The Surge | Matt Connarton Unleashed

0:00 Speaker 1: Ah, that is good. That is see your Face, the new single from the Surge and the upcoming album Meow, which is gonna be out in August. And let's see, we've got the band with us via Microsoft teams. Let me get the volume up on this. We might have the full band. I'm not sure. Hey, guys, who do we have?

0:18 Speaker 2: Uh?

0:19 Speaker 1: Who do we have with us? Here?

0:21 Speaker 3: Let's see you.

0:24 Speaker 2: Three yeah, three fifths. You're doing pretty well with three six the band you've got at the moment, excellently.

0:31 Speaker 4: We're all spread across the south coast of the UK at the moment, various festivals.

0:35 Speaker 1: Oh very good, I'm oh go ahead.

0:39 Speaker 4: Oh no, no, it's gonna say at the White Festival, did the famous sixties one from Bopdylan and Jimmy Hendrix, all that sort of thing. And I think Adrian is a cider festival, drinking cider.

0:52 Speaker 2: I think.

0:55 Speaker 5: The perfect Yes, I mean the famous Jurassic coast. So that's goes further than the sick.

1:00 Speaker 1: Oh wow, can.

1:01 Speaker 6: Sell it download in my head?

1:03 Speaker 1: Oh very good? Very good. All right, so we've got three fifths. I'm not good at math, but is that sixty per No, that's more than sixty percent.

1:12 Speaker 4: I think there was sixty percent. We're doing really well. So just to introduce this, So I'm Pete. I'm the songwriter and bass player and backing vocals.

1:20 Speaker 1: Hi, Pete.

1:21 Speaker 4: We've got Age who is rhythm guitar, and then we've got Queenie who is a very special vocalist for the album. And it's her picture on the front of the album.

1:33 Speaker 1: Yeah, very good, very good. Yeah, Queenye. I love your voice, great voice. I love absolutely I love that song see your Face and I know that. So that's on the upcoming album Meow Are You All?

1:45 Speaker 2: It is all right?

1:46 Speaker 1: So, as someone who loves cats, I'm gonna ask the obvious question right up front, why why is the album called me Ow? And And is it because cats are awesome and so you should call it that? Is that the reason or is there some other reason?

1:58 Speaker 4: Well, I think if it's not actually the reason, but I think we're going to take that as maybe the reason going forward.

2:05 Speaker 6: Well, it's one of my reasons.

2:07 Speaker 7: We've got many reasons, which Pete can tell you, but it's one of us. I've always loved big cats and the choker, you know, I've always loved cats.

2:15 Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, so, Matt.

2:17 Speaker 4: The actual reason was that we were looking through some amazing pictures of Queenie and we just saw the one that's used for the album covered. It just sprung out, and I love pictures which they tell a story, right, It could have been anything could have happened in that picture. But and then after a few days I noticed that there was a choker that around her neck that said me out. And so we all looked at each other and said, that's the title.

2:43 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, that's the best one to kind of presents itself, right, when you don't have to think too hard about it, you don't have to rack your brain, just something sort of presents itself as the answer to whatever the question is that you're seeking, in this case, what you should call the album. So that's great, that's great.

2:56 Speaker 6: There's also some subtle meows in some.

2:59 Speaker 4: Of the oh yeah, you're right, you are, you're right. Yeah, there's certainly there's one. I think there's one. It wasn't intentional, but I think the meals have come from somewhere, and some of the songs it just appears in.

3:12 Speaker 1: Okay, all right, Well, that that's fair good. Any any purring in any of the songs.

3:18 Speaker 7: Yeah, probably growling if we're going to.

3:22 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, right, very good, very good, and the album comes out and it's out in August.

3:29 Speaker 4: Correct, it's it's that in August. Yeah, we have We've got to launch party which is going to be on the first of August. Really really looking forward to that. So it's going to be a launch show with some of our friends playing. We're going to with CDs remember those we've got on the safe case of the UK, and then the album. The actual release date of the album we're still working through, but it will be some time on all the digital platforms in August.

