Safari are five fearless young lads from Hertfordshire; the newest bunch to navigate the music industry jungle in a synth fuelled blast of electronic pop. Bursting out of the embers of the now defunct Model Horror, Safari have embraced a huge sound citing diverse influences, sharp song crafting and uplifting melodies that harness everything superb about eloquent pop music today.
Despite only being together since last year, Safari have been quick to nail down a single deal with new music purveyors, This Playground Records with their debut release set for early June. ‘Quicksand’ is a glorious 3 minute blend of dance worthy beats, Casio style keys and the representative vocal from front man Ian Larter bestowing upon people an aural assault to unearth a small fix of what this band are capable of. In fact with remixes already circulating the world wide web and an album of tracks recorded, Safari show a work ethic and passion far outweighing that of many other bands championing similar sounds and should be very proud of what they have achieved so far.
The live environment provides them a haven in which to demonstrate the variety their song writing permits. Track after track surges under the weight of their technicolor of sound that makes their music accessible to everyone. It is very easy to just close your eyes and imagine this emanating from a big festival stage and appreciate just how much potential Safari already have, but remember we told you about them first. This is no guilty pleasure, but electro-pop serving to please and to fascinate, so observe them in their own environment and get your ticket to see them live before everyone catches on. Khaki’s optional.
www.4ortherecord.com had the pleasure of speaking with Ian Larter (vocals/guitar) and Rob Hardy (syths/vocals) after their first London show at Proud Gallery in Camden to bring you an introduction to Safari as they prepare for the release of their debut single ‘Quicksand’.
4or The Record: The band name is an interesting concept which is reflected in the distinctive band artwork so far, but why did you choose to call the band Safari?
Ian: We liked the idea that it didn’t really relate to anything in particular, so with the name Safari if you haven’t heard of us or our music before then you probably don’t know what to expect or what you will hear; I mean it could be a DJ or a band or anything, so we liked the mysterious element of Safari as a band name.
Rob: And actually in Swahili Safari means journey so we felt it was pretty appropriate as we have been on a bit of a journey to get to this stage after the bands we were in before ended.
4TR: For anyone that hasn’t heard your music yet describe the direction in sound you are taking?
Ian: It is a landscape of glorious technicolor, in which razor sharp guitars duel with uplifting melodies and pulsating rhythms.
4TR: How does the writing process work internally, on both a lyrical and musical level?
Ian: At a young age Robert was burdened with his Granddads piano, mainly because it was too heavy to lift from his room. Despite the dust it gathered, he now brings ideas of a boy once stuck with a piano. Lyrically we agree what matters to explore, letting me take a lead on what’s said. An idea may encourage a good argument between us before any instrument is played, but quite often these are the best we have.
4TR: What directly influences you as musicians?
Rob: I think the captivating energy of performers like Karen O is a thing of wonder. There are certain shows that just make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Some of us managed to catch Daft Punk last time they played in the UK and their stage show was amazing.
4TR: What does Safari bring to the live environment during a show that people can look forward to?
Ian: Our aim is to bring energy to the venue, we want to feed peoples imagination so that they, like us, can get lost in that moment, where nothing else seems to matter except that place and time! The set is pretty new for us, we have only played four shows to date, but we are always experimenting with new sounds and images, its constantly evolving. At the moment Jonny (keys/synth) is just completing a graphic design degree and he’s taken it upon himself to produce one off pieces of artwork that we will be leaving at various venues – we used one as a backdrop at a recent London show…. So look out as they may be worth something, the muso Banksy perhaps!
4TR: What can people expect from the album?
Rob: We actually recorded the album across three different sessions, which began last summer in Cambridge. Between days we’d head down to the river and wander round the open spaces surrounding the city, so we think it captures part of that outdoor summer feeling.
Ian: In contrast to that, some of the tracks were recorded in a small studio on an industrial estate just off the A1, so the album has this tension between nature and urbanization. Its very mechanical sounding in places, but in a melodic way that allowed us to harness some uplifting sounds.
4TR: What themes do you explore through your lyrics and are they personal?
Ian: Our lyrics are quite personal, with lots of hidden meanings, mainly based around experiences that we’ve been through. I’m not going to reveal any more than that, its just I tend to write in an abstract way, but its definitely not observational, it’s about events close to home that we hide in abstract themes. I think there is currently a contrast in our songs, where the lyrics are darker than the music, and at the moment this is an important reflection of what we’re trying to achieve. We’re not singing about the sun, or the fairground, but sometimes our music sounds like we should be. Perhaps that’s some sort of reflection of modern life!
4TR: Your debut single is being released in June on This Playground Records, why did you choose ‘Quicksand’ from the album as the first release?
Rob: Well we think it’s a good strong track which is quite immediate when we play it live so straight away seems to get people interested and moving. That is what we are trying to do with all our songs and I think ‘Quicksand’ was the perfect lead in to everything else we have recorded with a fresh sound to it.
Ian: I think because we are basically all starting again with music it is the perfect introduction to what Safari is about as we try to build a bigger profile for ourselves, so that is what we are aiming to do by releasing it on This Playground which a label that is also new and fresh allowing us to stretch our wings a bit and grow as a band. I think it’s important for us to take what we each learnt musically before Safari and working with people like This Playground to move this band forward and realize its potential fully.
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