Playing live is a priority for old school pals Saltfen

Ahead of their appearance in Heat Five of BurySOUND, Catherine Neilson caught up with Ely alternative rock four piece, Saltfen. The band are made up of Tom Woolner, Alec Woolner, Tom Hall and John Kirby. Here’s what they had to say…

How did you form?

Tom: We formed as a means of seeing each other after we left primary school. What started as a casual thing slowly snowballed into something we took more seriously.

What are your influences as a band, and do you think that comes through in the music?

Alec: Because we started when we were young, we never really thought about influences or how our music would sound, we just played. But after a while, we started to get more interested in music by The Strokes, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees, and Circa waves, which we are most commonly compared to.

Are you working on any projects at the moment, or just focusing on the live shows?

Tom: We are thinking about writing and recording an EP and a few singles to be released in the summer. We’ve sort of moved on from the last EP which was recorded about a year ago, we just threw a few songs together and released them without really thinking about the EP as a whole.

Alec: Live shows are still a priority though, because recording is so expensive and we’re doing a lot of gigs at the moment, so we need to keep up a good set.

What has your favourite gig been so far, and why?

Tom: The Fiver at the Junction is always a favourite for us, because you get to play on the big stage with a proper, loud sound system.

Alec: It always draws a fair crowd which I think helps to put on a good, fun live show.

Who has been your favourite band that you have played with, and why?

Tom: We really enjoy playing with Deep City, who I’ve known for a long time. We’ve also done a couple of gigs with Ugly who are fun to play with. Also, Fix are fun.