Glass Animals ’ victory in triple j’s Hottest 100 was a surreal expertise for a couple of causes. Firstly, ‘Warmth Waves’ scored the highest spot whereas the boys had been within the midst of England’s newest lockdown. They celebrated in isolation through convention calls and lived vicariously by means of social media posts of their Australian followers dancing in victory at countdown events throughout the nation.
Secondly, ‘Warmth Waves’ is only one of three of their tracks to make this yr’s Hottest 100 (together with ‘Tangerine’ at #18 and ‘Your Love (Déjà Vu)’ at #51). They’re all contemporary off the 2020 album Dreamland, Glass Animals’ third report and first launch in 4 years. Like many artists who’ve made music in the course of the pandemic, their plans to tour the report had been shortly squashed. As an alternative, they’ve watched the world join with it from afar by means of TikToks, fan-made remixes and art work.
Thirdly, Glass Animals love Australia virtually as a lot as we love them. Triple j was one of many first stations to spin their tunes and so they have garnered a fervent Aussie following ever since. They’ve cracked the Hottest 100 earlier than, however this time that they had their eye on the primary spot. Actually, their willpower to win noticed them tweet a vow to get a map of Australia tattooed on their butts if ‘Warmth Waves’ reached #1. Hindsight’s a bitch and, naturally, the web is holding them to their promise.
Lastly, the countdown is all the time a trigger for debate however ‘Warmth Waves’ looks like an acceptable win. It fuses a melancholic story of a failed relationship with sun-drenched psychedelic pop. Like 2020 itself, it’s a sombre story flecked with silver linings.
In between their seek for tattoo artists, Music Feeds caught up with singer-songwriter Dave Bayley and drummer Joe Seaward of Glass Animals. Over Zoom, we chatted about their Hottest 100 win, releasing an album throughout a pandemic and the ever-evolving lifetime of ‘Warmth Waves’.
Music Feeds: So to begin with, congrats on ‘Warmth Waves’ hitting #1 on this yr’s Hottest 100! How do you are feeling? Has it sunk in but?
Joe Seaward: I imply, I don’t suppose it has really sunk in for me. I feel if I might see individuals and see issues and speak about it, it could most likely be rather more actual. However it looks like such a loopy factor to occur and never be capable to do something about it in the meanwhile. Yeah, it’s very surreal to me nonetheless.
MF: Yeah, it should’ve felt wild to obtain this superb information, have fun from afar after which simply shut your laptop computer and stew on it in your houses.
JS: Yeah, there’s like no tangible strategy to have fun it… I imply, I do know it exists. And it’s an unimaginable feeling. However it’s very laborious to floor it in any form of actuality for me.
Dave Bayley: I simply noticed a bunch of Instagram movies of individuals dancing to it on the seashore. And it made me so unhappy. It made me cry. I imply, it made me completely satisfied and unhappy. Yeah, that made it sink in although. Did you see all of these, Joe?
JS: Oh my god. I did. I imply, it simply looks like a distinct world although. Seeing individuals residing a standard life is such an incredible factor.
DB: I’m able to be there so badly. That was unimaginable. That was essentially the most heartwarming factor I’ve seen in the entire pandemic most likely.
MF: We had been additionally in the course of an intense heatwave on the time, so it felt very acceptable toasting the win with a few bevvies and a dance on the day.
DB: Oh, sure. I did see a couple of individuals having bevvies as effectively (laughs). Did you see the man with like no garments on performing some form of sensual dance with a plank of wooden? That was most likely the weirdest factor I’ve ever seen somebody do with one in every of our songs soundtracking it (laughs). It was fairly odd.
MF: I didn’t however that’s saying one thing given ‘Warmth Waves’ has soundtracked all the things from a Minecraft fanfic to a sea shanty pattern on Tik Tok. Is it bizarre to see it tackle a lifetime of its personal?
DB: Yeah, I hold seeing it popping up in loopy locations.
JS: It’s actually cool.
DB: I’ve liked seeing what individuals did with the monitor, like remixes. We put all of the stems on the web and let individuals go after which Diplo did one and it was loopy. Seeing that after which individuals doing art work is basically mad. There’s a lot art work, individuals doing stuff like fanfics. It’s actually beautiful. Which means a lot. Which means greater than like several of the numbers or something. Simply seeing individuals make it their very own is basically candy.
MF: Do you know you’d hit on one thing particular while you first created the track or did it simply occur organically?
DB: It simply form of occurred! I bear in mind the night time I wrote it. I had this tiny little room on the backside of this massive studio complicated. And it was a type of actually, actually lengthy days. And I used to be like, “Shit, I’ve had sufficient. I’m not going to do the rest.” After which I used to be identical to, “Okay, another, another, another”, I picked up a guitar and began enjoying the cords after which did the vocal line. And like two hours later, the skeleton of it was there. And I used to be listening to it actually, actually loud. And when it stopped enjoying, there was a noise behind me. And I rotated and somebody was tinkering on the piano. And I used to be like, “Who’s that?” And so they mentioned, “It’s Johnny”. And I used to be like “Who?” and I seemed out and it was Johnny Depp. He was working with somebody in a distinct studio and had gotten misplaced and he was the primary particular person to listen to it!
