The band were kind enough to chat to Scottish Fiction, and are also contributing a track to the very first ever Scottish Fiction EP, which will be released soon.
Hello, how the devil are you?
We're fantastic. How are you?
Tell us a little about your music and your influences.
We always have real trouble describing how our music sounds to be honest. I find it better to have someone else outwith the band describe our sound really, as they'll hear it differently from how we hear it. Lyrically though, it's a mixed bag of the personal and the fictional. Many of the songs I've written have been about a few nameless fictional characters so in a way there's a sort of narrative flowing through a number of them. More recently though, I've been writing about things a bit more personal to me. As for influences, Mogwai, Frightened Rabbit, Aereogramme, The National and Sigur Ros are just a few of many.
Scotland has a thriving music scene. How do you find being a part of that?
There's a great wee scene just now, loads of cracking gigs and events happening. I don't know how much of a part of that we are right now though due to the fact we've been fairly inactive this year. We'll have the chance to get more involved in coming months.
Which Scottish musician(s) would you recommend to the Scottish Fiction readers?
One of my favourite Scottish acts just now is Moon Unit. They played a superb gig in the Glasgow Art Club last year in quadrophonic sound, put on by our good friends, from a stolen sea.
One of the best tracks I've heard all year was In Winter, We Should Have Headed For Shelter by So Many Animal Calls. Brilliant tune.
Also I've recently been listening to loads of Endor, the newly reformed Sputniks Down and the sadly now-defunct Galchen. So far, my favourite album this year is Monoganon's 'Songs To Swim To'.
You release a second EP called 'The Very Very Rough Demos' in June this year. How has your music progressed since the release of 'Cardboards Ships'?
It's not really an EP I suppose, just a few tracks we recorded roughly one night so we could basically remind people we were still alive and get some feedback on how things are sounding from fans. We always encourage people to be as critical and constructive as possible. So far, it's all been very positive. Our music has changed a lot in just a year I'd say. We spend a lot more time really getting to the depth of each song we write, analysing every pretty much every bar extensively to see whether it works or not. I think there's definitely been a progression anyway. When I listen back to Cardboard Ships I find it sounds like a band in transition from one sound to another, which is pretty much what we were. I think we're getting there now though.
What's your biggest achievement so far?
I don't know exactly what our biggest achievement has been so far but certainly one of our most enjoyable experiences as Campfires was the Cardboard Ships tour we done last year where we played a load of folks' flats, including one gig with RM Hubbert. Had a great few days doing it. And got served some lovely food too.
Tell us a little about about your songwriting process.
It starts when one of us has an idea that he brings to the rest of the band at rehearsal. Sometimes the idea is as embryonic as a simple chord sequence, guitar or bass riff. It might even be a vocal melody. Sometimes, by the time it gets brought to rehearsal, it's pretty much a full blown song with provisional parts written for each of us. After that, we critique each part, change what needs to be changed, and keep repeating that for a few weeks. The lyrics tend to be written throughout the process but it's almost always the musical idea that comes along first.
What could we expect to see/hear from your live shows?
Really loud, noisy yet melodic music. Our live stuff is a little more intense so it's a completely different experience to whats on record. People tend to really like us live so I take it we must be worth seeing.
Speaking of live shows, what does the second half of the year hold for you?
We have nothing booked yet but should hopefully have a few gigs confirmed in the next few weeks. Hoping to be playing very regularly from late-September onwards however.
Thanks very much for speaking to us. Would you care to share a joke with the Scottish Fiction readers?
What's brown and white and floats through walls?
Casper the friendly plate of mince.
Below is 'Twelve Thousand Drops' which aired on last Monday's show. You can check out more about Campfires In Winter on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
01 - Campfires In Winter - Twelve Thousand Drops by campfiresinwinter
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