Interview with Rival Saints

Looking for another dose of rising Scots talent? Get acquainted with Rival Saints…

rival-saints-interview-record-weekly — *Image credit: Rival Saints*

RECORD WEEKLY’S INTERVIEW WITH RIVAL SAINTS

Hey hey, how are you doing?

We’re great thank you! How are you?

Glad to hear it, I’m brilliant thanks! Now, take us back to the beginning — when did you form Rival Saints? Where did the name come from?

It really started out of a new production space that Alex had a couple of years ago. We ended up writing tonnes and tonnes of material in there with no real pressure or preconceived ideas. It has a big live space, so it felt like a proper band. Alex and Mikey had worked together on previous projects, and we thought his creativity would be the perfect complement to the music.

The name was just one which we all loved the simplicity and boldness of from a huge list, really. Plus, it looks nice written down.

For sure! Which artists have had the biggest influences on your sound?

We all have pretty different tastes but find common ground in weird, ’80s pop stuff, alongside other Scottish bands.

How has the past year been with the pandemic? What impact has it had on the band?

We’re based in two different cities anyway, so it hasn’t messed up our flow too much. But the craziness of it all has definitely had an impact on us, as it has for everyone, I suppose. However, it’s also given us time to focus, and flex our other muscles, too. We do all the photography, artwork and visual presence ourselves, so it’s ace to have that collaborative, expressive process stretch beyond the music.

What’s next on the horizon? You just have the one single, ‘The Real Outside’, available to stream. Can you tease any gigs or upcoming releases?

Yeah, definitely! The next one is ready to go. It’s a wee bit slower and more expansive than ‘The Real Outside’, though, so watch this space. Cheers!