Decode

Alternative-rock quartet Decode launched themselves in August 2010 and ended last year with local press hailing them as ‘Yorkshire’s Band Of The Year’.

The band released their debut EP in April 2011 and recently secured a place on the roster of independent label Ambicon Records.

We caught up with the band to find out more!

Sheffield is renowned for its music scene, what is your opinion on the current scene in Sheffield?

The music scene in Sheffield, to be honest, we think it’s brilliant. It’s absolutely packed full of unsigned talent at the moment. Any night of the week you can go out in Sheffield and you’re guaranteed to to be able to find some fantastic live music. Obviously there’s also a LOT of competition, so in a way it really makes us up our game and be the best band we can possibly be. We’ve made some really good friends in the current scene, be it promoters, magazines, bands. It’s a thriving environment to be in here in Sheffield.

Are there any Sheffield bands who inspire you?

Yeah, pretty much anyone else that’s in the same boat as we are. For anyone to put as much hard work and time and dedication into their art as we do is an inspirational sight. Musically wise, I’ve always liked Pulp. They have a wonderful ear for melody.

Which track from your EP would you say best showcases the band?

In a lot of ways it’s probably the whole thing, the one thing anyone can take away from our music is that every song sounds different and that’s what we were trying to make apparent in the EP itself. Comparing ‘If only’ to a track like ‘Enemies’ is a good example. If you heard the tracks apart you might think it was a different band. If we were asked to pick one track though, it’d be ‘Shaping Shadows’. Big sounding chorus with pop hooks, moody lyrics, heavy riffing and lots of dynamic movement in the song. It’s what we’re all about.

Why did you decide to record your EP at Treehouse Studios?

Well, we’ve known Jim Pinder for years and he’s probably one of the best producers and songwriters I’ve ever met. Working with Jim means we always get the best out of each track, as he brings a lot to the table. Some of our favourite bands have also made records there, Fightstar – Rise to Remain – Laruso, so it’s a super privilege to be there as well. We’ve spent so much time recording there now, we couldn’t imagine wanting to make music anywhere else!

You were signed to Ambicon Records this year, how does this feel?

It feels brilliant. To have a label behind us is a massive boost, espcially one as pro-active and hard-working as Ambicon. In all honesty it’s definitely what we needed and at the right time. We were just kind of going in circles a bit, we had all these plans and not really anywhere to go with them. We made the ‘Before We Burn’ video and made plans to record our album in the summer, and then we didn’t really know what to do afterwards. Ambicon have kind of picked us up and pushed us in the right direction forward, this couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

Why did you decide to give your EP away for free?

It’s free for download, at the launch we sold out of physical copies which was an amazing feeling! The reason we’ve made it a free download is because its accessible to everybody who wants it and most of them have linked and shared it with their friends, so in effect it’s really helped grow our fan base.

In October 2011 you shot your debut music video, how much of a say did you have in this process?

Quite a lot, the song is very politically charged. Lyrically it’s quite a sinister take on having ones freedom taken away, particularly freedom of speech and opinion. It’s a bit of a bashing of our western ideals, most of which are riddled with hypocrisy – particularly our social and political constraints. This is represented in the protagonist in our video, he is detained and held for questioning for a crime he never committed. I think it accurately represents the fact that we can say we have all the freedom in the world, untill something controversial or something a bit provocative is said, then we’re cast out of the social norm.

What has been your favourite gig to-date?

Hands down our headline show at Sheffield O2 academy. Amazing night with and amazing crowd and an amazing atmosphere.

Do you have any festival plans for this year?

Not really, we’re recording our album through festival season. but we almost definitely be playing Tramlines festival in Sheffield again this year.

What can we expect from the band in 2012?

BIG things! We’re shortly releasing a Single through Ambicon Records called ‘Saboteur’ and then I think we’re going to be quite the hermit band. Dissapearing into the underworld to finish of writing our album and recording through 2 months in the summer. Maybe a winter or early 2013 release? We’ll have to wait to see what Ambicon want to do. Obviously we’ll be keeping up the gigging scene, playing a few gigs up until July, just to showcase the new material and see how it goes down live. Surprises are in store however. We cant wait to show you but you’ll all just have to wait and see.

To find out more about the band, visit their Facebook page now.

You can download the band’s EP for free at http://soundcloud.com/decodeuk.