4:00 Speaker 2: So yeah, it's all happening.

4:01 Speaker 4: The album's finished, it's been mixed, mastered, it's currently set on my laptop and various other people who are pouring over it to see if the mix is as good as we on But we're we're all absolutely delighted with how the mixes have come.

4:14 Speaker 2: So it's been a lot of fun together.

4:16 Speaker 1: Outstanding and you know, it's good to hear too that you're doing CDs, I can tell you, and I guess it's I've talked about this with other guests from your part of the world, and I guess it's a little bit different there than it is here. In terms of here CDs are actually have had a bit of a resurgence. Oh yeah, physical media. Well, of course vinyl never went away fully, but that that's out of resurgence over the last you know, ten years or so. But even CDs people still people here still seem to really like physical media.

4:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, but it sounds like maybe it's not quite as common there.

4:52 Speaker 4: Not quite as common this so I lived in London for a while and that it does seem to be anything that's physical. People want to old or something in their hand, and even people that you know, the sort of millennials and gen Z's want to actually have something which is which has been sort of lovingly put together pictures of the bands, pictures, artwork that actually really means something as opposed to you just click on an icon and there's a and there's a song coming out. Yeah you want to have a keepsake.

5:22 Speaker 4: So yeah, cassettes in some parts of the UK are are coming.

5:26 Speaker 2: Back a little bit.

5:27 Speaker 4: Vinyl of course, as you say, see these not so much. But yes, I think it's really just having that something which was sort of lovingly put together by the band.

5:36 Speaker 2: I think it's great.

5:37 Speaker 1: So you've got cassettes going on there too. Then people are putting things back.

5:40 Speaker 4: I think we I think we may do and I think we'll do a short run of like a limited edition vinyl and then we'll do the full colored vinyl and make something.

5:49 Speaker 2: Really really special for everybody. So oh yeah, yeah, it's all coming it's all coming together. I think.

5:54 Speaker 4: Yeah, the love of vinyl, it's never really going to go away. That smell, the sort of ceremony of taking some vinyl, that the sleeve, and then you've got a You've got a lot of real estate on the cover.

6:06 Speaker 2: The can really really do something special, that's.

6:09 Speaker 1: True, and nothing sounds better than vinyl, you know, the warrant.

6:12 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah. I think it's I think it's to do with the dust. You know, you've got the dust and Kracker always in a slightly different way.

6:21 Speaker 1: We've got a We actually have a record player here in the studio at w M and H. I don't I've never used it, but I know at least one of the other hosts who does a show here actually brings in vinyl and and uses the record player. We also have a CD player, which I don't know if anyone uses, but we do. We do have a functioning CD player here.

6:38 Speaker 4: Yeah, but no, we've gotta We've got a DJ. He's going to join us on the for for our launch party, and she only plays she only plays Vinyl, and so we've had to arrange some some decks to come into to the venue. But yeah, really really looking forward to that. But yeah, I agree with you, there's so much love.

6:59 Speaker 1: Absolutely, I think to a lot of people who My theory is. I don't know if there's any statistics that back this up, but I think most people who buy vinyl, at least younger people who buy it now don't own a record player, but they buy it because, you know, if you're really a fan of a band or any any artist and you just want to have you know, even if you're just going to mount the cover on the wall almost like yeah, you know, it's just nice to have.

7:22 Speaker 4: It, You're right, Yeah, I think there's some One of my friends has got a company where that he makes presentation boxes for vinyl. Hmm, so you buy you buy these boxes, then you can you can you stick them on the on the wall, just as if they're painted, and then you can then you can swap over the different vinyls whatever mej you're in.

7:44 Speaker 2: So yeah, it's great.

7:46 Speaker 1: Oh that's cool.

7:47 Speaker 6: That's very cool.

