INTERVIEW: AlunaGeorge
We have a chat with George Reid of Alunageorge about the band's visit to Australia for Listen Out.
With Parklife being discontinued this year and replaced by the new dance festival Listen Out, it was interesting for everyone to find out who would be on the line-up for this new party Fuzzy have announced they're throwing.
As expected, a more than capable line-up was revealed and amongst DISCLOSURE, DUKE DUMONT and out favourite pizza guy TOUCH SENSITIVE, British duo ALUNAGEORGE will be gracing the Listen Out stage for their first ever Australian tour.
ALUNAGEORGE is a very literal name for Aluna Francis and George Reid, who have taken over radio stations everywhere with their infectious dance tunes. George Reid had a chat with us about their new album Body Music, which is due for release this month, and how excited he is about his forthcoming Australian visit.
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So how excited are you about Body Music finally being released?
I’m very excited, I think we originally starting writing this album last year, and there is a deadline you can’t miss and then we stopped for like a week or something and then it would be Christmas and everyone would leave and would be away until the New Year {laughs} then you know everything kind of went mental for us to be honest [laughs]. So you know we were getting some radio support and great coverage and then with the turn of the year we appeared in every list for this year, and the Brit nomination.. So everything just went up a level and I don’t even believe what these people are saying saying! But we didn’t rush this album, and it was great because it was basically already finished we were just messing around, riding sort of pressure free which was very nice. And then in June this thing happened and now we’re finally in July!
Of course in between all that there was the collaboration with Disclosure as well..
Oh that was mainly Aluna and the guys, I’d love to take credit for it but I just can’t [laughs].
You’ll still be seeing them when you play Listen Out festival later on this year anyway. Are you excited about coming to Australia?
I cannot wait to come to Australia! I came over when I was like 16, and [laughs] I really can’t wait to get back.
Where in Australia did you travel to when you visited?
I was in Sydney, well in a place just outside Sydney and I went over to Surfers Paradise area, went to the mountains for a bit… it was very nice. Everyone speaks the language and everyone seems happier, I wonder if it’s the weather [laughs] it might put you in a certain mood.
How long have you and Aluna been making music together for?
A little over three years now. It’s pretty much how long we’ve known each other, so we pretty much started making music immediately after we started meeting.
And you’ve just become closer as time’s gone on...
Yeah, well everyone knows the longer you know someone it works you know [laughs]. We just got to know each other and especially over the last year, everything’s happening, and we’re spending so much time together whether it’d be gigs or just anything that comes along with being in a band and you know, we spend a lot of time with each other. It’s a good thing we get along [laughs]. It would be very awkward otherwise.
So on tour do you tend to joke around a lot more now or is it quite relaxed?
We’re pretty relaxed to be quite honest, nothing too rockstar or anything like that.
Do you plan on doing anything else whilst you’re over in Australia or is it mainly just playing gigs?
I think it’s just playing to be honest; we’re going to reach as many people as possible, I still find it amazing that we are getting to come over and play in Australia; play a couple of our tracks and a couple of radio stations. I can’t wait to come.
Other than Australia, are there any other places you’re excited about visiting? I remember seeing the dates for a UK and European Tour..
Yeah well we really were quite successful in Europe and we did a short tour a couple of months back, but we’re doing a pretty extensive one in November and that’s right t the end of the year, which is always fun, it’s amazing There’s so many different cultures in such a small space and just different people who all have different ways of life. You see a lot when you go out there it’s brilliant.
I’ve heard so many good stories from people who have travelled over there, especially about Berlin..
Berlin is cool, there’s a reason why people talk about it [laughs] it’s really cool, you know when you buy the tickets and get the time to get over there do it.
So what are you both up to after you’ve toured Europe, the UK and of course Australia?
I really don’t know! My life’s pretty much touring until December right now, so I’ll deal with that [laughs]. Well after the festivals, I think we’re playing about 30 festivals this summer, so quite a lot, and then we’re going over to America you know, see the sights and then we’ll come back to the UK and play here and then go over to Europe. So after that, I believe I’m going to take a couple of days off [laughs] and we’ll see how people will react to the album and it’ll be interesting.
Body Music will be released on July 26th through Island Records
Words By Lauren Payne
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