The Dirty Nil make it feel like Christmas when they come to the UK. They don’t come around much but when they do it’s one crazy, fun-filled party! We caught up with the Canadian trio, Luke Bentham (vocals), Kyle Fisher (drums) and Ross Miller (bass and backing vocals), to talk about their new record, fashion, bringing Jesus on stage and of course to wish Luke a Happy Birthday!
Luke! Happy Birthday from Bring The Noise! What a day to have your Birthday, the day you’re playing 2000 Trees! You always wear the best shirts every time we see you, have they become a uniform or a tradition?
Luke: Thank you! Yeah man people ask me all the time why I wear them and I’m like “because I wanna”. I dawn the guards of my imagination and I have a great time doing so and I have this lady called Wendy who has a company called Canary Naturals, I just went to her and said I want something in between a leather jacket and a western shirt and a lot of metal and stars and this is what she came up with!
Ross: Yeah Wendy is a genius!
She did a good job! Shirts aside this is your second time here at the festival. Did this time top last time as you moved from the Axiom to the Main Stage and it rained?
L: Last year was smashing! But this year, was fucking chariot ride up to Val Haller. The rain can maybe in some festivals be like “ahhh” but NOT at 2000trees! Everyone was up at the front, kids doing the row boat in the floor, pyramids and crowd surfing and singing along to songs we hadn’t even released yet, which blows my mind! It was a crowd that was not modest in size or spirit and I cherished every moment on that stage.
You were so well received, We’ve never seen anyone do the row boat in the rain so well! It seems that every time you guys play the UK you conjure a crazy vibe that sends everyone nuts, even smaller shows everyone’s going mental, what’s your secret?
L: We feel that the inner child of all of the Nildren, and the children of Nil nation, just start burning shit and having a fucking good time because that’s what we’re about! We don’t have no click tracks or bullshit samples, or woaaahhhs. It’s just pure genius on tap!
Hell no to the woah woahs!
R:Too right the woah woahs, the nah nahs, the oh ohs are gone.
Kyle: But you come to a Nil show to be whoever the fuck you wanna be!
We feel that vibe! It’s a crazy safe space and so fun!
L: Aw we would hope so. Be comfortable and have fun. We are here to have a good time for a long time.
R: No not a long time.
L: I don’t wanna break up! [laughs]
Well it appears you have Jesus on your side! He came out on stage to introduce you, you obviously have friends in high places!
L: [laughter] He is a very good friend of ours, Mr JC.
Well we’re sure he will bless your new record! Speaking of which, it’s coming out soon. [since this interview took place the album has been released] You gave us some teasers in the set today, but what is your favourite of the new album to play?
L: They’re all fucking hits but I’m going to have to go with…a song called I Don’t Want That Phone Call, it’s different how I like listening to it vs playing it though. It’s about your buddy that can’t get out of the gutter, and you’re trying to help him but you can’t help him and that’s just life, I don’t know! It’s bleak but it’s a fucking sick song!
Your new album, Master Volume, seems to draw on serious subjects like death and turn them into catchy, fun-filled tunes.
L: Life is a laugh eh! We grew up on really dark shit so we know how serious looks. There are different sides to every human being you can be funny and serious and we’ve captured that in the records. The live show completes that picture.
K: My favourite is Smoking is Magic cause it’s my “I play drums really well song”. Ross, what’s yours?
R: Well yeah it’s hard to choose between genius but I like Evil Side, that’s the last track and you won’t hear ’til it comes out, but I think that’s really beautiful.
L: It’s the most ambitious song that we’ve ever made! It’s one of the poppiest tunes we’ve ever made but at the end is the noisest thing you’ve ever heard. It’s like Roy Orbison’s Sonic Youth. It’s a song for anyone who has been longing for or has found somebody who had that evil perspective on the world.
We may have just wet ourselves with excitement here! We’re at 2000trees, the sun has come back out (thank your friend Jesus) and it’s Luke’s birthday! I hear a birthday cake is in order so let’s leave it here and party!
Interviewed by: Charly Phillips
