Zane Lowe spoke with Matty of The 1975 surrounding the announcement of their biggest gig to date at London’s O2.
On being on the road:
“It’s been quite nice to get back out on the road because we’re quite safe on the road. We have the tour bus and we have the dressing room I think that was two places we learned how to write. The second record was kind of made in all those rooms.”
“I think just going back to that, touring this record, being so proud of it, being proud of the live show it’s just meant that we can expand on what we’ve made and also still be making music and stuff it’s fun.”
The big news:
“It’s the biggest show we’ve ever done basically and its gonna be a show that’s gonna continue around the world. It’s the sixteenth of December. We’re gonna be doing the O2 in London. The O2 arena. This is gonna be the first time that we’ve done a show of this size. I don’t take those kind of opportunities lightly. I’m aware of everything that comes with that, I’m aware of how it makes people feel cause it needs to be celebration of how far we’ve come.”
“It’s a huge room and it’s representative of being like I don’t know…a big band.”
“The one thing that I also remember is that happening to my favorite band. Me, being a fan of bands and watching that moment and how it made me feel. It can be quite weird for some fans I’m under no illusion that some kids will be like, ‘oh my God they’re my band and now they’re playing the O2 what does that mean for my relationship with them’ but the thing is…we want to fill the O2 will proper fans. Cause we’re a proper fan orientated band and if we can fill that room and keep the same essence, which is the one thing that we are focusing on, then it should be amazing and it should be the ultimate fan experience.”
On preparing for the show:
“It’s just about making people feel personally addressed. It’s not just about being able to perform to the back seats. It’s about making people feel like they’re part of a community and make it feel like it’s being celebrated right there and and right then. It’s about how much it means to you and how much it means to them. If we give back emotionally and sonically, visually if we give back what we get its set up to be quite an experience.”
On if they are in a creative space:
“We always are. We’re so lucky it being our hobby preceding our career. That’s the way the dynamic will always be. We do it for fun and we do it for love.”
“George broken his arm so he’s just gone studio crazy. He’s just been there in a sling buying every single synthesizer you can imagine.”
“It’s quite a creative period. It’s fun once we've done a record we’ve done it and it’s just playing with it now.The hard work is done - whether its back stage or not he tour bus we get to be making beats. Hopefully producing other peoples records.”
On missing George from the live shows:
“I've never been on stage without him. I got to shout out Freddie who plays drums for Japanese House who are on tour with us. George broke his arm at 1am. He was walking around in these flip flops, he won’t take them off, we warned him, he slipped off the bus and cracked his shoulder on the door and broke his collar bone. That happened at one am and the next night we played the entire show. Freddie learned the whole show from start to finish in one day and we didn't cancel one show. It was intense for me I’ve never been onstage without George it didn't feel right, it felt like losing my arm.”
On sat the next video will be:
“Somebody Else - that’s what I’m doing right now.”
On how “Somebody Else” is live:
“Very good - it’s a tricky one. The ones that are simplest on the record are always the most difficult to get right. But the reaction is amazing.”
