iLiKETRAiNS Interview

I wrote about iLiKETRAiNS, the quintet from Leeds with a flair for the dramatic, a while ago. Since then my love for them has grown and grown. Their romantic, history-themed ballads sound like a cross between Explosions in the Sky and Interpol. But that's really just a simplified way of describing a sound that is actually quite unique and luminescent. Plus, they all dress in matching British rail uniforms and sing about dead people (for more information, please check out the obituaries page on their website). In other words, iLiKETRAiNS aren't your ordinary indie rock group, yet they've got quite a following and are mere moments away from breaking out on our side of the Atlantic. So naturally, I had some questions which bassist Alistair Bowls (the one being pointed to by the yellow arrow in the photo at right) was kind enough to answer.

NY Doll: I'm sure you guys get this all the time, but why the strange capitalization in the band name?

Alistair Bowls: To be honest, there's not really much of a story there. It just looks better written that way. And it makes the name stand out.

NYD: Do you consider yourselves part of a musical movement?

AB: "Musical movements" seem to be things that other people group you into. We are not really interested in following the "scene," which is why we try to do something a bit different, but we don't really think of ourselves as being a part of a particular group of bands, although we have had comparisons to bands like British Sea Power and the Decemberists.

NYD: Why the theatrics? Was the idea to dress alike and project images during shows a conscious decision from the very beginning or did that come later?

AB: When people come to our shows, we want to entertain them, and if they have something more interesting to look at than just some guys on a stage with instruments, it increases the sense of occasion, so we always wanted that aesthetic element. We already had outfits and visuals ready by the time we played our first gig.

NYD: What do you hope to achieve through your lyrical content? Are you trying to educate people or simply entertain in an alternative way?

AB: Whatever the audience wants to take from it. The songs can be listened to just as songs, but if people learn something from them, and it inspires them to find out more about the subjects then that is great.

We are putting up short biographies for them as a starting point if people want to read more.

NYD: Do you think America is ready for iLiKETRAiNS?

AB: I hope so! But we won't know until we head out there again. Our show at SXSW went really well, there was a really good crowd, so that was a good start. We are looking forward to coming over again later in the year, so we'll see what happens then.

NYD: What is the best thing about playing live?

AB: Seeing people enjoy what we are doing first-hand.

Working in the studio is great, but you get isolated from what is going on outside, so finally getting out there, seeing how the audience react to new songs and chatting to them afterwards brings a freshness to it.

And seeing people singing your words back to you is incredible!

NYD: Being a band that is focused on the past, how do you hope to affect the future?

AB: Well, I don't know how much a band can affect the future, apart from our own, but if people generally thought more about history, maybe some of the mistakes that are made over and over again would not be made.

History does have a tendency to repeat itself.

iLiKETRAiNS - Terra Nova