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Scottish Spotlight with Declan Welsh & The Decadent West...
Meet East Kilbride Fourpiece Declan Welsh & The Decadent West...
Decadent West & The Decadent West are a four piece indie punk band from East Kilbride that have been massively successful on the live circuit in Scotland, playing to sell-out crowds as well as turning heads with their unique and energetic live performances. Following the release of their latest single, ‘King of My Head’, DW&TDW are looking to build upon their success; with the lads highly anticipated upcoming album '2' set for release this September '23...
1. Tell us a bit about your latest single ‘King of My Head’?
'So it’s moving in a bit of a different direction, as is the rest of the album generally. The tune we released before, Mercy, is probably the most similar to the stuff we’ve done before. King of My Head is about rumination, the lyrics reflect that and the music is meant to as well. I’d go into it in more detail but that’s kinda like explaining the joke before the punchline. Listen to it and you’ll get what I mean.'
2. Do you have any advice for artists trying to break into the industry?
'Focus on the only two things you can control - songwriting and performance. You have the capacity to constantly improve as a songwriter and performer and if you do that you put yourself in a better position to build a fan base. The industry doesn’t care what you do if you have fans, so focus on actually connecting with people due to your music and the industry will catch up eventually. Or it won’t and you’ll be playing sold out venues and keeping all the money that you make. Either way it’s a better plan than trying to guess what you think would get you a record deal or that.'
3. Best gig you have played in Scotland to date?
'Headlining a sold out barras is a hard one to beat. That was really special. All our favourite people in the world in the crowd. Folk singing every word. Mosh pits to ballads. Paul, Jo and Ankna coming in and just filling out the sound amazing. No one missed a note or a beat for a 2 hour set. It’s one of those venues that’s so old it has an atmosphere when you walk in, even before any people have arrived. An iconic place and my favourite gig ever I reckon.'
4. Your go to song when you're connected to the aux?
'It changes constantly, when we’re in the van I’m usually in the back so I have very little control most of the time; and I’m stuck listening to Murray and Duncan blaring some midwest emo or something. So if it’s my choice, I’m probably putting Motown on. Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Al Green. There’s about a thousand Motown tunes and I love them all. Something really special about that place, those artists in that time.'
5. Where do you see yourself in five year’s time?
'I am not sure but I hope I’m happy and I hope the left starts to get its act together in this country. We have such a big job to do to actually change things, we don’t have an option to do nothing and it all starts with finding common ground. That’s the reason I’m a Marxist. Because it’s the only thing that’s ever worked in taking this system apart, and it’s the only version (obviously acknowledging that intersectionality plays an important role) of progressive politics that gives us all a way to understand that our differences aren’t as important as what we have in common. We’re all workers and we’re all being exploited by a system designed to do exactly that.'
6. What can we expect from your upcoming album '2'?
'It’s darker. Way darker. And it’s more subtle. Both musically and lyrically. Saying that, there’s a tune about a guy getting steaming and getting hit by a car where the main musical inspiration was Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani. We are trying to do some interesting things, while still writing pop songs. It’s definitely more introspective but who isn't in 2023? It’s just a reaction to the conditions it was created in. You spend two years isolated from the world, your art will probably reflect that. Oh and it’s got this huge focus on vocal harmonies. I think my favourite thing about it might be how we use harmonies. There’s some songs with like 6 or 7 vocal tracks. It’s a more beautiful record. It has real moments of beauty and I’m really proud of it. And the main thing is that you, yes you, will absolutely love it.'
SEE DECLAN WELSH & THE DECADENT WEST PERFORM LIVE AT LA BELLE ANGELE, EDINBURGH, WITH SPECIAL GUEST PSWEATPANTS ON THE 22ND APRIL 2023! FINAL TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE...
Photo Credit - Graham Noble
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