On the eve of their sold out King Tuts gig we managed to grab an in-depth interview with the talented Toni and Mia from SIIGHTS - a band ready to shake up the Pop world. Hot on the heels of single GOT IT, the dynamic pop duo are about to drop their biggest track yet, DANCE, this Friday!
Q. How’s the past few months been for SIIGHTS? What have you been up to?
It’s been amazing, where do we start. We have been working in the studio on some new music which we’re excited about, we’re a pretty new band and have only put a couple of singles out so far so we’re really looking forward to putting a body of work out & showing more of SIIGHTS.
We announced our Glasgow & London headline shows which were met with an awesome response! Glasgow sold out pretty fast which was even more special, so we’ve been in rehearsals. We just did a radio PR tour of Ireland for our single ‘GOT IT’ and just announced our next release ‘DANCE’. We're also working some exciting collabs at the moment.
So it’s been pretty hectic but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Q. SIIGHTS are a relatively new project, how did you get together?
Mia was on tour with HOZIER for 2 years playing keys/vox/guitar & percussion in his band & they spent a lot of time in the US. I was in LA on a writing session, Mia was there too also writing on an off day from tour - we really hit it off in the studio & decided to write together initially. A couple songs we wrote at that time got signed for other artists & we got some great feedback on what we were doing so, that developed into SIIGHTS .
Q. Selling out King Tut’s at first attempt! Amazing, not many bands can say! How does that feel?
Unbelievable. We can’t quite put it into words really. We just can’t thank people who support us enough & we’re buzzing to put on a really fun show for them.
We both come from live performance backgrounds, we love performing & its one of the reasons we decided to start a band & not just focus on writing for other people, so kicking off with a sold out King Tut’s feels amazing.
Q. New Single, DANCE goes back to the beginning of SIIGHTS, how has it developed over time and become the track it is now?
The track itself encompasses both Mia & I’s musical influences really well, we always felt like we struck a nice balance of old & new, funk/Pop & electronic. I’ll never forget - it was one of the first songs we wrote together in LA, we never knew we were going to be a band then but this song was pretty significant for us because once it was done I’m sure we both felt like this was one song we’d like to keep & put out ourselves.
The production hasn’t changed as we always felt it was best not to revisit it too many times in fear of losing that ‘thing’ about it that just clicked in the studio originally.
Mia done the mix on the track, she is a studio engineer & producer, and never tells people this but as a graduate engineer she was then picked by the Grammy award winning engineer Brian Masterson to work alongside him, so she’s worked in Windmill Lane & various other studios engineering all over the world on loads of big sessions over the years.
Q. You filmed a wicked video for DANCE, were you hands on in the production?
Yes we were.
The video was created by Atlanta based director Payne Lindsey, he’s amazing and has worked on tons of major music videos for Def Jam records, He did the music video for one of our favourite Naughty Boy tracks HOME.
Mia reached out to Payne, & he loved the track so he was really into helping us create something special for it. We collaborated on the narrative & were hands on with the editing process remotely. We spent a lot of time working on the video / art and concepts for DANCE before we even told anyone what we were working on.
Q. You often travel to America, do you see yourselves producing most of your music over there?
We both definitely love the US but we love our Hometowns too.
Mia is a multi instrumentalist & producer so she has a studio in Dublin which is great, we spend a fair bit of time there. We’d love to spend more time in the US / UK & Sweden collaborating on music also.
Q. What differences do you see in the US vs the UK music scene?
The biggest difference we see is the type of music that is working in each territory can be quite different. There is of course some spillover with major artists & chart hits, but sometimes there are things that are working in the US that doesn't always translate to the UK and vice versa.
The great thing about the streaming platforms is that they are making all music more accessible no matter where you are, there are less boundaries now.
Q. Scotland is the middle of a musical revival, it’s alway been a hotbed for talent, but i feel right now it’s as good as its been for years. Why do you think that is?
YES ! Scotland is killing it at the moment, I love being Scottish. I haven’t been able to spend as much time as i’d like at home in recent years but from keeping up with everything online it really feels like everyone is just supporting each other. It feels like there is a real strong community building back home & that works. Scottish people are the best in the world & i’d say giving each other a leg up and supporting each other has helped. People seem to really be adopting the DIY route also, and there’s something powerful in that.
Q. As a female duo, do you feel some responsibility to be role models for younger female fans?
Yeah we definitely feel a responsibility to just be ourselves more than anything. In this day & age it’s so easy to judge yourself, be hard on yourself, compare yourself to others & depression / anxiety & other mental health problems are on the rise unfortunately.
If we can help or inspire one person with our music it makes everything worthwhile. We've definitely come to realise what’s most important for us as individuals is that we be as transparent as possible and just be ourselves.
Q. Who are you currently playing most on Spotify?
Toni - HAIM, Sasha Sloan, Brockhampton
Mia - London Grammer; Sly and the family stone, Lauv
Q. Who would be the dream co-producer for a single?
Good question, there are quite a few people we would like to do that with. Definitely two would be Felix Snow & Jordan Riley.
Q. Should we expect future releases and gigs before the end of 2018?
Yes - we have just announced a headline show in London on November 17 at The Courtyard Theatre which is a stripped back show & we’re supporting The Dykeenies at QMU on December 7 W/ Vistas on the bill also.
After we release DANCE there will be one more single out before the end of the year, this will be a turning point for us with our sound & a definite hint towards what you might expect from our debut EP.
Q. Last gig you were at?
The Lone Bellow at Whelans (Dublin)
The Killers - 3arena (Dublin)
Q. Go to Karaoke song?
Ah ok this is something i suck at ! I never sing karaoke . I love watching people do it though its fun!
Q. What was the very first CD you bought?
Toni - Eminem Slim shady LP Mia - Michael Jackson
Q. Favourite 3 songs of all time?
This question is so hard, It changes for me like every other week but we’re going to try answer it. Our mood right now is -
Toni:
Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon
London grammar - Shyer
Eminem - Stan
Mia:
Zero 7 - Simple Things
The Meters - Just kissed my baby
London Grammar - Stay awake
Q. You can invite anyone to a flat party, who’s coming?
Toni:
Stevie Nicks - Icon & i love her, i want to hear all her stories from Fleetwood mac days.
Billy Connolly - icon & he’d bring the banter.
Alex Turner - i find him such an interesting person and would love to write a song with him.
Mia: Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Prince, Michael Jackson
Can you imagine the jam session!!
Quickfire:
Toni
All Saints or Spice Girls? - Spice girls
Boyzone or Westlife? - Westlife
Stones or Beatles? - Beatles
UK or European festivals? - both!
Early bird or Night owl? - Early Bird
Buckfast: Yes or No? - Yes
Fry up or porridge? - Scottish Fry up
Mia
All Saints or Spice Girls? - All Saints
Boyzone or Westlife? - Westlife
Stones or Beatles? - Beatles
UK or European festivals? - Both!
Early bird or Night owl? - Night Owl
Buckfast: Yes or No? - No
Fry up or Porridge? - Scottish Fry Up!
Tour Dates: Sept 8th, King Tut's, Glasgow
Nov 17th, The Courtyard Theatre, London
Dec 7th, w/ Dykeenies and Vistas, QMU, Glasgow.
New Single:
DANCE - Released 7th September.
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