Over the last 18 months Yorkshire electro-rockers Proxies have shared the stage with the likes of Kids in Glass Houses, Hadouken, Canterbury and Patrick Stump. Whilst their recent single ‘If I Had A Penny To My Name’ features vocals from The Blackout’s Sean Smith.
Having been labelled as “Pendulum! at the Disco,” the quartet blend springy electronic elements with alt-rock guitars which has led the band to be compared to bands like Enter Shikari. However despite this Proxies cite bands such as Brand New and Manchester Orchestra as influences.
Already Heard recently spoke to Jordan Fish from Proxies to talk about their influences, working with Sean Smith, their live show and more.
Already Heard: Could you introduce yourself and your role in Proxies? Proxies: Sure. Hi, my name is Jordan and I play a strange instrument called a zTar, which is essentially a Midi Guitar, and handle the electronica side of the live show!
How would you describe your sound to new fans? Proxies: Kind of like if a rock band accidentally got sent to the future and they wanted to play with all the digital weird instruments… and maybe didn’t really know how to use them properly.
What bands would you class as influences?
Proxies: Everything from Muse to Knife Party to 30 Seconds To Mars and back again. We’re big fans of Brand New, Manchester Orchestra, and also the majority of the Decaydance family. Bands that capture a huge sound both in their live environment and also on a record are very likely to make us envious!
Since forming you’ve played shows with Patrick Stump, Kids in Glass Houses, Hadouken, andCanterbury. How have these helped the band develop?
Proxies: Mostly, they have been a learning curve on what works live and what doesn’t. For example, sometimes I have a weird idea and the rest of the band disagree but since I’m stubborn I’ll make them do it anyway, and testing these things live allows us to see where our ideas cross the pretentious-line from “this is strange but it makes me feel warm and happy inside” into “what is happening, is this what a bad LSD trip is like?”… They generally end up with the guys saying “I told you so”. Ha. With every show that passes we become more comfortable playing live and find new ways to tweak the live show, it’s something we’re super proud of and very much a constant work in progress.
You recently released a single called ‘If I Had A Penny To My Name.’ What can you tell us aboutit?
Proxies: It features one of our friends, Sean Smith, and it was produced by another one of our friends, Gareth McGrillen. It is the track that kind of “sums up” what the rest of our material sounds like if you rolled it all up into one track, without sounding directly like any of our other songs, which is why we thought it was a good idea to bring it out first.
The single features vocals from The Blackout’s Sean Smith. How did the collaboration cometogether?
Proxies: I paid Sean one million pounds and in return he gave me a strip tease and also did vocals for our track.
With bands such Enter Shikari and Hadouken gaining mass exposure, has it helped an electro-rockband like Proxies get noticed more?
Proxies: I think so. We don’t necessarily sound like Hadouken or Shikari, but do aim to deliver a similar kind of energy in the live environment. It’s definitely made it less confusing for people to perceive the idea of a rock band with the inclusion of electronica beats/instruments/sounds. We’re big fans of both.
How would you describe a live Proxies show?
Proxies: Pretty silly. We try to push out a ton of energy with the live show, aiming to make moving irresistible, and allowing it to be possible to enjoy the show even if you’re unfamiliar with the songs. We also try to make the sound as big as possible, utilising live bass along with synth bass to create walls of sound that you can feel. While we take the live production very seriously, we like to have fun when we’re performing and hope the people that come along have fun too. We sometimes have the crocodile from our ‘If I Had A Penny’ video around to crowd surf and dance poorly. His real name is Greg Brown, he has fantastic facial hair and brings joy to all those he meets. Except his ex-girlfriends.
Finally why should people give Proxies a listen?
Proxies: Well, they just read an entire interview about us so it seems logical that they would listen to give it a little context. Or, because our singer is well fit…
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Over the last 18 months Yorkshire electro-rockers Proxies have shared the stage with the likes of Kids in Glass Houses, Hadouken, Canterbury and Patrick Stump. Whilst their recent single ‘If I Had A Penny To My Name’ features vocals from The Blackout’s Sean Smith.