7:50 Speaker 2: Beauty things a beaty and it means something to you.

7:52 Speaker 1: Right right exactly Now, how long has the Surge existed as a band? How long have you been around, because you've got you've got a fair amount of music out.

8:01 Speaker 4: Yeah, we've been so we've been in various formats, so just sort of very brief history. So Adrian who's on the call, and I have been just working together slowly for maybe six years something like that, and various sort of iterations, lots of different musicians, and we had an album in twenty twenty three and a whole bunch of singles, and then we had a bit of a lineup change and then spent some time real time writing a new album and we met Queenie and yeah, she's just been such a breath of her share and really just a mut've heard a voice.

8:45 Speaker 4: It's quite remarkable voice on stage. She's a real presence and you need that sort of stage craft we need to deliver the messaging from.

8:54 Speaker 2: Some of the songs.

8:54 Speaker 4: So yeah, we've been together for a while, but just sort of taking time to to get the songs together, to get the right people in the room, and and.

9:07 Speaker 2: You know, like like all good things, you just have to work at it, don't. You've got a problem, work the problem.

9:11 Speaker 4: And uh, and you get the right anchor right right.

9:14 Speaker 8: About next album. Next album is going to be called Wolf.

9:20 Speaker 2: Well, very good.

9:21 Speaker 1: Well I like dogs too, They're not They're not as cool as cats in my opinion.

9:24 Speaker 6: But oh, hang on, hang on, I've got two hours.

9:32 Speaker 1: And I'm curious about so at the end of our conversation, we're not wrapping up yet, but I do want to talk to you guys some more about At the end, we are going to play rich Girl, and I'm curious what went into the which is great. You've had a lot of success with that song, correct, Yeah.

9:45 Speaker 2: Very much, very much. So, Yeah, I love, absolutely love that's say. It's such a live favorite as well.

9:53 Speaker 4: And and yeah, always well received. Queenie always seems to present a different side of it in in a live setting gigs, so including giving away like two inch high bunny rabbits and all sorts of things, throwing them off the stage.

10:10 Speaker 2: But yeah, it's been brilliant.

10:11 Speaker 6: About context that just sounds mad.

10:13 Speaker 2: I know it does, but but it works. It really works life.

10:19 Speaker 8: Quite a contrast to See Your Face.

10:20 Speaker 5: I think I think you've got sort of two ends of the of the third there with See your Face and Rich.

10:28 Speaker 8: Two ends.

10:29 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.

10:32 Speaker 6: As well.

10:33 Speaker 4: I think Risk Girl really seems to get picked up in in sort of the Boston area, which is fantastic for us.

10:41 Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. What do you think it is about that song that caught on?

10:47 Speaker 4: I think it's just that it's the direct delivery, yeah, and I think the I think it's also it's very topical. We know, so it's about Instagram and it's about influencer and not everybody.

11:03 Speaker 2: I think.

11:03 Speaker 4: You know, in all social media, people present their best side and in uh, it's often not a true reflection of who people are as individuals, and they portray one thing, but actually it's something else that's going on in the background, and I think it's resonated with people.

11:21 Speaker 6: Yeah, a lot of energy as well.

11:22 Speaker 1: It's really good hired yea, yeah, absolutely.

11:25 Speaker 6: The boys vocals as well, to be honest.

11:29 Speaker 1: You think, well, I'm sorry say that again, Quinny.

11:31 Speaker 6: What the boy? The boy?

11:32 Speaker 7: They call them the boys the Gentleman's vocals.

11:36 Speaker 8: Yes, wow, I think.

11:37 Speaker 1: You know, yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely, I am I do have to ask. I mean, I am curious. Has anyone been confused when you know? Because when I saw that the title, my first thought was, oh, did they cover a rich Girl by Holland Oates? And obviously you did not. It's this is this is an original song. But it is kind of interesting how just those two words together, and even if the Hall and Oats song never existed, you know, that phrase rich girl, it does evoke a certain oh, this is going to be about somebody I don't like or the type of person I don't like.

