?
Russ: We are blessed to be able to make music and we love what we do. But if we were able to do this full time then that would be a dream come true!
Andy: Doing a world stadium tour, with one show being Wembley… ooh yeah! We promised my parents, should that ever happen, we owe them plane tickets and
backstage passes!
3. How has your sound evolved since your debut album in 2005?
Andy: We’ve been listening to loads of new influences and acquired a new member (our British lead guitarist Pete ‘The Heat’ Wicker), so this album has the influence of an extra brain as well as new influences. What we’ve produced is a heavier and darker, but somehow cleaner and more precise album.
4. How would you explain your music to your grandmother; your kid sister; and a classical music fan?
Andy: Grandma – “you probably won’t like this, put your ear plugs in”; Kid sister – “play this music loud and tell your friends, you’re going to become a ROCK fan now, put down that Lady Gaga nonsense”; Classical music fan – “Some heavy riffs, but we think you’ll appreciate the vocals and harmonies… just like heaven’s choir, I promise!”
5. What is Starseed all about?
Andy: We were born to rock with a message! Our songs mostly derive from a spiritual and positive aspect, but we’ve also recently lightly dabbled in the political, I wrote a song on the new album called ‘Pills’ asking where common sense went in decisions being made in UK Parliament.
6. Tell me about your new album…
Andy: As above, we’re a rock band with a message. We wanted a solid name to describe what it was we were writing about and peace machine just fitted perfectly. It is solid and catchy and also a good description of what you can expect to hear. The lightness and elegance of the word ‘peace’ to describe the melody and lyrical content and the ‘machine’ to give you the dark and edgy sound that comes with it.
Russ: We’ve given a sneak preview to TotalRock Radio and Kerrang and so far the feedback has been amazing. Someone even said it’s going to be album of the year!
7. Tell me about the upcoming album launch at IndigO2…
Andy: What’s unique about the venue is its design and layout, all the materials used in the seating and walls are used to soak in certain frequencies which gives you this fantastically crystal clear sound from the stage. We can’t wait to launch ‘Peace Machine’ on such a wicked platform.
Catch Starseed, as well as DJ Katie – from Kerrang! and Total Rock Radio, at IndigO2 on 7 August, brought to you by FeedMe Music and Living it Live. www.planetstarseed.com
Download Starseed’s new single ‘Shine’ from their forthcoming album Peace Machine.www.download.planetstarseed.com passcode – pmachine
