Interview With Starseed

South African-born rockers, Starseed, have been causing anarchy in the UK as their latest album, Peace Machine, tears up the English radio stations. Having received praise from Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Kerrang! and Rock Sound, these boys are serious contenders for global rock domination. MusicReview caught up with drummer, Andrew Spence, and this is what he had to say…

You guys are originally from South Africa. Did you ever play any gigs or major festivals around SA and when did you move to London?
We sure did. Our first ever show as Starseed was opening the Gauloises Stage at Oppikoppi Trek 2000. It was a fantastic experience and the crowd was very warm and welcoming. We were also voted to play Siemens Freedom Festival and played Woodstock 3 on the Blunt Stage a few weeks before our departure in October 2001. We came back for a short visit to SA in 2006 and played Woodstock 8.

How does the UK music scene differ from the local one? What do you feel sets them apart?
The bar is set a lot higher in the UK. Over here, the bands you’re directly competing with are some of your influences in music like Alice In Chains and Foo Fighters. It’s an amazing feeling to play a venue and know the Queens of the Stone were on the same stage the night before. To survive here, you gotta be on your very best game. The scene is just so much bigger which means more competition and higher standards. I feel that’s something that definitely sets the two scenes apart as it does come down to demographics and geography at the end of the day, which is unfortunate.

How did you manage to secure the Download gig in 2007 and how did it feel sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in music?
We played the Nokia stage which featured unsigned bands, so it was a lot more low key than the other stages. But the response we had was amazing, so much so, they asked us to come back and play again the next day. People seemed to remember us, so when we played again, the tent was rammed – it was a great experience. So we haven’t played the big stages yet, so I can’t really say we’ve “shared” a bill just yet… but it’s pretty close.

You recorded your album with renowned producer, Jason Wilcock. How did you find the experience? Did he push you guys extra hard in the studio?
Very much so. They compare Jason to a jockey riding for the win at Ascot – with us being the horse (laughs). He’s very meticulous and a complete perfectionist, so it has to be right. He has some crazy recording techniques using barrels and bins and interesting mic positioning for the drums, so crazy but it works. Also he’s very accurate with pitches and tones, so even if a string is on your guitar is out by slight margin; he’s on it like a hawk. It’s a very long and hard process making an album but when you hear the final result, you understand why you went through it all and you can see the process Jason puts you through was all necessary. No pain, no gain, right?

Your single ‘Shine’ is due out in South Africa in April. Have you contacted all your old friends and family and told them to tune in already?
(Laughs) they all have the inside scoop, so they’re way ahead of the rest of SA. Hey, we gotta spoil ‘em in some way. But yes, we’re spreading the word.

Has anyone ever told you that Starseed sound very similar to The Narrow?
Never heard that I’m afraid. But then again, not surprised to be compared to any rock band really, we’ve been compared to bands like Nickelback through to Hootie and The Blowfish – even U2! Yup, even them. None of us – the band members – hear the aforementioned bands in our music and it certainly wasn’t what we were trying to achieve when writing our music, but there you go. On that note though, The Narrow are a fantastic band, so naturally it is a great compliment to be compared to them in any way. At the end of the day, I just hope we sound like Starseed.

I know Starseed have been working exceptionally hard over the last couple of years, but has your sudden change of fortunes and success caught you off guard?
In some ways, yes. We’ve been just doing this thing we love for so long and it’s an honour to just play these songs we love. So to be recognised for it and even build a success off of it is just fantastic. In saying that though, we have worked so hard and this is what we want to do with our lives and when you work hard at something, you do pray it pays off and so far so good. It’s all about determination and patience in the end.

Are there any current SA bands that you believe have the potential of breaking the UK market?
It’s hard to say, as we live here in the UK, we’re focussed on our current market. That’s not to say we don’t keep in touch with the SA market, but it is harder to follow when you’re not part of it. A few bands I’ve heard and feel would benefit from a move abroad, especially here in the UK, would be a band like Zebra and Giraffe, they have a tailored sound that would suit the UK nicely. But when it comes to hard rock it’s hard to really say, the hard rock/metal market is very much underground here, so the UK is a tough nut to crack, but I liked the sound of Chromium on the metal side and Reach from a more rock point of view. They definitely deserve some recognition beyond the SA realms. Dale, our bassist, was just out in SA in the last few weeks and reckons Submachine are a band to look out for.

Are there any chances of a homecoming tour in the near future?
We would absolutely love to do one and I guess it all comes down to demand and sadly, finance. I don’t mean this in a “show us the money” type of way, but on a basic financial level. Coming out to SA is an expensive excursion – even today with the Pound –so trying to afford a trip out just to see our loved ones is hard enough, let alone organise a tour. We are working on it though and will be sure to let you know if we’re able to come out. Would your readers like to see Starseed out in SA, let us know?

Thank you so much for your time, Andrew. Any final words for our readers?
It’s been a pleasure chatting with you and glad SA hasn’t forgotten about us, we still remain determined to fulfil our promise to make SA proud and hope we are! We’ve even made Pete (Wicker, lead guitar) an honorary South African – he’s a local Essex boy… God Bless him.

Photography by: Marcus Maschwitz