Catching Up With Holiday Ghosts
Credit: Holiday Ghosts
West-turned-east coasters Holiday Ghosts returned last month with their third full-length album ‘North Street Air’, signing to Brighton-favourites Fatcat Records in the process. The project oozes DIY spirit and a stripped back-to-basics attitude, and always with their unmistakable Holiday Ghosts personality. Original members Sam Stacpoole and Katja Rackin caught up with us over Zoom; talking through the album, the South coast, and shitty landlords.
You’re signed to Fatcat Records in Brighton. How did that come about? Does it feel good to be on a label so close to home?
Sam: Yeah, it’s very exciting. I actually didn’t know that they were in Brighton, and when we found out it was perfect because we were already here. I’ve been buying FatCat Records for quite a long time; early Animal Collective and things like that, so it was really nice to get a response from them. Alex who runs the label has been so cool and welcoming and easy-going.
Katja: Yeah, it’s nice to be on a label that you enjoy the bands too because we were looking at a lot of different labels at the time and they seem to really fit what we’re into.
You’ve just released your third full-length album ‘North Street Air’ on May 23rd. Could you talk me through the album and its processes?
Sam: Sure! There’s a couple of older songs on it but most of it has been written since we moved from Falmouth to Brighton, and the content of the lyrics changed with that. Also, it’s an album that we mainly did just between the two of us. The one before was more of a live band thing where we had kind of like a touring band, but we all parted ways in that group and put together these songs. We started out with a demo version of it which started out a bit more live and a bit more garage-y, just switched things up because of our situation. It’s just another home-recorded record which we did between here in Hove and in an AirBnB in Cornwall.
Katja: A couple of the songs were actually recorded in the house where we sing about the landlord too!
Of course. The song you just mentioned, Mr. Herandi, sounds like a real fuck you to landlords out there. Was that the aim?
Sam: Haha! We never expected him to actually hear it. We used his name but it was just a broad subject I think.
Katja: Yeah, it applies to all shitty landlords out there.
Sam: I think it’s got that Kinks vibe to it. You know, where he sings about shitty living conditions or whatever. I literally wrote that song on the spot. All the lyrics were already there because we were just living those exact lyrics.
The second single you released ‘Off Grid’, could you talk me through that one? Such a groove.
Sam: We started playing that one with the old lineup, so some of the musical elements are partly written with them. Charlie, who now does the music videos for us, wrote the riff that’s played on the organ. It’s actually a digital guitar that I have. It’s really weird. Lyrically, I guess I was just in between jobs and got into the summer in Brighton and just wanted to switch off from communication and going back to jobs and real life. I just wanted to try and communicate that feeling. So there are lines about cycling, swimming, being on the beach and stuff. But then also it’s about disconnecting from everything.
You moved from Falmouth to Brighton, is that right? What’s the difference in scenes?
Katja: The scene in Falmouth when we were there changed quite a lot. It was almost centered around the recording studio we had. There’s quite a lot of things going on. There’s the music course at Falmouth Uni that brings down a lot of music students who are kind of rotating. There are different bands that come and go through that, and then the ones that stay and form other bands. I guess with us it was quite a lot to do with our recording studio. Everyone’s kind of in each other's bands. It’s a really nice atmosphere.
Sam: In Falmouth, you can play as many gigs as you want, you don’t have to worry about overdoing it. Not that many people come down, so people just want to go to gigs. It’s a pretty small town so everyone knows each other pretty well and you have a lot of friends circulating. It’s a really great place to play music and to live and be; I’ve been there since I was about one year old. When our studio closed I think there was a point where I was walking around kind of feeling a little bit aimless and that life was going round in circles. The uni three-year cycle is really strange too, you get to know a group of people and then they go, and then another group comes back and it just goes round and round.
Katja: Brighton is great because there’s so much different music around too. And it’s really close to London. It kind of feels like the city version of Falmouth a little bit. I think that’s why so many people move to Brighton!
