We caught up with the Surrey four piece just before the release of their high-octane indie single, ‘Down’. They are currently touring with like-minded Blackpool rockers Strange Bones.
What music are you listening to at the moment?
Dune Rats are pretty mad. Australian guitar music has blown up recently. Sticky Fingers, DZ Deathrays and DMA’s who we were lucky enough to support last year. We played a gig for This Feeling at Nambucca early this month and all those bands were mad. Gutxi Bibang, The Cosmics, Emily Capell, all top bands.
What is your favourite venue you’ve played in so far?
King Tut’s in Glasgow was so much fun, good crowd and good people. Love the Scots. Also really enjoyed playing Chinnerys when we went on tour with Asylums. It was their home town so we had a good crowd for that one. Another great band.
How did you end up doing a tour with Strange Bones?
We’re two bands saying a lot of the same things and we are both trying to put our stamp in the industry. A lot of bands are doing things alone nowadays and we thought that it would be good to join forces. Two bands are better than one and it helps create more of a hype around the country.
Where did the name BlackWaters come from?
To be clear: we are shit at naming things. Dreading having to name an album! There’s a place near Guildford called Blackwater which people may think is where it came from but we didn’t even know it existed when we named the band.
We were just putting random words together and somehow came up with that, no deep meaning, just thought it sounded pretty cool. It’s weird cos you can call a band anything and you end up building a connection if you go by it for long enough.
What classic album do you think has impacted your sound the most?
Not so much a classic album but FIDLAR’s self-titled first album has had a massive influence on our music. We saw them live in the summer and they were nuts. Never mind the bullocks goes without saying. It’s punk as fuck and we like that. The simplicity of songs definitely appeals to our way of writing.
What does it mean to play in your hometown, Guildford, on your upcoming tour?
Guildford is where we all met, and where all our friends are. The last show we played was rammed. We started like every other band playing to 2 or 3 people at times and when you see all that mob going for it at your headline shows its a good feeling. The music scene is so varied in Guildford so whatever you are it’s easy to fit in which is unique. This mundane place weirdly inspired us, and launched us out into the other cities and towns. Playing shows in Guildford feels like we’re giving something back, trying to keep the music scene alive here. Shouts out to Foxe, Sophie and the Giants, Lost in Venice, The Llamas and China Bears. Amazing bands and deserve recognition.
Catch them at the Brudenell on Feb 1st.
Lawrence Cwerner