Sidestepping through the barrier at The Lake Stage, we headed backstage for an interview with alt/rock four piece Bloxx. Jumping into their swish white van, I was offered a peperami [throwback] as we waited for everyone to hop in and have a chat about their year so far.
We introduced one another. Bloxx is made up of Fee (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Taz (guitar), Paul (bass guitar) and Moz (drums). The conversation consisted of band facts, future plans and a whole load of top banter. There was a strong band chemistry between them as they bounced off each other’s conversation with ease.
We started from the very beginning and the birth of the name ‘Bloxx’. Fresh out of band practice “We found our name on the floor, its a sweet wrapper we found at the bus stop after rehearsals, we’re gonna be sued by Maomm”.
There’s no excuse not to catch these guys in 2018 and firstly this Summer. With their undoubted excitement to be at Latitude, they enjoy playing festivals and the one they are most excited about; Reading and Leeds at the end of August is “a dream come true”.
I agreed that one of the best things about festivals is the footfall into discovering bands you may never have come across otherwise. “It’s more fun to be flashy and you can be more confident with your set, you’re just trying to attract new people as they may never have heard of you before”.
Obviously keeping with the festival theme, we found out the Bloxx’s festival food choice from the standard Chicken, Cheesy chips and Churros on the menu, it was clear that ‘Greggs’ are missing out on an opportunity. [To be fair I could have done with a Gregg’s that morning.] “Greggs would do well here” they laughed.
With a preference to playing live, it doesn’t mean they aren’t fans of the studio, recently spending a lot of time working on their new tracks with an upcoming EP on the horizon. “They’re different worlds, we are experimental in the studio, we do a lot of weird things to achieve certain sounds”. They explained, “we run guitar tracks back through the amps, and vocals through guitar amps”.
We spoke about all their hopes, dreams, and all the fun plans for the future of Bloxx. After a wild festival season, it’s clear they won’t be winding down for the winter months, you can catch them across the UK on their headline tour kicking off in October. “We’re looking forward to visiting Manchester the most. We’re also playing loads of weird places, like Exeter and Hastings”.
And of course the dream festival slot aside from the upcoming Reading and Leeds spot, they also hope to get on the bill of the all famous Glastonbury, and also reeled off destinations across seas including Bennicassim, Lollapalooza and Coachella.
You can tell their undeniable passion for music and I loved the support they had for other bands; with Fickle Friends and Wolf Alice on their watch list for Latitude. They were also excited about heading to Citadel Festival the next day where they were looking forward to seeing Tame Impala, which is also the band they hope to one day support on tour.
Their most successfully streamed track so far “Curtains” has almost hit 1 million plays on Spotify “Mad that!”. Speaking about their songwriting process we spoke about the creative journey. “It’s kind of multiple things, we either Jam or we send samples to each other”.
They also shared the inspiration behind some of the lyrics. Quick to jump in was Fee “Ex-girlfriends” as they all laughed. Paul jeered “That’s almost every song, instrumentally we write really happy songs and then she just talks about her ex’s”. Fee jokingly defended herself “I wrote Coke, and that’s obviously not about ex-girlfriends is it? Sorry mum, It’s about coke”.
Of course, the big 3 year plan question. “Wembley Arena, I say it every time”. Although they may have been joking, a band should always dream big. Taz chimed in, “in a serious sense, at least touring the states”. Their success is building across seas for sure, “we have more plays in the US than here, they love ‘Curtains’!”
We rounded off with a fun band story; Taz narrating the story behind “The time I thought Fee had fallen down the stairs and died” It was in fact her suitcase that had fallen but Fee was out of sight and there was complete silence as it hit the ground at the bottom. It may not come across as humorous as I write because their friendship and bond really shone as they spoke which made everything way funnier.
Bloxx are four down to earth friends who are enjoying every step of their journey and they deserve every good thing they’ve got coming. There was a constant stream of laughter throughout the whole interview from all of us but they certainly spoke more seriously when it came down to the music talk.
If you aren’t at Reading and Leeds this Summer then get your hands on a ticket to see Bloxx live as they head out on their UK Headline tour kicking off on October 28 all the way through to November. I can assure you that you’ll not be disappointed. Keep tabs on Bloxx on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Words by Jodie Brunning // Photo Credit: Amber O Rourke
