- Tue, 2013-03-12 12:30
Bouncy Australian four piece San Cisco throw their boy-meets-girl vocals across sweet, summery indie-pop.
Friends from school, Jordi (18), Josh (20), Nick (20) and Scarlett (19) are happy to admit that their huge single Awkward (currently at 3.8m youtube views) was written in under two hours and that their subsequent rise in popularity has made them even more steadfast in the belief that "if you were so worried about being cool, you'd never do anything.”
Still, their December 2012 Beach EP was quickly picked up by a host of tastemakers; playlisted on XFM, announced as BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe's Next Hype track and performed live in session for Huw Stephens. Now the EP is followed by the release of new single Wild Things (accompanied by a video banned from their native Australian TV), their first European tour, support dates for The Vaccines and Darwin Deez and finally, the release of their self-titled debut album in the summer.
With all this going on, we sent some questions across to Scarlett to find out more. Read her answers below, then watch the video for the incredibly catchy Awkward.
"I Like Music because...it makes me feel warm inside.' Scarlett Stevens, San Cisco
ILM: Hello. How are you?
Scarlett: Hey! I'm fab... How are you?
ILM: You're currently touring Europe. How has it been?
Scarlett: It's been awesome so far. We started the European tour in Paris supporting Darwin Deez, followed by shows in Germany and we just wrapped up our British tour last night in London. We've packed heaps in and still managed to have some days off in Paris which was amazing.
ILM: What's best and worst about being on tour?
Scarlett: There are lots of great things about being on tour. We get to meet lots of awesome people, like other musicians and fans in unfamiliar countries. The worst bit is all the extremes you experience – extreme tiredness, hunger etc.
ILM: Do you write while you're travelling?
Scarlett: Josh and Jordi have both started writing on their iPads. It's a pretty convenient way of getting all your ideas and inspiration down and it's a great way to kill time on planes and car rides.
ILM: You formed in 2009, how has your songwriting process developed since then? How would you describe the San Cisco approach to putting a song together?
Scarlett: It varies from song to song, but the most common way for a song to unfold is when Jordi writes lyrics and josh has a chord progression. The band then adds individual parts and helps with the structure/arrangements. Or Josh or Jordi will come to the band with a completed song, its different all the time. We've also written a few songs in the studio which has made the songwriting process a lot more collaborative, but can be really stressful with time constraints.
ILM: What were the biggest highlights while creating your debut album?
Scarlett: Making jaffles everyday for lunch, getting really good at pool and darts. It was great to see our demos grow into dynamic recordings.
ILM: And the biggest challenges?
Scarlett: The biggest challenge for us was writing from scratch in the studio under time constraints. It was also a challenge to not over do the songs and add too many things. Sometimes less is more.
ILM: How would you describe your music?
Scarlett: Indie pop/rock
ILM: What has been inspiring you lately?
Scarlett: As a band... vintage instruments/recording equipment, Electric Guest, Tune Yards, iPad technology.
ILM: Can you recommend any new / upcoming Australian music?
Scarlett: Yes! The Preatures, Snakadaktal, Abbe May, Ball Park Music, Cub Scouts
ILM: Anything else we should know?
Scarlett: We listen to/sing along to Time to say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli before we hit the stage each night.
Follow San Cisco on Twitter / Facebook
Interview by Kim Hillyard
