SXSW Interview: Darling West

The festival is under way here in Austin, though not the music biz just yet. So, we’ve got to push on and make sure all our interviews are up so you can preview these folks before they get into town! Below you’ll find answers from Oslo’s Darling West, who will be playing at the Music for Listeners Party over at Lazarus Brewing on Friday, March 15th. Worth your time? Read below!

ATH: Whats the name of the band/group? Where are you from?

DW: Darling West. From Oslo, Norway.

ATH: Describe your groups sound.

DW: We’re playing a kind of Americana/cosmic folk. Absolutely some nordic vibe in there, though lot’s of our influences comes from the American scene. Contemporary as well as the 60-70’s classics.

ATH: What was your most recent release? Any planned releases from 2019?

DW: We released an album in February last year called “While I Was Asleep”. This year we plan to record our forth full length, with a couple of single releases this summer/fall. Album release will be early 2020.

ATH: For most SXSW sets, you get 30 minutes to leave a lasting impression. Whats your plan of attack? You have a set list mapped out yet?

DW: We’ve been touring quite a bit since our last release, so we feel like we have an approximate idea of what songs should go into a short set like that. For SXSW we’ll bring our drummer which makes for a fun trio with lots of three part harmonies. Apart from that, one can only be oneself and that’s what we’re aiming for.

ATH: Lets say your band has been booked an official showcase at a pop up venue somewhere in the middle of 6th street. The lineup features thrash metal, hip-hop, spoken word, and you. The sound is horrible, the lineup is not your style, and the crowd seems angry at the world. How would your band deal with such a situation?

DW: We’ve played in both prisons and for teenagers at high schools (the latter being more scary than the first), and we’ve learned to keep a good energy going among ourselves and try to have a good time regardless the circumstances. But sometimes things suck and you just have to push through.

ATH: There are tons of bands coming into town. Of the 1000+ bands coming into town, who would you ideally like to play with. What band friends will be here?

DW: We have a few Norwegian friends coming in, like Orions Belte and Death By Unga Bunga. And were looking forward to catching artists such as Erin Rae, Robert Ellis, The Prescriptions, SUSTO, Israel Nash.

ATH: What has everyone in the band been listening to, or, what plays in the tour van/car/bus?

DW: So much different stuff! To name some: Aaron Lee Tasjan, The Milk Carton Kids, Glorietta, Robert Ellis, War On Drugs, Fleetwood Mac, Gene Clark, Jackson Brown, Belle Brigade, Khruangbin, Blake Mills, Boygenius, Gillian Welch and much more. We drive a lot.

ATH: Describe your perfect festival, real or not? Whos headlining? Wheres it take place? Etc.

DW: Somewhere guaranteed warm and sunny, aka not in Norway. We love it when its possible to see both big and small acts at the same festival. Big crowds are fun, but some of the best concert experiences weve had has always been in a more intimate setting. The crowd should be the attentive kind, and the lineup should pretty much be the names listed above.

ATH: Whats on the bands rider? If were bringing you food and booze, what can we bring you?

DW: We love coffee. The hipster pour over kind, preferably African origin. Everything local is fun beer wise, and food wise. And one of us is just addicted to soup. Like, ideally for every meal.

ATH: The band gets to create their own taco pop-up shop at SXSW? Whats the name, and what sort of tacos will you have? Any sides?

DW: Taco It Easy. Well have fish tacos and a Norwegian fermented salmon special with sour cream and pickled onions.

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