Tell us how you became a band \u2013 you came together in quite a meandering way, didn\u2019t you? <\/strong><\/p>\nThere was no plan to become a band at the very start, it was more just to collaborate and see what happened in a unique environment – we hired a coastal holiday house for a week and flipped all the rooms into working studios, floating between and adding layers and ideas there was no opportunity to feel stuck creatively.<\/p>\n
There was no thought to reference or make a plan as to what we would sound like or what instruments we would all play, it was completely loose and freeform. I think when you can breathe creatively without too much thought there’s an energy to create something magic and honest.<\/p>\n
One of the songs we wrote that week was “Got It Bad”, it came to the point where we thought it couldn’t hurt to throw it up on online and had joked about it sitting on some obscure YouTube channel with 250 plays and we would all get back to our day jobs. It’s still very surreal that the song is now sitting on over two-million plays online.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve moved from more behind-the-scenes roles in the industry to the main act \u2013 has that been an easy progression? <\/strong><\/p>\nWe’ve been involved in various projects over a long stretch of time both in the darkness of the studio or on stage in some form so it’s not too unnatural, but it is quite surreal that we actually exist and do things like play shows and travel to places where people know the words the songs we’ve made. It’s rewarding and exciting, but we’re not overthinking anything too much.<\/p>\n
We still love doing a lot of the behind the scenes stuff too, whether it’s production, songwriting or being involved in the creative process for the other artists. It’s something that we’re looking to do a lot more of as collective in the long-term.<\/p>\n
How did you land on the name LEISURE? <\/strong><\/p>\nWe had been trying out a few names after our first ever week of writing, mainly because we had these demo names with no project name attached as there no plans to actually release any music at this point.<\/p>\n
One of the boys had mentioned ‘Pleasure,’ another replied, “how about we drop the P?” –\u00a0 we group-smirked and said it over the course of a few days to make it feel comfortable and real. It encapsulated the essence of how the music sounded and how we felt in the environment we wrote the songs in.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s one word that\u2019s commonly associated with you in the press, it\u2019s \u2018laidback\u2019. Is that an accurate representation of the band, or an oversimplification? <\/strong><\/p>\nProbably an oversimplification, we are still human beings who feel all the feelings and aren’t just kicking back in striped deck-chairs. In our time together, if something is too forced or too intense – too obvious, then it’s too ‘Keen’ – which is quite a silly measure or keyword to say, but the boys completely understand if someone pipes up and says “I think that g-funk flute solo is a little too keen.”<\/p>\n
We are hard-working too, there’s a perfectionist angle that creeps in when you care about the outcome so much. In most other projects I’ve been involved in this can hamper the progression a song but with five members to bounce off and flow through we always know pretty quickly what’s working and what isn’t.<\/p>\n
Explain the inspiration behind “Nobody”. <\/strong><\/p>\n“Nobody” was inspired by the idea of finding a sense of belonging to your soul mate and family. Sticking to it when things get tough. Musically we initially felt like it was trying to do our very best Marvin Gaye or Al Green but it ended up sounding like it does. Then GoldLink came along and tapped into the vibes almost immediately both lyrically and sonically.<\/p>\n
Your creative process is quite a unique one \u2013 could you explain it to us? Why is it important to split up before coming back together? <\/strong><\/p>\nWe are always writing our own music on the side. I think the reason why LEISURE works is because we don’t all listen to one sound, so by the time we come back together to write music there’s no rule book or blueprint, which ultimately provides creative freedom with fresh circulating ideas. If one person is missing from a writing session it doesn’t feel like a LEISURE song.<\/p>\n
We all sing so there’s never one identifiable lead singer, we can all play a handful of different instruments each so there are really no regimented formulas when we get together to make music.<\/p>\n
The collective and collaboration aspect is a huge part for us and is the whole reasoning behind our existence as a group.<\/p>\n