12:12 Speaker 1: Right, it does evoke a certain thing which which is born out in the in the presentation and the lyrics of the song.

12:21 Speaker 4: Yeah, you're not wrong that I hadn't thought about the whole notes song.

12:26 Speaker 2: But yeah, it's a great song.

12:28 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Hall of Oats song, it was originally Darryl Hollis said, it was originally supposed to be rich Boy and someone I think maybe John Oats or someone convinced him to change it, but but it is.

12:41 Speaker 2: Do you think that's why they fell out?

12:43 Speaker 4: That's it?

12:43 Speaker 2: That that that may be one that reason that they don't work together. Anymore.

12:48 Speaker 1: That may be the reason. But now on the upcoming album meow, how many tracks are on the album?

12:53 Speaker 4: So there's eleven tracks on the album, okay, and so yeah, all original tracks and just complete spread of everything from just observations in life, observations in society. There's a bit about love in there, but yeah, really I think, I think, And one of the quotes is, let's sort of it's all about you know, sort of you know, love, life and the pursuit of happiness in twenty twenty twenties UK.

13:25 Speaker 6: Look out for each other as well.

13:27 Speaker 2: There's a lot of that, isn't there There is? Yeah?

13:29 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, we all have to look out for each other. No one's no one's in an Ireland, right, we all need to help each other.

13:35 Speaker 1: Yeah, we all need more of that, no doubt. Will will Rich Girl be on that on Is that included on me How the remaster version it is?

13:44 Speaker 4: Yeah, it is the remaster words version has been given a bit, it's been given a bit of extra sparkle in the studio. We've We've got were a long time collaborator with guy call Matt MacDonald and so yeah, the first part of the album is a real sort of assault on the census. So it just gives that extra Yeah, that extra sort of spring is as the first five or six albums, the first of five or six tracks on the album come through and then it sort of settles into something different. So we try to work on try to work on the album.

14:21 Speaker 4: I think it's just we're in the way that modern music is consumed. It's often just cherry picking songs that people like and see you find a lot of albums where they're top loaded with all the hits, whereas we try to make this a bit more of a journey and and you know, match the match the tempos and the themes of the song.

14:43 Speaker 2: So hopefully it sort of gives that impressions listened to as a one piece of music.

14:47 Speaker 1: Is that challenging to kind of figure out the sequencing of the songs? I'm such a nerd for this kind of thing. All This is something I'm always so curious about because I'm wondering, like, is that is hard to make those decisions or.

15:01 Speaker 2: Or oh yeah, very hard.

15:03 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it's just it's lots of stuff about It's about momntum, just making sure that you've got that right pace and so yes, it starts off with a really the album starts off with a really good sense of urgency. Uh, and then it just it settles into something subtly different and takes you off in a totally different direction. So and then it ends actually on on really on a ballot, queeny, how would you describe boobies.

15:31 Speaker 6: It's acoustic, isn't it? And yeah, it's a it's a bat it is. I don't know how to describe it. It's really it's just completely you would not think it was.

15:42 Speaker 2: Us the record.

15:46 Speaker 8: It's a surprise at the end of the album, isn't it.

15:48 Speaker 7: You might not even recognize my voice that much because it's a completely different part of my voice. There's no belt, there's no growling, there's no you know, mix, there's nothing like that. It's just it's just acoustic and soft and yeah, ballad and just that is a bit of a loved one, isn't it.

16:01 Speaker 6: That's a lovely one.

16:02 Speaker 1: Interesting, And that's that's how the album ends with that track.

16:10 Speaker 6: Train.

16:12 Speaker 1: That's cool though, that's cool.

16:14 Speaker 4: Yeah, just just take you off somewhere different and and that's that's what music's about, isn't it. You've gotta it's just distracts you from your day to day and just takes you up on a journey.

