In our recent conversation with Tali Källström, lead singer in Estrons, she jokingly omitted, “It’s not easy being in a band like Estrons”. Which isn’t surprising really – the exceedingly high expectations they hold for themselves, for every single one of their tracks and their relentlessly energetic live performance is staggering. With two killer singles and a brilliant debut EP (She’s Here Now) under their belt, 2017 looks to be a wild ride for the band based in Wales. Ahead of their tour which starts at the beginning of February, including Komedia, Brightonsfinest spoke to Tali to find out more about Estrons as well as their plans for the year.
Where are you all from?
I am Welsh-Canadian. Rhodri is from West Wales. Tobi is from Bristol. Steff is from Cardiff. They are all currently living in Cardiff and I am somehow, by the roll of the dice, stuck in the roughest part of Swansea.
Is there much of a music scene there?
There‘s some stuff happening underground, at a couple of bars you would go to. There is a place called Motzarts – I’m not sure if it whatever it used to be a swinger’s club or restaurant, as from the outside it looks like a restaurant but the whole place is blacked out. It does a lot of world music nights, 90s pop music nights. We played a warm up gig their once ahead of an industry gig and it was packed out with an amazing atmosphere. There are also lots of art exhibitions that you have to be in on the scene to get an invite – but it’s not necessarily cool, just full of 50 year old parents or people like me.
How did Estrons form?
Estrons originally met on a beach in Aberystwyth. There were lots of members coming in and out of the band like a roundabout. Rhodri, who is the founding member, decided he wanted a female vocalist. He denies it, but I specifically heard the word female and think that’s why he approached me. I had already been in a band and didn’t want to be in a band ever again. It had always been my dream to be a singer and musician since I was three but I had gotten really hurt by the first band I was in, it felt like going through a break up. So I didn’t want to get hurt again when Estrons approached me, but I went through with it and a couple years later it has turned into something a lot bigger and more important than I could have expected it to be.
Has your style/genre of music stayed the same?
When we first started playing proper industry shows, we were a lot softer and sounded more melodic. For some reason after ‘Make A Man’, the music got angrier. We had quite a dramatic year last year which was filled with emotions, I think it came out in our music. Our booking agent came to see us at our last Brighton gig at The Green Door Store and he was like, “I don’t know where to place you guys. What are you? You have become really heavy, do you want to be in Kerrang or ….”, but we have come away from that now. We all went to do some songwriting last week and we have become a little softer, however, we still put our absolute all into every performance.
Have you had to adapt your performance due to the energy you put in and the amount of shows you have been doing?
You have to balance the right energy. Our bassist was going absolutely crazy with the amount of head-banging, we all were. It didn’t help that we were supporting Slaves who put in an impressive amount of energy into each performance. We realised when watching them that Laurie draws it back a lot which balances each otherwise out. As we play at such a high energy rate, we realised that you just can’t do it for six weeks at four/five show in a row, especially if we’re doing a 45-minute set. You have to give it about 85% other you’re just going to die, which isn’t fair for the gigs towards the end of a tour – they don’t want to see us as just a mess.
How do you approach the writing process?
We have tried every type of songwriting we could possible think of doing. Because we don’t all live in the same city and as we are an independent band, we have other things to keep us going. So we don’t always have the time to be together every day. We’ll either write a demo online or we’ll be sending voice memos to each other. The most rewarding way of writing is for us to be together. We recently spent a couple of nights in this cottage out in West Wales. There was no signal or internet and there was no band admin we had to do, so there was nothing else for us to do other that eat, write songs and then go to bed – we literally came up with three new tracks in two days. We are going to play some of these new songs when we are on tour which is exciting.
Tell me a bit about the She’s Here Now EP?
They were pretty new songs and as the opportunity to tour with Slaves came about, we didn’t have that much time to do them in. ‘I’m Not Your Girl’ was only written a couple of months before week went into the studio. I was still writing the lyrics to ‘Belfast’ as we were walking to the studio on the day we were recording. The EP kind of shows our journey and what we can do, as it’s got a bit everything we are about in it – the raucous, heavier aspects but also a more dynamic sound like on ‘Call You Mine’.
Is there another release coming soon?
We’re not going to do a Beyoncé and just pull a release out of the sky so don’t get your hopes up, but we are looking to go back into the studio soon and do it all ourselves again. Steff, who is now our bassist, also produced all our singles, so now we are bouncing ideas off each other more and more.
What has been a musical eye-opener and how has it affected you?
I find a lot of music just doesn’t touch me, even though I can appreciate it for what it is. Elliot Smith is my favourite artist of all time, I think he writes so honestly. When I first heard his music when I was about sixteen, I was like “Wow, I have so many feelings”, and wanted to make music like that. Even though some of our songs kind of have a comic edge, they are still coming from a real place that is sarcastic but rings very true for a lot of people and not just myself.
Who would be in your ultimate supergroup?
Beyoncé as the ultimate front-woman. Greg Saunier from Deerhoof on drums as everything about him is great. Elliot Smith has to be on guitar and Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass. This is the weirdest group in the world but I think they could work well together – maybe like some emotional trip-hop music. The others in Estrons would definitely want different people in there, but we’ll stay with that for now.
What would be your perfect line-up of any three acts for a concert you are putting on and where would it be?
The Roots would headline – they are mind-blowingly good live. Deerhoof are just an amazing band, they are all super talented. Obviously I would love to see Elliot Smith live, so he could start things off. It would be a pretty depressing start but by the time The Roots are on stage, everyone would be happy again. It would be at The Point in Cardiff, which has sadly been shut down. It is this church that was converted into a venue – the acoustics were incredible and there was always a great atmosphere. So if we could reopen The Point and bring back Elliot Smith, I think we would have a really good show.
If you could work with any artist, who would it be and what would they bring to Estrons?
It’s a difficult one. For me it would be Grimes. She has it all and she has managed to take over the world a little bit. It’s that confidence to burst into dance and sing those high notes – I want to know how she does it all. I’m sure she could improve my performance beyond my means as well as give a lot of confidence to the whole band.
What music are you listening to at the moment, any recommendations?
I’m listening to loads of Frank Ocean. Also The Bees and Friends. A lot of r&b, hip-hop and Nigerian rap music too.
Do you get to go to many gigs? Any that have stood out?
When we were at SXSW I got to see Stormzy, who I annoyingly missed when he came to Swansea a couple of months before. His flow was amazing but half of the crowd just didn’t get grime music. It was interesting seeing an act that is huge in the UK but completely out of context in the States.
What are your future plans?
We have our February tour. We have got festivals in the summer, but none are announced yet so unfortunately we can’t say anything. In April we are supporting The Amazons on their tour. We will be releasing something very soon, but not too soon. Our next single will definitely have a music video; it has been ages since we have released one!
Website: estrons.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Estrons
Twitter: twitter.com/estrons_music