Photo Credit: Jack Delve
Straight from their set at Tune in the Dunes festival we spoke to British rock group Daytime TV to talk their recent tour in Europe, new music and what lies ahead for them in 2023.
Give us a brief introduction for anyone who doesn’t know who you are, tell us about you and your music!
Will: Hey! We’re Daytime TV, we’re a rock band from the UK and we’ve just come off stage at Tunes in the Dunes, which was absolutely wild! And we had the best time ever.
John: Probably…maybe…a lot of people who hadn’t heard our music before but everyone got stuck into it
W: People on shoulders, we saw some people getting their kit off…I didn’t ask them too do that but they did it anyway!
Gareth: We released an album last year and like what we said on stage, we weren’t really sure whether anyone down here really knew of it.
W: It was a sick reaction, we were buzzing. We’ve just come off tour in Europe and we’ve just been playing to new audiences over there, so to come and do this first festival of the summer. So, to hit festival season off the back of that big long drive from Poland there is no better wake up than what we just did so, thank you Cornwall!
J: We also filmed a cheeky snippet for our new single that’s out on the 23rd of May!
W: Yeah, we just played it there and the music video will feature all those lovely people in that crowd. So yeah, fun all around. We’re just having a good time playing shows which is our favourite thing to do!
So you guys just said you came off of the back of a show in Poland. You’ve been playing shows in Europe, how do audiences compare in terms of say their reaction and stuff?
G: We thought they were going to be quite still people, actually it turns out they were quite lively!
J: We were thinking especially like, Germans, they take it very seriously and listen well and give you a polite clap at the end but, it wasn’t like that.
W: The best thing about Germany was, you know if you asked a crowd like that in the UK to put their hands up and clap along with you but you can always see factions of people that are like ‘I’m not willing to do it’ but in Germany every single hand was in the air within the first clap and they’re all clapping together!
J: In time as well!
W: It was very efficient and very impressive.
Chris: European crowds also just respond so well to anything new. The UK can sometimes be…too cool? But today was quite the opposite, everyone was onside so I was quite surprised.
W: It was really really sick, but yeah we’ve kinda got a new set really so that tour and this gig just now is kinda a bunch of new material we’re trying out and it’s going really well, we’re just happy to be put on these shows and get to show people what we’re about!
You talked briefly about the new single coming out, where did you record it, what was the process like behind that?
W: Yeah, we went down to, not a million miles away from here, Frome in Somerset. Worked with a producer called Luke Potashnick, he’s done some amazing things and we were lucky enough to get put in with him and we recorded it. We’ve got one album out and the only criticism people have had of it is that it sounds, we sound better live than the record. Which I think is like a disguised complement, I guess?
J: The record sounds very polished and full, but every time anyone sees us live they’re like woah! That is the thing, and we consider ourselves to be more of a live band than just a record band.
W: So, with that in mind, we recorded Jessica live which is not the done thing these days. I think if the producers got the tekerz, then you can do it and make it sound as sheen for Radio 1 and all that stuff but also have that live energy that we pride ourselves on. It was a really cool and new experience for us and yeah, we’ve heard it, it’s coming out in a few weeks and we’re very excited to hear what people think.
G: It’s quite normal for bands to test song out in a live environment, it’s basically like the end result of anything we do. We write tunes and we record tunes so that we can get on stage and play those tunes, so sometimes you have to look backwards a bit to get to that result as well.
W: It’s also a great way to write songs, is to think about a live audience. The thing we normally do is write a song that can open a set, and a song that hits people at the end of a set and kinda work backwards. It’s kinda the fruition of that today, playing Jessica, near the end, with everyone on shoulders and kicking off its really cool, and a really nice moment. It’s almost too perfect, I was thinking something needs to go wrong here! Looking out at the sea and seeing people surfing, and the crowds going nuts and we’re playing our new single. You know this is what it’s all about! So yeah, we’re just buzzing, buzzing to alive!
J: There are some songs in the pipeline that I have no idea how we’re gunna play live!
C: We need to invest in more instruments!
W: We went a bit wacky in the studio and we need to get in a rehearsal room.
C: We need about 8 more band members.
W: Yeah, if you know anyone that wants to join a rock band, give us a shout.
J: If you know a symphony orchestra and they’re up for it, hit us up.
W: That’s been our brief in our own heads a little bit, is to kind of push the boat out a little bit, I mean Jessica is kinda straight down the line as song and that why we think as a first single it’ll work well, as we’re not going in some crazy direction from what we’ve done previously, but the stuff to follow is quite new for us. But in a really experimental way, but still with that anthemic pop sensibility with guitars. We’re hoping we’ve hit a bit of a sweet spot! In like two years’ time we’ll either just be total mugs or we’ll be the biggest band in the world.
J: We’ll be legends, or…
W: We’ll be like, why did we do all that stupid stuff?! Or we’ll be like, all that stupid stuff is now iconic legendary music.
C: With everyone who’ll have copied us after we invented a genre.
W: Basically, we’re on a knife edge, and we’ll see what happens.
Just to wrap up, is there anything else you guys would like to promote? Any shows people can catch you at next?
G: We’re actually going to Scotland to in a couple of weeks, the 19th/20th? We’re supporting Circa Waves! Which is gunna be great, I love Circa Waves. We’re doing Glasgow and Aberdeen on their tour, that’s gunna be our next couple of shows!
W: And a festival highlight, we’re gunna be playing the mainstage of Kendall Calling.
C: The Saturday!
W: Which is equal parts terrifying and awesome. And then some headline shows, this is an exclusive! Around the UK, post summer, we’re not sure exactly where or exactly when but our Instagram has been going nuts with people who are like I know you’re having fun in Europe but come back and play the UK! We are gunna come back and do that and that’s gunna be after summer. September/October time!
Thank you so much for your time today, it was great to chat to you and your set was amazing
All: Thank you!
Interview By: Caitlyn Ebsworthy
Jessica is set for release on 23rd May and is available to pre-order/pre-save HERE.