16:24 Speaker 2: I do think at the end, Oh yeah, I do think.

16:28 Speaker 1: It makes sense. So if you're gonna have something that's really kind of different than the rest of the album, to put it at the end as almost like a punctuation. I'm trying to think of another example. I feel like there's there's other examples of artists doing that exact thing, and I literally at the moment cannot think of a single one, but I know that there are examples of artists doing that where it's like, Okay, we have this one song that's different than everything else on the album, so we're gonna put it at the end, and it'll kind of be just, uh, you know, just just well ended on a different a different vibe or something.

17:04 Speaker 8: Everything else that springs. One that springs to mind, good, but back in the Day is.

17:09 Speaker 5: Training in Vain on London, calling by the Clash, which is not even actually listed on the on the sleeve, and it's a very different song for the rest album.

17:17 Speaker 8: It's a very eclectic album anyway.

17:18 Speaker 5: Yeah, it's a sort of different song, a love song which I think they were sort of pushed by their manager not to put on, and they snuck it on in the end. Anyway, they didn't get listed on the track on the sleeve even But yeah, I think that's the only one I can think of at the moment.

17:34 Speaker 8: I know what you mean.

17:35 Speaker 5: I think quite a few songs like that crop up at the end of albums.

17:39 Speaker 8: Yeah.

17:40 Speaker 6: You don't need to stick to a genre, do you. Let's just do everything.

17:44 Speaker 5: Yeah, well, London Calling great example, where you know they go through the clash, go through scar rockabilly punk, yeah, you know, even a bit of jazz and yeah, it's all on that.

17:54 Speaker 2: Yeah.

17:54 Speaker 6: I didn't realize influenced by something.

17:57 Speaker 1: Yeah, I just learned something interesting. I didn't realize it wasn't even listed on the sleeve. That's I didn't know that it.

18:02 Speaker 8: Wasn't in the UK.

18:04 Speaker 5: The I think the US release was was a bit later, but it possibly was listed by them. But in the UK now it wasn't even listed on the on the sleeve.

18:12 Speaker 1: I'll be damned. Yeah, I didn't know that. Oh, I've thought of an American version of that. I don't know if any of you were Van Halen fans, but the Van Halen album fifty one to fifty, which was the first album with Sammy Hagar and lead vocals. How's a song. There's a song at the end called Inside. It's the last track on the album, and it's very odd.

18:32 Speaker 8: It does not.

18:33 Speaker 1: Sound like anything on the rest of the album. But I'm a bit I'm a big Van hale Yeah, yeah, I'm a big Van Halen fan. So no, but I think that I think that is a great strategy. Did you did you decide to remaster anything else or just rich girl.

18:50 Speaker 2: Just rich? Goot?

18:51 Speaker 4: We did. So we have a song called Coda Royale and there are there's there's one word which I think some people could consider an expletive. So so we've done it. We've done a little remaster of that. It's nothing, it's nothing that your that your grandma.

19:07 Speaker 2: Would be but but we thought we're just clean it up.

19:12 Speaker 4: But no, there's plenty of there's plenty of scope for for I think some remixes coming out, maybe maybe a bit more of a so most of the music is pretty punky, so maybe maybe add a bit more of a dance element to it, but that that will be for for other people to work through. So so we're maybe we'll see we can get some remixes to work on it.

19:34 Speaker 1: Okay, okay, excellent, and then what's the plan as far as touring. Are you gonna be touring a lot for the album?

19:40 Speaker 4: So we've been relatively quiet for for for gigs and shows, but but things are really starting to build up that we've got a new album out, so so we we were we were gonna going to start sort of from September onwards, so we've got pretty September is pretty busy, but actually we're getting shows at the end of July and into August. So yeah, we're we're certainly working through, through, through through these things at the moment. But yeah, there's some really good shows coming out, so we'll tag onto the end of the UK festival circuit.

20:19 Speaker 4: But but yeah, I mean we're we're open.

