5 Minutes With… Auction For The Promise Club

Zoe White Chambers (singer/guitarist), Toby White Chambers (drums) and Perran Tremewan (guitars/keys) make up the Cornish indie-rock trio, Auction For The Promise Club. 

BBC and 6Music, NME Radio, XFM, Absolute and Amazing Radio have all been backing the band’s past pursuits while Rolling Stone, Classic Rock, Loaded and MTV Hive have all featured them on their sites. Auction For The Promise Club have already graced the stages of Bestival, Boardmasters, Y Not, Lodestar, Leopallooza, headlined the Emerging Icons stage in the Olympic Park on the opening day of London 2012 and were subsequently asked back to play again the following week. The band intend to cover just as much ground in 2015 and have already been booked to play The Great Escape and the BBC Introducing stage at the Looe Music Festival.

If you’re thinking that they sound like a band you should be keeping your eye on, you’re almost certainly correct. We caught up with Auction For The Promise Club ahead of the release of their single ‘This May Hurt‘.  

Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?

‘ello! Very well thank you, and yourselves? Watching the lifeboat launch training and generally looking at the sea!

To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?

Female fronted indie/rock, lively gigs, with atmospheric bits too!

Can you name the albums and artists that have influenced you the most?

Radiohead – Ok Computer, Bjork – Vespertine, Muse – Showbiz

Which other artists are you into at the moment and why?

Bon Iver, Ms Mr, Policå – loving the production, sounds and atmospheres. Went to one of Muse’s intimate (for them!) warm up gigs the other day, always great. 

What would we find under the category of “Guilty pleasures” in your music collection?

Oh dear… Zoe – Daniel Beddingfield, Toby – Mel C and Perran often relaxes with Phil Collins, a glass of peach schnapps and a Snickers.

The UK music scene is certainly always changing. Some might say that at the moment it’s more electronic oriented. Do you think this makes it more difficult for indie/alternative acts to get recognition that it would have done ten years ago?

I guess so a little bit, having said that, Mumford and Sons and Ben Howard seem to be doing alright with out a synth in sight?!

If not the popularity of electronic music, what would you say are some of the challenges that indie bands face in the music industry today?

There is a lot to organise yourselves and commit to and keeping focused on a plan.. I think its easy to get bewildered by the industry side of it. 

Where do you gather song writing inspiration?

We live by the coast and country so theres that side of it, relationships, times and changes. Zo’s lyrics are usually quite descriptive.

Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when put music together?

Sometimes Zoe will turn up with a complete song, then Toby and Perran will add parts to it. Sometimes a jam turns into a song and builds from there. Sometimes Perran has a song he whips out!

What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?

Bestival was great fun! Playing in the Olympic Park was a brilliant atmosphere too but Leopallooza Festival in Cornwall was awesome. Zoe turned up and was green with a hangover, she pulled herself together with a complimentary can of larger, and we played to a lovely crowd of partying nutters! Then joined them after the gig, proper good times!

And the worst?

A place that had garden benches inside, people were sat down in silence and it just felt sooo awkward .. We were there hammering away playing and it felt like we were disturbing their night! Weird.

If you weren’t a musician what would you be?

Goat farmer.

Do you have any particular gigs or festivals that you dream about playing?

Corr… Glasto and The Great Escape! All the usual ones really, Autobahn etc.

Do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?

We are releasing a new single called ‘This May Hurt’ very soon, a few other bits and bobs and then another EP to release soon after that. We are playing at the Great Escape and the BBC intruding stage at the Looe Music Festival, which we are very excited about!