Perth pop-rockers Beside Lights launch their latest EP, Half Heart, at the Rosemount hotel this Thursday, October 23, with support from Bedouin Sea and 44th Sunset. TRAVIS JOHNSON caught up with singer and guitarist Adrian Wilson.
What’s the Beside Lights story?
Beside Lights was originally formed back in 2010 under my solo project (Adrian Wilson), and I decided to make the change to Beside Lights shortly after – releasing our first self-titled EP in 2011. Since then we’ve been fortunate enough to play with some great bands along the way, supporting The Vines and 1927 at Astor Theatre here in Perth, which were probably our biggest and most memorable Perth shows to date. Our debut EP hit number one on the iTunes rock charts in 2012, and since then I’ve been writing and demoing new material and just recently finished recording our next release Half Heart – I’m excited it’s finally out there!
You’ve garnered considerable national and international exposure. Do you still consider yourselves a “Perth band” or have you moved beyond that?
We haven’t really thought about that to be honest. Perth is an amazing place and we’ll always call this our home, but it’s definitely a lot harder for a pop rock band to progress in Perth because there isn’t really a place for our genre. So YouTube is a big focus for us and it’s helped us to share our music internationally. We’re lucky enough to of had over 2.5 million hits now on YouTube, and constantly have people all over the world saying how much they love our music – so I definitely consider our sound international.
You have a strong fanbase in the “lighters.” How important do you feel it is to cultivate a close dialogue with your fans? What part does social media play in your strategy?
Social media plays a massive part in getting our music and name out there. YouTube seems to best way to get international exposure, and for us it’s been incredible. We’re continually posting covers and throwing originals in the mix, which I feel is a great way to not only build your fan base, but show your diversity as a band and keep the fans engaged.
How did the writing process on Half Heart go?
Great! I didn’t want to rush anything, so I’ve been slowly working on a bunch of songs over the last two years or so. I chose the best five songs from roughly 30 and jumped into a rehearsal room with my good mates Vas Shevstov and Ben Elphic, who really helped me bring the tracks to life.
Where did you record and who with?
I recorded the drums, bass and rhythm guitar in Kalamunda with Vas Shevstov – a great Perth drummer in a band called Hailmary, and one of the best engineers I’ve been lucky enough to work with. After we finished up there I took the songs back to my home studio and finished everything else there. I love to produce / record, and my sister was nice enough to let me turn the house into a recording studio for the last eight months! So it was great because I got to take my time tracking everything, and didn’t have to worry about studio costs!
How does the EP compare to your live sound?
I’d say the EP version is very close to how we play it live. However we do like to keep the shows interesting, so it’s always good to show off a little and change some things up.
What’s up next?
We’ll be aiming to get over east very soon to promote the new release. We’re also heading down to Dunsborough late November to play a bunch of shows for leavers – so we’re really looking forward to that too!
