Syd Arthur, the alt-rock veterans from across the pond, are letting the sun in on their newest album Apricity. Having wrapped up their US tour dates, the band headed back home to finish their UK sets. Luckily for us, Joel Magill, one out of three brothers in this four piece band, stopped to chat about California sunshine and staying inspired in the chaos of it all before gearing up for their Boston show.
Where did you guys get the inspiration to use the word “apricity?"
Coming from the Southeast of England, it’s kind of a feeling that you experience quite a lot. We get sun and it’s not hot especially in the Spring and in the Autumn. The sun’s out and there’s a cool breeze. You feel the warmth of the sun without it being a hot day. That was something we were really familiar with - when we were writing the record it was Springtime last year. We actually came out and made the album in California. We were staying in Topanga Canyon and amazingly, in the morning and in the evening, we would get the same feeling. We were commenting on you know, “It’s crazy. We can feel the warmth of the sun and it’s quite similar to England.” Raven was actually the one that knew the word. We were just writing in the studio one day and then he was like, “Yeah, by the way there’s a word for that and it’s called apricity.” It kind of sunk in and a few weeks later when we were trying to name the record, it just seemed to work.
Compared to your past albums, do you think you guys approached Apricity differently?
I think we’re always kind of evolving what we’re listening to and what we’re into and what we’re trying to ultimately achieve. A few things happened during the making of this record. We have a new drummer, Josh who joined the band. We used that as a kind of spring to look at things from a different way. We would try and write different things and Josh would bring in some ideas. The dynamic of the group changed a little. We tried to be different and move things forward. I kind of think that’s always what we’re trying to do. I think with this record we’ve reached a new place and a new way of trying some new ideas out.
What do you and the band like to do to stay creatively inspired?
It’s an intense process and there’s long hours, so it’s about just trying to maintain some sort of a perspective. It’s really important. When we were in California, in the mornings we would go down for a swim because there’s a beach right there. That was one thing we were using to just make sure that we didn’t just get up and obsess over minute details. We all hang out, socialize, and go meet people. We also just jam - just set up and play music to release energy. Or sometimes, we’ll shoot pool or go bowling [laughs] -just something fun to do. Creatively, it’s about spurring people on and keeping everything honest and open. We’re kind of good at generating loads of ideas actually and I guess our biggest thing is that we’re trying to streamline those ideas down so that we can get the best out of them.
Are there any countries or states that you wish you could play in the future?
Funny enough, just two days ago we had a message about doing a gig in India - in New Delhi. All of us want to go to India and none of us have actually been there. That was one of the most exciting emails. I don’t know if it’s actually going to happen, but that was just like “wow” - a super exciting concept. Other than that, Italy is amazing. We love Italy and we’ve had a great time there. We really want to go to Japan, that’s another place that we’d love to go to. We love it out here [in America] as well, it’s great. We’re into touring, traveling, meeting people, and playing music. We try to do that everywhere and anywhere we can.
What advice do you have for any aspiring college musicians out there?
Be prepared to work really hard and be diligent. Also, just stay true to your art and what you’re trying to do. I think honesty and things like that really come across someone’s work. Yeah, if you’re into this thing just have fun and be true to it.
Apricitytruly adheres to its sunny promise, as it exudes a hazy blend of rolling sounds and rich melodies. Also, be sure to check out the two magnetizing music videos for “Apricity” and “Sun Rays.”