MF: Are you severe? That’s the weirdest factor I’ve ever heard.
DB: It was so unusual. I don’t suppose he favored it a lot (laughs). He left shortly afterwards and I used to be like, “Nicely, I’ll tuck that one away for later.” I used to be trying on the timestamps on the file and I feel we acquired it out as a band like six months later.
MF: Nicely, thank god for that as a result of not too long ago you tweeted that you simply’d get the map of Australia tattooed in your butts for those who gained the highest spot with ‘Warmth Waves’. So what’s the decision?
DB: Nicely, we’re not but as we haven’t been allowed out of our homes (laughs).
MF: So no dwelling jobs then?
DB: We did really take a look at a tattoo gun however it doesn’t look good. It appears to be like actually sketchy (laughs).
JS: I feel we’re going to do a correct job and I feel which may take a minute right here, as a result of we’re nonetheless having a fairly powerful time.
DB: You don’t fear. As quickly as we’re allowed out, I’m going and doing it. Joe, I’ll do yours.
JS: Completely not (laughs).
DB: I’ll do “Dave” in actually attractive cursive writing (laughs).
MF: Between the tattoo, your huge fan base down right here and scoring the best accolade you possibly can just about get in Australia, it’s possible you’ll as effectively be honorary residents now, proper?.
DB: It’s one of many highest accolades you may get on this trade. It’s democratic. And that’s what I really like about it! That’s why it’s so amazingly particular. Australia was the primary place that it labored for us. I bear in mind going to Australia for the primary time, Joe. We had been getting performed on the radio for the primary time on this planet. And I used to be like, if it really works right here it’s okay. We’ll simply keep (laughs). And it’s nice right here. The espresso’s actually good. The meals’s superb and persons are beautiful. So yeah, actually. I’d be honoured to be an honorary Australian.
MF: Nicely, I feel the tattoo will seal the deal.
DB: Do you suppose it would? Okay, in that case, I’m positively doing it. My mum rang me up and she or he’s like, “Inform me about this tattoo!”. And by the tip of it, she was like, “Ought to I get one?”. I used to be like, “Positively not” (laughs). She has been sending me tattoo artists and all the things.
MF: That’s superb! You dropped Dreamland in August and often, you’d be on the street touring proper now. What has this report launch been like for you given the state of the world?
DB: It has been bonkers. Actually completely different. I can’t clarify fairly how completely different it has been. Yeah, usually, we launch the album, then we don’t see our bedrooms for 2 years. And I’ve seen nothing however my bed room for a yr.
I assume we’ve simply needed to discover methods to switch touring. We’ve got a good time doing it. It’s a massive factor for us. It’s a manner for individuals to have context across the music. You may placed on a present with the set design and simply contextualise all the things. So I assume we simply labored additional laborious to search out methods to try this over the web.
JS: Yeah, it’s pressured us to consider the way in which that we current the music and likewise take into consideration the music in a very completely different manner. I hope all the things returns to regular comparatively quickly, however I feel it would most likely stand us in actually good stead going ahead, having to undergo this. It has been laborious and I think about that is the very same factor for everybody who has been releasing music. It’s a extremely courageous, terrifying world in the meanwhile. I’m really actually glad we did it and I’m actually happy with what we’ve performed. However it was laborious. Actually, actually laborious.
DB: We had this superb plan to do our personal little mini-festival as effectively. Denzel (Curry) was gonna come. There’s this very lovely venue Purple Rocks in Colorado within the mountains. Denzel was going to come back and have our buddies come play after which tour that. Then we simply needed to rewrite this superb plan. It was gonna be so enjoyable. It was like two years, performed to a tee.
In order that was actually gutting for like every week. Then I feel I realised that nobody has launched an album in a pandemic since 1912 or no matter. There are not any guidelines. The label and our administration had been superb. We might simply experiment and have enjoyable. They allowed us to place all of the stems for the songs on our web site and allowed us to make these bizarre programmes like Dream Machine. We had been simply allowed to do numerous actually bizarre shit.
MF: Though it could’ve been superb to tour and it has been a troublesome yr to launch new music, it doesn’t look like it’s curbed the success of the album. Everybody loves it. Certainly that’s a silver lining for 2020?
DB: Yeah and I do know I mentioned this earlier, however seeing individuals make it their very own has been unimaginable. It has stored me going day by day, waking up and seeking to see what somebody has performed with the music as we speak. There’s all the time one other remix. There’s all the time one other portray or a poem. Or an animation of our heads rolling down the streets of New York Metropolis. That was unimaginable. Individuals have performed stuff that simply completely blows my thoughts. Yeah, that’s what retains us rolling.
MF: I’m positive that provides you no scarcity of inspiration as effectively. Have you ever been engaged on something new in 2021?
DB: Nicely, there’s getting out of our houses (laughs). And enjoying reside music once more. That’s what has to occur sooner or later this yr. That’s positively in my calendar. And what else is in there? We do have stuff deliberate. We’ve acquired some collabs coming not essentially musical however another collabs. We will’t say however I’m enthusiastic about it. It’s one thing food-related.
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Sounds delish. Within the meantime, you possibly can hearken to ‘Dreamland’ and Glass Animals’ new EP ‘CHILDHOOD’ on Spotify.
