The Dirty Blonde are a group of four who all grew up together in a neighbourhood of Glasgow, spending the years honing in on a connection that's sought after for many groups and bands trying to make it in the world of music.
Ahead of the release of sophomore album 'Sugarmilk' this December, the group sat down to answer some of Female First's questions all about what we should expect from them in the near future.
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
Our music's been described as indie-alt, which we guess describes how deeply melodic and explosively energetic our songs are. We tend to take liberties within our genre and seem to have a sound for everyone, while still remaining firmly grounded in great performance and songs.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
Well, I think we've faced a lot of the challenges a young band can face! We've faced losing members, spending days recording for very little output and even tackled recording contracts pretty early on in our career. Each little hurdle's definitely helped us steer ourselves to exactly where we want to be.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
We would say that locally, a band can really quickly make a name for themselves by being a great live act, though it's a shame to see those same great acts get stuck in that loop of constantly playing the same few venues, especially if their music deserves to be listened to by the masses! We feel that for ourselves, a band needs to carry momentum onward from performing and start really promoting themselves. We've definitely learned a lot about this in 2015.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
Creative control is incredibly important to us. This doesn't mean that collaboration and communication should be brushed off. We have a great rapport with our producer and have been lucky to receive great advice from industry veterans that have really propelled us to think as a professional outfit.
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
We tend to be heavily influenced by the bands that we grew up with like Teenage Fanclub and Ween. Our softer side comes from listening to bands like R.E.M. We're also a product of our environment. There's a definite push for us to jump out of the safety net and this fuels our passion for it.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
I'm sure everyone in the band has a different star they'd love to work with. Definitely peering into the mind of fantastic producers like Butch Vig and Jeff Tweedy and seeing what they would do with our songs would be up there.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
We always tend to answer this with, 'every member has been kicked out of music class'. It kinda reminds us to keep grounded and have a lot of faith in what we ourselves produce. Also shows that sometimes you can be constrained by things that ultimately shouldn't matter to a musician and a songwriter.
Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?
Overall, we would love to subsist and survive on our music. It's a goal that we think every band regardless of level has. We want our songs to carry us above and beyond Glasgow and back again.
Where do you hope to be by this time next year?
Hopefully the above! Increasing our live presence and getting as many people as possible to listen to our album.
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
Well, we're ready to drop some singles and videos in the run up to our album, which will be released December 6. We will be playing a lot more shows and showcasing the material.
'Sugarmilk' is released on December 6 via Two States Recording.