Harrison and Louis from The Stoned Immaculate chatted to us about their new EP “I mean, that’s what I mean, you know what I mean?” which is coming out on the 7th of May. They discussed the influences behind the EP, their future plans regarding music videos, and of course, their distaste for Eric Clapton. Thanks to Harrison and Louis for the chat.
You’re planning on releasing the EP in May. When and where was it recorded?
Louis – We recorded it at Green Door Studios in Glasgow with Ronan Fay.
Harrison – We recorded it between October and December of 2020.
Louis – All the songs were written in the summer of the first Lockdown so it’s kind of like it took us a year to end up with the finished product.
How was it recording now that the pandemic has affected music recording?
Louis – It felt different in the sense that we all had to have a mask on and we couldn’t have too many people in the control room. It felt a bit more detached than before. We were always usually in the same room slagging each other off and that. There was a lot less happening.
Relating to that, because of the new way of recording, what was a skill you had to take on?
Louis – A bit more time constraint was on us. By the time we were finishing up, we were heading into Lockdown again so we kind of had to rush a couple of songs to get them recorded.
Which member of the band usually spends the most time procrastinating?
Louis – We’re all quite bad for it. We’ll all have like 10 joint breaks a day but Callum will go out for a fag every 10 minutes. He won’t be paying attention all day except for when it’s his part, he does everything really well and then disappears afterwards. Probably Callum then. He’s our biggest liability.
How has your songwriting process changed since the pandemic?
Louis – I’m glad you asked that, because we used to write songs thinking ‘This would be great to play at a gig.’ Now we just write music that’s good to listen to. God knows when gigs are gonna be back so why focus on gigs. We’re definitely more collaborative now. Harrison’s ideas are working much better in the studio. We go out of our way to make our songs memorable now.
Harrison – To me, the details are much more important now in the studio sessions.
Do you have any plans relating to the EP, like a video or an online performance?
Louis – We’re very weary about ‘Is it gonna be pure cringy’ or whatever. We’ve got lots of ideas for videos but we wanna make sure they’re good. We want to make it it’s own thing, as well. We do have some ideas. We’re gonna do something along the lines of The Bleeders’ single launch, just less silly.
What is your favourite song on the EP?
Harrison – ‘Sunburn’ probably. I think it’s our most instrumental song and we did a good job piecing it all together so I’m proud of that.
Louis – I would agree but mine is probably ‘Safety Pins.’ Callum actually wrote that. It was just me and him and we just ended up jamming. We came up with it in a day. I like that one because it’s simple.
Who were your biggest influences on the EP?
Louis – I would say the Stone Roses were a big part of it for me. I was listening to them alot during Lockdown. The softer Rock vibe was a big influence on ‘Plastic Notes’ and ‘Get Away.’
I hate to say it, but a wee bit of Arctic Monkeys, as well. Don’t wanna sound too Indie.
Harrison – In terms of my playing, I’m trying to experiment more and make it sound nice.
Louis – I would say quite a lot of Portishead and generally lots of Hip-Hop influenced us.
Harrison, last time I asked Louis this question, he let us know about his distaste for Morrissey. What is your unpopular music opinion?
Harrison – Thinking time.
Louis – Something that pisses me off about Harrison is that he doesn’t enjoy Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.
Harrison – That fucking song. It sounds like an advert for furniture. Also, The Stranglers are the greatest band of all time. They’re better than The Beatles. I couldn’t tell you one Beatles album where every song is quality. There’s always shitty songs in there. Like fucking Polythene Pam and Octopus’s Garden.
Louis – They’re not the greatest band in the world. The Stoned Immaculate are, obviously. Also Fuck Eric Clapton!
What songs do you wish you could have written?
Harrison – I’d quite like to have invented Jazz. Anything by Herbie Hancock. The synth in ‘Rain Dance’ makes me want to write stuff like that. ‘Down in the Sewer’ by The Stranglers.
What bands are you currently interested in that are from Scotland?
Harrison – Brontes, Goth GF and Bleeders.
Check out their social media below, and make sure to listen to their new EP! Out on the 7th of May.
