Having played and produced together for many many years, the boys and girls of Social Audio joined forces to recently embark on a new adventure. Taking influence from a number of big live dance/electro/funk/pop bands they've created their own sound. Whilst maintaining the authentic roots vibe to the band in terms of a standard rhythm and brass section they also use modern technology to add the sequenced electro/dance element. With their cool sound and funky drops, at their gigs it’s likely to go a bit 'arms in the air'!! Fantastic live, must be seen. If you like what you’re listening to why not check out their up coming dates and come down and see for yourself.
AlternativeInformant: How long have you been involved in music?
Social Audio: If you’re talking about the band on a whole then quite a few years. The average age of the band members is around 27 and everyone in the band has been playing since they where at secondary school at least.
AlternativeInformant: How would you describe your music?
Social Audio: This is always a hard one isn’t it? Our music is definitely funky with an element of Dance and a bit electro thrown in. There are lots of different influences in our band from Groove Armada, Jamiroquai to Prince to the new Mark Ronson vibe and then there are all the timeless old school funk/soul greats such as Funkadelic and Curtis Mayfield. We all like the idea of the dance music being played by a live band and also like the rootsy funk/soul vibe. So hopefully we are somewhere in between the two.
AlternativeInformant: When did you form the group and how long have you been together?Social Audio: The band members have been playing together for nearly 3 years now. At first it was just a lot of experimenting with different projects but 18 months ago Social Audio was born. The first few months were in practice sessions and in the studio and the last year we have been performing live around
AlternativeInformant: Social Audio, interesting name how did you come up with that?
Social Audio: This was one of the hardest parts of putting the band together. Everyone involved has played in numerous bands in the past so everyone had different ideas of what we might be called. In the end we agreed on Social Audio which was brainstormed by Geoff and Dan after weeks of sitting in the pub discussing the matter. Basically it does what it says on the tin, we want to entertain people at social events i.e festivals and gigs and with the audio we have produced hence, SOCIAL AUDIO. (That’s what we tell people anyway, ha ha).
AlternativeInformant: Do your songs have a message? If so, what is that message?
Social Audio: Some of our songs are born from the band jamming together and others are produced in advance. The lyrical content isn’t about sending out a broad message to the masses it’s just a light hearted spin on day to day life, such as going out and getting wrecked, filthy girlfriends and dodgy relationships - inner city life.
AlternativeInformant: What’s the most enjoyable thing about performing?
Social Audio: Undoubtedly the crowd’s reaction to our music and also the buzz that is created within the band on stage. Everyone in the band knows each other really well so when we get on stage it’s a natural high. The bigger the crowd the better.
AlternativeInformant: Are there any artists that influence you and your music?
Social Audio: Yeah loads of live dance bands old and new as mentioned before, basically if it’s up-tempo funky and it makes you want to dance we are into it. Groove Armada, Faithless, Jamiriquai, Mark Ronson, Daft Punk, Just Jack …the list goes on.
AlternativeInformant: Some of your music such as “Needin More” is mellow and chilled out. How long does it take to think of a song idea then write it and produce it usually?
Social Audio: There is no pattern to this process, some songs come together in a couple of hours where as others seem to take forever. We might start writing a song and then leave it for a few weeks and then come back to it with fresh ears. What ever works man.
AlternativeInformant: How do you feel about the music industry at this moment?
Social Audio: How long have you got? As many up and coming bands nowadays we think the industry is quite fickle, it may always have been like this but as I’m sure you know there are so many really talented bands that don’t even get a look in while the
AlternativeInformant: Have you heard about groups such as Groove Armada signing with Bacardi instead of record labels? How do you feel about groups doing that, is that something you might do in the future?
Social Audio: Yes we think it’s a great idea for the main reason that Barcadi will get involved much more in the live side of things which is what we are all about. I think this kind of deal would benefit the artist much more. I have heard a few comments on the subject, people saying that they’re sell outs, thats b*****ks man, they’ve been around for years and years, churning out music – really good music. I think its great that they have this deal in place with Bacardi. It will benefit both the band and the fans – end of. What’s wrong with that?
AlternativeInformant: What does the future hold for Social Audio?
Social Audio: Gigs man and lots of them! Who knows what’s gonna happen in the future? We’ve all got really high expectations of our music but ultimately I think as a band you just got to gig, keep writing tunes, better tunes. Define your music. Raise the profile of our band. If you like the music your creating the chances are there will be other people who’ll agree. I think our vibe is great, you need to see us live to get the idea. I know its not exactly the world domination answer some bands would bang on about, I just think that you’ll get whats coming to you all in good time!
