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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Rogues
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 26 November 2009
Consisting of three brothers and two drifters, Rogues were formed in the summer of 2008. Combining new wave atmospherics with upbeat dance grooves to create original ethereal pop music, the band cite their combined influences as Tears For Fears, David Bowie, The Cure and MGMT. With their debut gigs generating a storm of interest and an ever growing army of fans, Rogues have received radio play from the likes of Zane Lowe, Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy and Huw Stephens. Their debut EP, ‘Widows’, is out this week through Friends vs Records. We spoke to guitarist and vocalist Pearse McIntyre to find out more.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
We formed in the summer of 2008, around August. Myself and Sam [James, also guitar/vocals] had joined forces about six months earlier, writing songs and establishing our ideas for the band both musically and visually. We had known each other for years prior, however we were in different bands at the time and were just acquaintances. When these bands had dissolved for one reason or another we decided to unite and write songs together, so I suppose that was the real starting point for Rogues. My little brother Frog joined us on bass shortly afterwards, and my other little brother Tom on drums shortly after that. Patrick [Stansbie] agreed to play keys for us and we had our first rehearsal in August last year. Our first gig followed in September and we’ve been pretty busy since then.
Q2 What inspired your latest EP?
The EP is a selection of songs from over the last nine months. We tried to include a variety of material, ranging in tone and colour. I think an EP should be a cohesive piece of work, a little journey which involves the artwork and the music. That’s what we’ve tried to achieve with ‘Widows’.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Sam and myself share the song writing duties. Our methods change quite frequently, but it always ends up with the two of us crouched over the laptop. I tend to put myself into a songwriting frame of mind, from which I reel in all the observations I’ve gathered from normal life. Most of our songs are conceived in other places and then taken back to be moulded in the shed at the end of my garden. We have an Apple MacBook Pro on which we record all of our demos. Sometimes I programme a beat on the drum machine and just sit with it for a while, letting my fingers run away on the guitar or bass until something takes shape. Other songs begin with a lyric, because sometimes you write words you like so much that you’ll fit them into a song anyway you can. I usually start with a chorus and work around that.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Naturally, we all have different influences individually. I’m a massive fan of The Smiths, Klaxons and Jamie T, where as Sam loves The Clash, T-Rex and ‘Holy Bible’-era Manic Street Preachers. There are a few things we all love, like the song ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ by Tears For Fears, and David Bowie. Sam and I are fans of early-mid U2, The Cure and more recently MGMT. We also harbour big pop sensibilities, so sometimes people like Madonna and Prince are referenced.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
That’s a tough question, I’m not sure I’d say anything. Expect some pop music, I suppose. Have a little dance.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest EP, and for the future?
The EP is a sampler, I think. We’re going to begin work on the album pretty soon. The first song on the EP, ‘MerryGoRound’, is being released as a single in November, as well, accompanied by a very interesting video by our friend/director Simon Ryhinks. The plan is to release another single in March 2010 and then put out the LP. In the meantime we’re gonna keep gigging and filling out the live show. We’ve recently hit a groove and every show has been banging. Thinking about it, I can’t wait ’til the next one.
MORE>> www.myspace.com/rogues
