INTERVIEW | A BLEATHER WITH DRIFT

I recently had the absolute pleasure of catching up with DRIFT prior to the release of their latest single ‘Lifeline’. Have a read below to check out who their favourite Scottish artists are at the moment and how much they’re missing the gigging scene much like the rest of us!

What have you been up to during lockdown?
A nice mix of soul searching in, napping and writing new tunes. I think I’ve just managed to get into the swing of things just as restrictions are starting to ease off a bit. It’s been good to focus on our single release; I think if we didn’t have that it would be really hard to feel motivated to be creative.


What are you both looking forward to the most about your next gig?
For me it would have to be seeing human bodies dancing along to our tunes, and getting that post gig buzz when we come off stage, I’ve missed that. I’m not going to take that for granted when playing live. I never realised how much I rely on a live audience for motivation to keep going. You just can’t replicate that live experience, it’s such a special one off moment. The fact that people have made the effort to come along and to listen to your tunes and sometimes even know the words is such a rewarding feeling. Dreading the pre gig nerves though, that’s something I’ve definitely not missed!


What do you both expect from the gig scene in 2021?
It’s so hard to imagine what the gig scene next year will even look like .. maybe an increase in intimate pop up style gigs in unusual outdoor places could be cool. I wonder if there will be a bigger demand or a rise in gig attendance if people have been itching to connect with others in a real life way like we have. We love playing stripped back intimate gigs, in fact the last gig we played before lockdown was in Edinburgh at the Book market pop up gallery for Sofar Sounds  International Women’s Day event and it was so lovely to play to such an attentive crowd. If we can still capture that feeling of togetherness from live gigs, I will be happy. Bring on the sweaty bodies!


You have recently released your latest single ‘Lifeline’, any prospects of an album/EP in the works?
We do have quite a few tunes we want to get out there as soon as we can, what form that will take we don’t know yet. We tend to work single to single and have really been focusing on playing the live scene and getting our music out there. Lockdown has been a good opportunity for us to pause and think about what we want to do next, so we hope that a longer piece of work isn’t that for away for us.


Out of all the venues you’ve gigged in, which one would you say is your favourite?
We love the 13th Note. We’ve played there 3 times and hosted our own night to celebrate being a band for 1 year that also doubled up as a single release. We love to play independent venues and have always found that the sound is amazing at 13th Note. The low ceilings and chilled vibe really suits us and the fact it’s not a pay to play/ ticket sales set up, makes for so much more of an enjoyable experience in the run up too.


Now the pubs are reopening, what’s the first drink you’ll get?

Either a big dirty cider blackcurrent or a white Russian.


Any favourite Scottish artists at the moment?

We’ve always been huge fans of the Vegan Leather, their album Poor Girls/Broken Boys is one of my all time favourites. We recently seen ‘Goodnight Louisa’ play live for the first time and were both really blown away by her song writing. I studied alongside Rachel Jack and have been absolutely loving all of her single releases, some really beautiful stripped back songs that stick in your head all day, her recent release ‘equalised’ is a beauty!

Just in case you haven’t already checked out Lifeline you can check it out via the link below, and follow DRIFT’s social pages for more updates on future releases!