INTERVIEW: Five Minutes With The Tin Pigeons

We caught up with The Tin Pigeons’ lead vocalist and guitarist, Fraser hot off the back of the success of their newest EP “Sparks” and their festival appearances this summer to talk about their musical influences and their plans for the near future. Find out below!

Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
Very well thanks. Currently writing/trying to write a new song.

To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
Indie-folk.

What are the 5 albums that have influenced you the most?
Tough question…
Graceland Paul Simon
The Balcony – Catfish & The Bottlemen
So long, see you tomorrow – Bombay Bicycle Club
Falling faster than you can run – Nathaniel Rateliff
Animal – Kesha

Which other artists are you into at the moment and why?
Recently we saw Jack Garratt headline at Barn On The Farm Festival, which is great festival by the way! He plays his heart out and is clearly a perfectionist on stage. We’ve bumped into Clean Cut Kid at lots of shows over the summer and love watching those guys, man he can shred! We’re also big fans of Port Isla, they’re awesome.

Are there any key pieces of equipment that you are using to define your sound?
We’ve found instruments have been a real help, without them we’d probably sound like a small deaf choir.

What would you say some of the challenges artists face today in the music industry?
With a lot of gigs, especially when you’re starting out it’s often a challenge to cover your costs let alone make any money. Promoters know that you want to play on their night and I think some of them take advantage of that.

Where do you gather songwriting inspiration?
Anywhere and everywhere – conversations I’ve had or overheard (particularly in the pub).

Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?
Usually, lyrics for a hook or start of a verse may come when I’m driving or showering . Then the melody will develop when we all look at it together, adding in parts while having a good old jam.

What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
Reading festival this year has got to be a highlight – really special for us to be there with BBC Introducing and playing to an awesome crowd who were really up for it.

And the worst?
We were once upstaged by a dog show at a village fete, not our proudest moment but in fairness there were some pretty handsome pooches in that particular class.

If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
Body builder, seems like the next logical step.

Do you have any particular gigs or festivals that you dream about playing?
Glastonbury would be amazing…as would Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

If you could perform alongside any other band or artist, who would it be?
Paul Simon

Do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
We’re hoping to release our next EP in February, we’ve recorded one of the tracks and we’re really excited about it!