The Dutch Criminal Record band sat in an empty swimming pool with their instruments. Taken by Adam Prosser

Interview: Dutch Criminal Record

Hopefully you will have seen our recent feature celebrating the launch of Dutch Criminal Record‘s new single – ‘Waiting on the Weekend.’ Following on from that I was fortunate to have some time to chat with Sam Thrussell from the band about topics including the band’s origins, who has been inspiring them and their EP release at the Edge of the Wedge this week.

Could you tell me about how you initially got involved with music and who influenced you most?
We all started playing music from a young age, really as a result of our families. Joe Frampton (drummer) started learning when he saw his cousin play drums. Sam (guitar/vocals) picked up the clarinet because his mum played, Rio (bass/vocals) the violin as his siblings were playing also and Joe Delaney-Stone (guitar/vocals) the trumpet at his family’s encouragement. However, it wasn’t until we started listening to bands in our early teens that Joe, Rio and Sam decided to pick up guitars and start trying to sing.

Could you tell me about how the band came to be formed?
We all were at the same secondary school and knew each other a bit but it wasn’t until we were in the same GCSE music class that we started playing together. There was a school battle of the bands competition held yearly and we decided to form a band and have a crack at it! Joe Frampton came in on drums in January when Alex (original drummer) left to focus on his work with the Bar Stool Preachers.

We’d released a few DIY CDs of recordings we’d made ourselves to sell at gigs when we were younger but it wasn’t until 2014 when we recorded our first EP Dutch Criminal Record that we had something that sounded exactly how we wanted it to. It was super exciting hearing it, especially when ‘Outside,’ the lead single got played on local radio. I remember us thinking “this is the best day ever.”

For those who are new to your music which three tracks would you encourage them to check out first and why?
That’s a pretty difficult question to answer and it does vary pretty frequently. A quick check with a couple of the band members sees Joe saying: Wasted Time, our June 2017 single and Britpop an acoustic style track off of the new EP, “as they show the breadth in our writing style”. Rio would pick Corona off of our Mirage EP as it perfectly showcases each member of the band and came together really naturally.

How do you feel when you share your music for the first time? Do you prefer to share new music live where you can see the crowd’s reaction first hand or online perhaps?
It’s funny playing a song to someone for the first time because it sometimes takes a while for people to get it. We do tend to play our new songs live a few times before they come out, partly because we’re desperate to play them but also so that we iron out any creases in them before we start playing them after the track is out and people are wanting to hear it! Certain tracks lend themselves to being heard live but it can be equally as rewarding showing people our new recordings.

If I were to get hold of your iPod right now, what four artists/songs would I see on your recently played list and what is it about those artists that appeal to you?
If you looked at each one of our recently played you probably would find quite a mix but there’s quite a bit of common ground. Two artists we’ve been listening to a lot recently are FUR and Honey Moon. They’re both indie bands with a vintage kind of aesthetic. FUR have more of a 60’s styling whereas Honey Moon is slightly more Lo-Fi but we love both of those things. We’ve also just been listening to Arctic Monkey’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. It’s such a grower as we were a bit unsure at first but it’s got a real depth to it and the whole concept is such an original idea. Finally, we’ve been listening to Rio’s brother, Elliott Joseph, and his new EP Wild Atlantic Heart and friends Lobster Pot’s new EP as they both came out in the last few days or so – great unsigned new music. (We know that’s five but couldn’t leave one out…)

What can those fortunate enough to have tickets expect from your live show?
We try and pack our live show with as much energy as possible and try to keep the momentum as much as possible by flowing songs into each other. We also like to try and bring out the fact that we have three lead vocalists with lots of harmonies as much as possible as often the audience responds really well to that!

What does the rest of 2018 have in store for you?
2018 has been our busiest year yet. We released our new EP Waiting on the Weekend, on 24^th August and we’re celebrating the release at the Edge of the Wedge on Wednesday September 5th. If you can’t make that show then we’ve then got a lot more gigs for the rest of the year in support of the new EP!