20:21 Speaker 8: So any contact you've.

20:23 Speaker 2: Got for the.

20:26 Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Well you mentioned festivals too, I mean, that's that's great. It's I always say festivals are such a fantastic opportunity because not only does it get you in front of a large audience that might not otherwise be aware of you, but also to just that the people you meet, the contacts that you make within the industry, at a festival. I mean it's it's really it's like the single best thing you can do for your career is play a festival. You know what I mean, it it really is. I mean just the opportunity there.

20:54 Speaker 1: So that's that's great.

20:56 Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I get I couldn't agree with you more and an awesome although you can see that some people are really.

21:02 Speaker 2: Put up on this pedestal. They're just people.

21:04 Speaker 4: Just go speak to them, say hi, how are you, and people are more than happy to talk.

21:09 Speaker 1: To you exactly exactly. Where is the best place to go online for people to keep up with the surge, So our listeners know where to find you.

21:19 Speaker 4: We're all over the place, so so Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify. We're also on Facebook and Instagram, all the sort of social places that social touch points that you'd expect us to be. So yeah, yeah check us check us out and the search and you've mentioned some song titles. I'm sure people can find can find us, so but yeah, we'd love to hear from people.

21:46 Speaker 1: By the way, the song in Love with Yourself is that on the upcoming album Mia, Yeah that is, yeah, yeah, because I found I found that online too. A radio edit of that because what I plan to do, what I planned, what I plan to do at the end of our conversation is I'm gonna play rich Girl, But rich Girl is a short song, so I'm gonna sneak in one more after it. I'm also gonna play I'm also going to play in Love with Yourself because this is a song that I really really like a lot, and I'm curious about it.

22:12 Speaker 1: Is it Is it about somebody specific?

22:14 Speaker 6: Is it just?

22:15 Speaker 1: Is it kind of a relationship song?

22:16 Speaker 2: Like?

22:16 Speaker 1: What's any backstory you can give us?

22:19 Speaker 2: No?

22:20 Speaker 4: No, no, that's I can't I can't possibly disclose.

22:23 Speaker 2: Oh no, it says.

22:26 Speaker 1: Like that I really want to know.

22:29 Speaker 2: Oh no, no, no, no no, We've we've worked on that a lot.

22:34 Speaker 4: Uh no, it does, it does. It's suffice to say the name will remain a mystery to bribery and free drinks, obviously, but we'll we do all like that.

22:49 Speaker 1: All right, well, fair enough, fair enough, well very good.

22:53 Speaker 2: Well.

22:53 Speaker 1: I want to thank all three of you for joining me today, of course, Queenie, Pete and Adrian, and.

22:58 Speaker 3: We absolutely thanks to, absolutely absolutely thank you, and we will definitely do it again in the future because you've got a lot coming up.

23:11 Speaker 1: Uh maybe when the next single comes out and you know, so forth, so we'll have you back soon. Uh, definitely, we're gonna hit We're gonna hit those two tracks, Rich Girl and in Love with Yourself.

23:20 Speaker 2: But uh but again, thank you so much.

23:23 Speaker 1: Absolutely you two all right, the Surge, thank you so much, and we'll talk to you soon. Take care.

23:28 Speaker 2: You got it.

23:31 Speaker 1: All right, wonderful. So that was three members of the Surge, Queenie, Pete and Adrian and what we're gonna do right now, So again, as promised, we're gonna hit this track, rich Girl, and they've had a lot of success with this, so depending on where you are in the world, you might have already heard it. Actually, but this is really good, but it is short, so we're gonna seek in one more too. We're also gonna play in Love with Yourself, which is a song that I really like. If you are listening to the show on Saturday Live, please stick around.

23:56 Speaker 1: Coming up in the second hour, we have low Sunday and we got a long way to go on today's show, so lots of good stuff coming up. But right now here it is this is the Surge. On the track is called rich Girl,