British duo Daughters of Davis release their new album 'British Soul' next month. The sisters took time out from touring Europe in their campervan to answer some questions for LTTM, telling us all about the album, and being on the road with superstars!
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'British Soul' and what the inspiration behind it was?
The inspiration behind British Soul comes from the experiences we've had living on the road and also some of the things we've learnt! It was pretty hard sometimes, touring and living in the van on a shoestring budget, but we've... Read MoreBritish duo Daughters of Davis release their new album 'British Soul' next month. The sisters took time out from touring Europe in their campervan to answer some questions for LTTM, telling us all about the album, and being on the road with superstars!
Tell us a little bit about your new album 'British Soul' and what the inspiration behind it was?
The inspiration behind British Soul comes from the experiences we've had living on the road and also some of the things we've learnt! It was pretty hard sometimes, touring and living in the van on a shoestring budget, but we've also experienced a lot of support and kindness, which has really helped us keep going... so this is also our ode to the good British people we have met on the road, who have taken us in, lent us a bed or just stayed up late with us chatting the night away! To be honest we've had a lot of love from people in Europe too so maybe we should have extended that title ha.
Which is your favourite track on the album and why?
Now then, that's too tricky to answer! Each one of them! Can I say that? Well it's true really... we like different ones for different reasons! Each one that has made the album has been laboured over and given the utmost attention, so they all mean a lot. I don't think we'd release anything unless we felt that way about it.
What's your song writing process?
18 months of writers block then an intense period of non-stop writing and mad sessions laying down demos... haha! I think things come in season for us, we definitely tend to have ‘winters’ of nothing and ‘springs’ of plenty, but in-between we often have ideas and journal scraps that get gathered. They don’t usually fully materialise until we have the ‘fear’ though (an impending deadline i.e making the new album).
You've recently completed some pretty huge tours, with Rebecca Ferguson and Eels, how did they come about and what was the experience like?
The experience of touring with artists like Rebecca Ferguson and Eels has been phenomenal. We were lucky enough to be chosen to support them once our super amazing manager, Andy Baker lined up the opportunities. It was a dream... the likes of the Eels tour was opening for 18 dates over 8 different countries in about two weeks... we got to play some beautiful open air theatres and really got to see a lot of Europe, it was thrilling! The band was so great too, in fact both the Eels and Rebecca Ferguson were really lovely, we had such a laugh on tour with them!
Last time we spoke to you on LTTM you were busying touring the UK in your campervan - are you still doing that?
We are indeed still touring in a van, however the first one broke down, but thanks to tour heroes Elddis, the Motorhome company, who stepped in to save the day... we now have a brand new shiny tour van!! His name is ‘Otis’ (named after Otis Redding of course) and he's gorgeous! No more showering in rivers for us anymore! Oh no! We are riding in a wagon complete with heating for the winter, air-conditioning for the summer (great for European tours) and a bathroom and kitchen... it's the dream! The Caravan Club have even taken the brave step to insure us in this van too! You may or may not know, but it actually took us 15 times between us to pass our driving tests, haha! So that really shows the extent of their trust right... and no accidents so far... now you know why we have a lot of faith in God! Haha!
How would you describe your style of music and what are your influences?
We have been told we are a cross between Soul and Folk... does that make us Sulk or Foul? Our influences range from old Motown and Soul that our parents would play us growing up, to acoustic artists of today like Mumford & Sons and City & Colour. We love a lot of music, it's tough to narrow it down!
In your opinion, what makes the perfect song?
A song that is sung from the heart is a perfect song to us. I think you can tell if an artist means what they are singing or playing and that makes a difference. We both think the lyrics to a song are really important too.
What's on your iPod at the moment?
The Avett Brothers are on mine (Fern's) and Adrienne's is Michael Jackson always ha!
What has been your highlight of the past twelve months?
The highlight has to be the two European Tours we have just been on... or actually getting the new van... oh wait finishing the new ablum, we’re so excited to release it! Oh no... you cant make us choose again can you!? There's a lot of exciting stuff been happening!
What does the next year hold for Daughters of Davis?
A launch tour for our new album is kicking off in November. The album officially releases September 1st 2014 and we’ll be continuing our quest to be the first band to play a gig on the moon! All news about coming gigs and announcements can be found on our website, so keep your peepers there, but don’t forget you can hear it all first by signing up to our mailing list where not only can you keep up-to-date with all things DoD, but you’ll get a free song as a thank you!
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