We chatted to Dan of the prog band Samoans and discussed Rescue, touring with No Devotion and bringing down those swines responsible for the Severn bridge toll.
1. Hey Dan, how are you doing?
Great thanks.
2. You guys are Welsh but go by Samoans. Were you trying to mess with people when you came up with that one?
Not really, there is no reason for having the name, we used to be called something else that we didn’t really like all that much and just threw names about and our old drummer, Todd Campbell (now of Straight Lines), came up with it.
3. You were recently announced to be supporting No Devotion on tour. How pumped are you for it?
We’re really honoured that they asked us personally. We grew up watching those guys playing live and to be a part of their first ever shows is pretty special.
4. We gave Dancing On the Sea Lion a confused but positive review when it was released. Was the strange structure something you planned or did it just happen?
I have always been a fan of messing with conventional structure. I’m a massive Dinosaur Jr fan and I’ve always loved Feel The Pain which pretty much messes with the tempo.
I didn’t intend to write a song like that for the record as all the other songs are more progressive. But it works really well.
5. How have you found the reception to Rescue?
Overall it’s been extremely positive. We’ve had great reviews in Rock Sound and Metal Hammer magazines and plays on Radio 1. It’s been more positive than we were expecting due to the break between our last release and the slight change of direction.
6. It’s a slightly different style to your earlier works, What inspired the change?
I broke my back in December 2012 and that was pretty much a turning point.
I had time to sit down and assess what we’d done and how to move forward. I was getting pretty tired of the math genre as a whole and decided to go back to what I knew best.
I’d come from a progressive background before Samoans and decided I wanted to embrace that side of music again as it allowed us to be more creative and expansive.
7. What’s been your highlight of 2014 so far?
There’s been a few. Finally releasing the album is up there but we’d probably all agree being asked to be tour support for No Devotion and then Kids In Glass Houses this summer is our highlight.
8. And the lowlight?
I can’t think of any to be honest. It’s all been pretty good so far.
9. Who else should we be listening to right now?
Our friends Kutosis have just released their second album ‘Dream it Away‘ which is fantastic. I can listen to that over and over and not get bored. It’s a definite Welsh Music Prize contender.
Oh and our boys Freeze The Atlantic’s new album. So so good!
10. And finally, why should we all be buying Rescue?
To help us afford to take the owners of the Severn Bridge to high court for charging us to get back in to Wales!
Rescue is available on Amazon and iTunes.
Header photo credit: Andrew Sanders
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