GENGAHR have come a long way since the release of their first single “Powder” last September, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you must have heard of their infectious, sunny sound. From opening stadium shows to spending time in the studio, it’s been a busy year for the London four-piece. Following the release of their debut A Dream Outside, bassist Hugh Schulte took some time to answer our questions about the band’s recording process, influences, and touring schedule.
Congratulations on the release of A Dream Outside! What can you tell us about your recording process? Did you feel any pressure considering it’s your debut
album?
Thank you! We recorded the album over the whole of last year. Whenever we had a spare few days off touring we would go down to Middle Farm stuidos in Devon. We would get the songs ready in the rehearsal room and then try and capture what we had pretty much live in the studio. We didn’t overdub much so what you hear on record is what you hear live.
Your music is a combination of multiple elements that seem to come together very organically. Are there any bands or musicians you draw inspiration from?
Yes, we all have different musical specialities I guess. Me and Danny are really into our funk/soul/hip hop and also some world music. John’s into his punk and indie rock, Felix the same, but perhaps more classic rock/pop. At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Shuggie Ottis, D’Angelo and Goat.
Did you expect to be getting such a positive response from the press and public before even releasing your debut album? Has anything changed since its release?
No, we didn’t expect the reaction to be quite so positive. Of course we believed in the record, but you can never be sure how other people are going to react to it.
You guys have been busy this year, not to mention supporting Alt-J and Wolf Alice on their tours. How does it feel to finally be headlining your own tour?
Amazing yeah. We were very lucky be able to do those tours, but now we feel like we’ve had enough experience doing that. It’s great to finally be in a position to do our own tour and play the record to people who really dig it.
Are you excited to be playing festivals this summer, or do you prefer smaller events/venues? Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to play in the future?
Very excited, I think I prefer the smaller ones, but we’re getting used to play the bigger stages now and it’s great when you start to feel comfortable on those ones too.
What do you have in store for 2015?
We’re going to Australia next month, so we’re all super excited about that! None of us have ever been that far from home.