You’ve been in groups before, Sam. How have those other projects helped Holiday Ghosts and what does this group mean to you?
Sam: Well like I said when we had our studio there were just loads of groups floating around and everyone was mingling with each other. I was in a band called The Black Tambourines and we had been playing since we were like 17, and we went pretty far just playing all the time. It was quite good to have a big amount of contacts to bring into a new band. Holiday Ghosts had been going alongside that the whole way but I was being a bit unambitious with it.
Katja: It kind of started out with Sam and Charlie having separate bands as their main project, and Holiday Ghosts was the project where if there were songs that didn’t fit those bands, we got those songs. That was my first band. I guess it started off with slower stuff and then grew from there. The side project became the main one after a while.
You’ve really got your own sound, I think. I know you’ve been compared the likes of Velvet Underground and bands like that before. Would you agree? Or are you growing tired of the comparisons?
Sam: I definitely love the Velvet Underground. It was definitely a springboard sound for us at the start. The guitar tones and drum styles were an inspiration. We thought we could do it like that and it would be really fun. I love bands like that who are really energetic and almost forceful without having to be a heavy band. I don’t write songs from listening to Velvet Underground tracks anymore. I’ve been there, obviously, especially as a teenager, but with this album, I think we just tried to write what came out of us and hope to put together our own sound.
Katja: I do feel like we’ve moved away from it now. The comparisons have always stayed the same, but I almost feel like I want them to find new ones now. Like, come on, you’ve said that one now, haha! I think our music has changed but what they write about us is the same.
Sam: People always use The Clean as a comparison. I listened to The Clean today for the first time in a while and instantly wanted to write music, so maybe it’s fair.
And how do you go about getting your distinct tone and sound?
Sam: Well, I always wanted to record our own stuff, because I figured it's the easiest way of getting something that’s unique to yourself. I’m not against producers, but they have their own vibe and kind of fit it into the band. I’ve always had an idea of what I don’t want the band to sound like. I’m quite opinionated on rock bands sounding quite similar sometimes. I don’t really feel like it’s necessary to have really heavy drums, and I like clean guitars. We always wanted to be quite lean in the sound because it’s just more pleasing to us. For years we had one of our guitars acoustic with a pick up which gave a really distinct tone and gave it more of a flavour. Things are changing a bit now and we’re doing thing a bit differently.
Katja: I feel like this album has been real growth. I think we’ve learnt so much from the start until now. It’s been a real journey.
Where does the name ‘Holiday Ghosts’ come from?
Sam: I don’t really know man. It’s something I wanted to name the band since I was about 17, so I can’t really remember. We used to live in a holiday destination in Falmouth. Lots of people go there on holiday, but we pretty much stick around, so we’re kind of like the ghosts of the holiday. I suppose that’s where it came from.
Taking it back to your releases, the art for each project has been quite consistent. There are lots of vibrant colours and there’s a real sketched-out feel to them. Was that a considered move?
Sam: We wanted to keep it that way after a certain point, yeah.
Katja: I did the first two albums and the singles I did the cover for, but we thought we’d get someone else to do the third one. It’s really in keeping though. We were trying to do something a bit different this time around with the music and the art but it’s come back to a Holiday Ghosts vibe and we really like that. I’ve always liked the idea of having art and paintings incorporated into the band.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Sam: We’re lining up some gigs at the moment. It’s looking like we’ll be touring in the Autumn. Maybe doing some shows in Summer, not a tour, just a few album release shows. We’ve got a new lineup, so we’ve been writing loads of new music with them and we’re probably going to be recording things soon actually. We never stop, we’re always writing or demoing but it takes so long to put together a full album.
Katja: It’s been kind of weird because with the two new guys we did one gig with them just before lockdown, and then we’ve had weekly practices since then. We’ve practised new stuff and gone over the old stuff, so it’s been really exciting. We’re itching to go!