Quarantine Questions: Children of the State
Children of the State
Quarantine Questions
Additional words by Gary Lambert
Photos by Gary Lambert
Children of the State are a retro-tinged rock five piece from Doncaster / Bolsover, and if you watched The Mysterines’ most recent tour you might already recognise the band. With a new single, Big Sur, coming out on 10 April this might be the opportune time to get ready to add another band into your list of favourites. I was lucky enough to catch them on that tour at a gig that is mentioned below, and I can easily say that they are going to be a band that a lot of people will fall in love with. Their smooth take on seventies rock is made to create warm feelings inside the listener.
1. How are you doing?
Good thank you! As good as one can be in isolation, the days have sort of merged into one and I’m pretty sure my dog is speaking Belarusian to me but other than that all good.
2. How have your recent releases/gigs gone?
The recent gigs have been amazing! Unfortunately we’ve had to postpone the ones this month and next month to September given the current scenario however this will give us chance to work on our set more and perhaps even add some new songs to it. Our next release, Big Sur is out on the 10th of April so we’re really looking forward to seeing how that goes down and hopefully contribute to keeping peoples minds active during this downtime. There’s a few twists in the new video that might take a few watches to figure out too, so a bit of spot the difference if you will.
3. What are you doing to keep yourself occupied in Lockdown?
As a band we’re working on new stuff using the internet, blogging (read our blog on our favourite films here) making playlists (listen to our Big Sur playlist here), and watching The Tiger King on Netflix.
4. Who have you been listening to recently? (Confession: I’ve found that I’ve gone back to old favourites in Lockdown rather than obsessively scouring for new music)
Definitely, I think I can speak for us all when I say we’ve been delving into old favourites out of nostalgia really, escaping to days of yore where thew sun was shining and you were allowed out to the beer gardens. If we were talking specifics it’d be Scott Walker, Beach Boys, Beatles, Todd Rundgren + Palma Violets.
5. What has been the favourite gig you’ve played?
Probably our gig supporting The Mysterines at Liverpool Arts Club, that venue was absolutely nuts. It had an old theatre type vibe to it and the room was packed out with music fans. We got the chance to play Big Sur live for the second time then too. Liverpool is a special city to us and we try and spend as much time there as possible.
6. If you were only able to listen to one album in quarantine, what would you pick?
It’d have to be Pet Sounds, a flawless album that has inspired our sound from day one.
7. What would you say represents your sound?
Drinking a glass of claret in the bath, reflecting upon the seminal albums of yesteryear.
Stay in Touch
Find Children of the State on Facebook
Instagram: @childrenofstate
Twitter: @childrenofstate
Listen to Gideon’s Bible EP from Children of the State here