Keyside Interview at Kendal Calling
After their set at the ‘Calling Out’ stage, we had the chance to sit down with Keyside and discuss their latest single, on tour necessities and much more!
Caitlin Barlow: How was your set? How did you find it?
Ben Cassidy (Lead Guitar): Pure radge! Yeah, that was good that!
Dani Parker (Vocals): The last three festivals we’ve done, have just been insane like
Caitlin: I saw you were at Truck festival and Tramlines, how did they compare to today?
Dani: It’s hard to say
Ben: Humbling to see everyone turn up
Caitlin: Who had the best crowd do you reckon?
Dani: It’s like picking your favourite kid that
Ben: Today – I don’t know what they’re thinking, but I loved today
Max Gibson (Bass): I’m gonna go Kendal as well
Caitlin: So, you’ve got your new album coming up next week (August 7). How was the writing and recording process for that album, especially being your debut?
Dani: We’ve been together four years so, it’s not rushed that album, it’s just kind of like a compilation of what we’ve been doing in the last four years. That’s what music is, y’know when you rush stuff and you try to force stuff, it doesnt work. Music is quite zen I think, you gotta let the water flow.
Caitlin: How long did it take in the studio to get it all wrapped up nicely?
Ben: We were in and out weren’t we, with about two weeks to condense the bulk of it
Caitlin: Did you record it in a studio in Liverpool?
Ben: Kempston Street
Caitlin: Have you been there for all of your releases?
Dani: Except the first two. We’d done ‘Angeline’ which was the first one we’d done there and it had a good reception so we just stayed there.
Ben: We’re very fortunate to get to work with our producer, Chris Taylor. He works with Blossoms, The Coral and loads of Courteeners stuff these days. But to work with Chris is quite a privilege.
Caitlin: And you are going on your ‘In-Store’ tour, do you have any particular necessities you need to have in the bus or venue?
Ben: Beer
Caitlin: What’s your go-to crate on your rider?
Ben: It’s not really a beer but, Guinness
Dani: A pair of headphones
Oisin McAvoy (Drums): Beer
Caitlin: Any pre-gig rituals?
Ben: We just end up on stage
Max: I think you just ignore it till it happens
Ben: To be honest, until the first tune kicks in, I don’t really think about that its a gig.
Max: We’d love to say we do high-fives before we go on stage, but we don’t
Caitlin: What excites you most about going on tour, is it meeting the fans? Or just getting your music out there?
Ben: The fans for me. You meet these people; you do a lot of the work on social media these days and see it as numbers. Even today, when you get off stage you spend about 15 minutes shaking hands and giving setlists and plecs out. If they weren't there, we wouldn't be here.
Caitlin: If you could attend any concert in history, which would you pick?
Dani: I was watching the live O2 gig of The La’s last night actually. So, Manchester 1991, The La’s, the O2 I think it was.
Max: I’ll do Beatles. I think they were playing the Royal Albert Hall, when John Lennon goes; ‘If you’re in the top stands, rattle your jewellery’.
Ben: Can I say two?
Caitlin: Yeah, go ahead
Ben: Either Oasis at the GMEX in 1997, I watch that loads on YouTube, or Pink Floyd when they performed live in Pompeii.
Oisin: Knebworth, Oasis
Caitlin: And your new single ‘Echoes’ that is coming out next week (August 5), was that one of those tracks that has evolved over time, or is it a brand-new creation?
Dani: There was a song called ‘Echoes’ with that chorus, I wrote that after my uncle passed away, so it was about him. That song is like a metaphor – ‘can you hear me in heaven?’. And then there was a verse idea I had to put more of a reflective, personal thing on the story, to make it more story based and stay true to what it was about. It was the right decision. It’s new and it’s not new.
Ben: We’ve had that from even before we knew we were recording an album; we were sat on that for ages. We teased it on TikTok, well over a year ago, but never did anything with it.
Caitlin: The final question, what is one question I should ask on my next interview?
Ben: What would you get from the chippy?
Caitlin: Perfect, thank you so much for your time.
After a vibrant performance on the Calling Out stage, Keyside’s countless fans opened their lungs and hearts during this performance. Belting out ‘Michael, what's your call?’, ‘Runaway’, ‘Nikita’ and even more songs from their catalogue. The outpouring love between fan an artist truly shone through this day at Kendal.
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