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This week sees the release of THE PLASTICS? sophomore album, entitled PYRAMID. Recorded at Dreamspace Recording Studio in Woodstock, Cape Town and produced by Shai Hirschson, PYRAMID comprises 10 tracks and was recorded in two parts: Stereo Kids, Best Pretenders and Occasional Lies were recorded at various stages in 2011 and the rest was recorded this year over a one month period. Stereo Kids peaked at nr. 8 on the 5FM Top 40 in April this year, whilst Best Pretenders entered the chart this past weekend.
We caught up with The Plastics to chat to them about their new album and their upcoming tour:
You have just released your new album called Pyramid. What can fans expect from this new album?
It’s a fun album to listen to with nice grooves. It’s really designed to make you move on the dance floor. There are quite a few more psychedelic influences on some of the songs which reflect a lot of the jams that we have when we’re just messing around with different sounds. We’ve all gotten quite into different effects pedals since Shark and this helps us achieve some pretty strange, far-out tones!
Which song on your new album do you like the most and why?
It’s interesting because each one of us has our personal faves. I like the quirky 60’s pop vibe of Sooner than Later a lot. It reminds me of the type of British band from the 60’s that were happy-go-lucky, writing sunny, bouncy tunes. Mud and Money is another highlight for me as it’s our first attempt at writing a long song – it’s about 10 minutes long! It was quite an ambitious undertaking and we’re stoked with the flow of it and how it goes through so many different moods.
Which song do you think is going to be the most popular?
So far Stereo Kids and Best Pretenders have been really well received but we think there’s at least 4 or 5 songs that have potential to be popular singles. The feedback on Sooner than Later has been quite positive so that might be one that’ll do well. There’s also Rat which is probably the heaviest song on the album and has a big Aussie rock influence that people will probably enjoy, especially live!
How long have you been working on the new album?
We’re a band that loves to write songs together so we started pretty much straight after Shark was released. The album really started taking shape though, during a 2 month period where we had an empty house to ourselves and we jammed almost every day during that period, writing and recording demos. A lot of the songs on the album came from those sessions and we’ve got a lot of other material we’d love to release as B-sides one day.
The album artwork was done by Art Jamming. Tell us more about it and where the concept came from?
Pascal had the idea to design our artwork in a different way by getting a bunch of our designer and artist friends together to produce a piece of art for each song. So the accompanying booklet to the CD is really a work of art by itself! All of the art was created in a single day at Art Jamming, who were kind enough to sponsor the supplies and space for it. We’ve been releasing the artwork for each song on a daily basis in the build up to the album release so you can check them out on our facebook page.
The Pyramid Album Launch tour starts this weekend. What can fans attending expect from you performances?
It’s a brand new setlist for us as we’ve included all the songs that are on Pyramid so it’s going to be a new experience for people that have seen us before. We’ve been working really hard on pulling off all the songs live so I really think we’re sounding better than ever. We’ve also gotten to the stage where we’ve got quite a lot of recorded material out there so the rest of the songs we’ll be playing will be a sort of best of.
Which stop on the tour are you looking most forward to and why?
They’re all going to be a lot of fun and it’s always awesome to see our fans from upcountry. We’ve heard some good things about Live in Durban and are really looking forward to playing the new Arcade Empire so those 2 stand out. But we’re going to do our utmost to entertain at all the shows and play all our new songs.
What next for The Plastics now that you have released your new album and once the launch tour is finished?
We’re going to keep punting the album and put some more singles out from it because we believe in it. So we’ll be promoting it for a while. We’re also working on a European tour next year as well as touring the country a lot more than we have in the past. We’ll probably take a few months off writing and then work on the next album!
The Plastics – Stereo Kids:
PYRAMID Track List:
1. Occasional Lies
2. Stereo Kids (Reprise)
3. Out Of This Town
4. Underwater Kite
5. Sooner Than Later
6. Rat
7. Mud and Money
8. Girl, You?re Nothing Like A Woman
9. Best Pretenders
10. Hallway of Mirrors
PYRAMID will be on sale in Musica, Look & Listen and all major music retail outlets nationwide from 1 November 2012. The album will also be on sale at all album launch tour shows.
THE PLASTICS are proudly endorsed by BOS Ice Tea, Red Heart Rum, Paul Bothner Music and Lee Jeans.
Catch THE PLASTICS on their PYRAMID nationwide album launch tour:
Date: 13 October 2012
Venue: Aandklas, Stellenbosch
With: Sons of Settlers and Dogtown
Entrance: R30
Time: 8PM
Date: 19 October 2012
Venue: Live, Durban
With: Asleep in Transit, Black Math and Catlike Thieves
Entrance: R50
Time: 8PM
Date: 20 October 2012
Venue: Arcade Empire, Pretoria
With: The December Streets and The Olympic
Entrance: R40
Time: 8PM
Date: 23 October 2012
Venue: Firkin Pub, Centurion
With: Tidal Waves and Kite Rider
Entrance: R40
Time: 8PM
Date: 24 October 2012
Venue: POP Art, Johannesburg
With: Kite Rider
Entrance: R50
Time: 8PM
Date: 25 October 2012
Venue: The Bohemian, Johannesburg
With: The December Streets and Planet Joy
Entrance: R40
Time: 8PM
Date: 26 October 2012
Venue: Memphis Rock, Potchefstroom
With: Moses Metro Man
Entrance: R30
Time: 8PM
Date: 27 October 2012
Venue: Mystic Boer, Bloemfontein
With: King Hero and Oros In ?n Lang Glas
Entrance: R30
Time: 8PM
Date: 16 November 2012
Venue: The Assembly, Cape Town
With: Beach Party and more TBC!
Entrance: R60
Time: 8PM
Keep up with The Plastics via:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThePlasticsBand
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ThePlastics
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/ThePlastics
Website: http://www.theplasticsband.com
