There's a perception that Edinburgh has forever been in Glasgow’s musical shadow, but the tide is definitely changing. Venues such as The Mash House, The Caves and our home from home, Sneaky Pete’s are all supporting local bands - the best example of this are Vistas.
The indie 4-piece have made big strides this year with two massive singles in Calm and Tigerblood, a mesmerizing video, topped off with well-received shows across the UK.
Vistas are now on course for another landmark, their first sell-out headline show in Glasgow, there's only a handful of tickets left for this Saturday's King Tut's gig. With such a busy schedule, the Mockit team were fortunate enough to grab lead singer, Prentice Robertson, for a quick chat about new material, band dynamics and our mutual love of Future Islands! Latest single Tigerblood sees Vistas cement themselves at the forefront of the Scotland’s new indie scene, with their verging-on-trademark summer vibes and catchy hooks. But how did this come to be? As key songwriter, Prentice describes “Usually i’ll start with a bare bones structure, add lyrics, a melody then take it into the practice room and we’ll bash it out as a band, which then grows into a Vistas song”. Inspiration can come from anywhere, at any time, but he admits this is not ideal in a tour van, “while on the road, it’s less writing, more gathering of ideas” as he prefers writing with a guitar in front of him, “which is difficult to do in a van!” They followed up this release with an eye-catching video. Although music videos have always been synonymous with single releases, getting the pairing right can often be difficult, but Vistas seemed to have nailed it this time,
“It’s satisfying when you get a video which matches the song. In the past we’ve maybe not had that, but with Tigerblood we feel we’ve achieved that. It’s the best one we’ve done.”
For those who haven’t seen the video (we urge you to check it out!) it’s a continuous single-shot weaving through each band member, as Prentice explains - “We wanted the camera to be like a fly, going in to what looks like capillaries, in to their blood streams and back out.”
We certainly love it, although those with motion sickness watch out!
It’s not all gigs and fun music videos, be under no illusions, being in a band can be hard graft - as well as the best job in the word - it’s all consuming. Producing, writing and most of all practicing, leaves little room for other interests outside the band, as Prentice states, “just music, we record, write, plan.. but we do all still work full time jobs. Rehearsal becomes a hobby.”
Such an intense lifestyle could cause a strain on relationships, but no such problems here as he continues to explain,
“We were friends before we were in a band, and continue to be friends, as opposed to meeting people first, forming a band and then becoming friends. It lets you understand the barriers, boundaries. You also know how much to wind them up!”
With such strong foundations, creative differences are kept to a minimum, reiterating “as we were good friends before, we’re are keen for everyone to benefit and succeed”.
It’s impressive to see a band mature together, from high school, through college and now taking a serious stab at the music industry, admitting "we’ve noticed a big increase in maturity during the last 6 months, more so than in the past 5-6 years we’ve known each other. With constant touring and writing all the time”. But even this close 4-some have their off days,
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure anyone cooked up together in a van for 12 hours would end up getting pissed off with each other!”
Band image has become important across the industry, and it’s something Prentice has acknowledged, “ We do chat about what to wear, however we don’t lose focus on the music, but it’s important to try in some way reflect the music in what we wear, almost as a continuation of the band.”
He continues “Alex Turner for example, wearing a full white suit at TRNSMT or Blossoms, they just look great. You know just by looking at them they are in a cool band, before you even hear a note."
Although this discussion can be summed up when he states,
“Look at Liam Gallagher, if he came on without parka, it just wouldn’t be right!”
We go on to discuss favourite venues to play and watch, but this almost seems like a redundant question to scottish bands, as the number one will always be...Yes, Barrowlands. Prentice confirms, “I don’t think i could consider myself Scottish if i didn’t say the Barrowlands.” he adds, “Probably best venue in the world. We played their with The View and it was special, with the history of the place, and the history of what you could be witnessing”.
Additionally, the Edinburgh-born band are big fans of The Mash House, explaining “It was the first gig we sold out. A good venue for Edinburgh, which sets a bar other venues should meet. Great for bands to perform and crowds to watch. It’s a perfect size for touring bands.”
As luck would have it, we bumped into Prentice for the first time at a Future Islands gig earlier this year, which we agree was a truly amazing performance, he exclaims
“Great, so good! I think it’s noticeable that the whole band is on a riser, stood still, leaving Samual T Herring to command the whole stage. Inspiring to see him have the whole usher hall in the palm of his hand. One of the best live bands around.”
He was in attendace with his father, someone who introduced him to music at an early age, “Listening to his iPod with the likes of Kings of Leon, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam.” It wasn’t until later Prentice started to take inspiration from the likes of Two Door Cinema Club, Arctic Monkeys, and The Strokes.
The future is looking bright for Prentice and the Vistas boys, with the aforementioned King Tut’s show followed by festival appearances at Tenement Trail and Twisterella.
But where is the debut album?
He lets out a laugh “we get asked this a lot”, adding “we are very cautious in everything we do. We really only want to put an album out when everyone else is ready and we are ready. It all will come, but not yet.”
But fear not Vistas fans…
“We do have an EP planned for later this year, it’ll be a slightly longer release.”
Tickets are selling fast for King tuts, see full tour here
Vistas:
Prentice Robertson
Graham McDonald
Dylan Rush
Jamie Law
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