Irish English band Castlecombe Drive have released What I'll Choose, the second single from their upcoming sophomore EP. We asked frontman James the BIG questions . . .
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Speaking about their new track, the band say, "It was recorded in the summer of 2023 with our producer Julian Blanco, it’s a track that throws the listener deep into the midst of an explosive, energetic, crowd-pleasing tale of toxic love and co-dependency."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I’m born and raised in Dublin so I didn't meet the rest of my fellow band members until I moved to London to study music at BIMM a few years back. I recently made a passable oat flat white for Orla Gartland. Due to a few random acts of circumstance, Conor McGregor recently shared one of our songs to his 47 million Instagram followers which was a somewhat mental thing that has happened to me.
How would you describe your music?
We started as an acoustic folk trio whilst all locked up together in a tiny London flat during the second lockdown but as the world, and more importantly, the venues, opened up again so did our desire to expand that sound and essentially get louder. All of us love rock music in pretty much all its forms and had A LOT of pent-up energy to put to good use so if you’re planning on coming to a show, you can expect face melting riffs, ear-worm melodies, heartfelt lyrics and a generally explosive atmosphere. Imagine Foo Fighters met Bon Iver in a dark alley and the result could be us.
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Who are your musical inspirations?
There are five of us in the band so our inspirations can feel a bit eclectic at times. That said, we find common ground when it comes to our appreciation for the huge soundscapes of The Joshua Tree by U2, the energy of bands like Foo Fighters or Kings of Leon, the darkness and dynamics of the likes of Frightened Rabbit or Radiohead, the rhythm work of Delta Sleep and the honesty and rawness/storytelling prowess of Pinegrove and The Lumineers. Also, Alex and Charlie (drummer and guitarist) would like their love for Slipknot to be known. There you go boys.
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What was the first gig you ever went to?
When I was about eight or nine years old, Danny and Conor from the Coronas came to my school and played a stripped back set consisting of all the Heroes or Ghosts era classics. I remember coming home that day and telling my mam that I NEEDED to start playing guitar - so logically she signed me up for piano lessons.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Hey, this is Nick here taking one of the questions from James. The first album I can remember buying myself was Have You Fed The Fish by Badly Drawn Boy. It kinda feels like Radiohead meets The Darkness meets musical theatre and that front cover, with its strange graphics of people sat on a plane under the sea, has been ingrained in my mind ever since. As a kid, I used to have this album playing on repeat at all times and I’m not sure if an album has ever resonated with me in the same way. It's creative, catchy and the arrangement just speaks to my soul like nothing else ever has. I also remember my dad giving me Arctic Monkeys’ Favourite Worst Nightmare but listening to it from a distance because the lyrics and album artwork kind of scared me - I was a very innocent and unsure kid.
*Slight tangent but I had to take over from James’ original answer because his was quite shameful given the amazing taste of music I know him to have. Buy us a pint after a show and we will tell you his answer.
What's your favourite song right now?
My current favourite song would have to be Radiohead’s OK Computer outtake/OKNOTOK promotional single Lift. I read somewhere that it wasn't included on OK Computer because the band feared, for lack of a better term, that it would be too commercially successful, which is probably the most Radiohead thing ever. That song along with Respirate from Pinegrove’s 11:11 have soundtracked my January.
Favourite lyric of all time?
I’m not sure if it’s my favourite lyric of all time but I’ve clearly got Pinegrove on the mind and their track Old Friends has some serious gut punchers. "I saw Leah on the bus a few months ago, I saw some old friends at her funeral" - coming and going in the middle of the song without much fanfare gets me every single time.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
This is a tricky question and I’m sure I’d give a different answer if you were to ask me again tomorrow but today I’m going to go with Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls. Some might call it cheesy or too obvious a choice but I think it’s a perfect song. The arrangement, the melody, lyrics, the vocal performance and THAT instrumental section, it’s just a really great song that I’ve been hearing/listening to for as long as I can remember and not for a second has it gotten old for me.
Where can people find your music/more information?
We can be found at Castlecombe Drive on every major streaming platform and @Castlecombedrive across all social media.
We also have an unreal music video made by the incredibly talented Bruna Pias, Chiara Fulgoni and KC Hughes arriving shortly after to accompany the release so keep your eyes peeled for that one too!
And for those of you who happen to be in London on 7 February, we’re headlining the Servant Jazz Quarters and would love to see you there! We also play The Bedford, London on 21 March.
Alan Corr
