WHITE COLLAR KISS
PHOTO BY: David Sessions  l  WEBSITE: www.facebook.com/whitecollarkiss

THE BAND RECENTLY FINISHED RECORDING ITS DEBUT ALBUM TITLED FLUORESCENT. WAS IT AL SMOOTH SAILING GETTING THE ALBUM WRITTEN AND FINISHED?

Well, it was a long process, very much a learning experience. We had a lot of unforeseen challenges, but ultimately a very exciting and rewarding result! But in all the challenges, it was an opportunity to find ourselves musically as we furthered in the recording process. We were extremely lucky to be working with great engineers and producers, especially the head engineer, Louis Henn!

TELL US MORE ABOUT HOW YOU DECIDED ON THE ALBUM TITLE FLUORESCENT AND WERE THERE A FEW OTHER TITLES YOU CONSIDERED?

We really loved the imagery that Fluorescent presented, a clean, yet powerful edge, which is a lot like our music. We had a long meeting about the name of the album, but after all the suggestions, Fluorescent just stuck, and we are so excited to release it in July!

ARE MOST OF YOUR SONGS ABOUT LOVE AND LIFE IN GENERAL OR DO YOU HAVE A FEW FIXED SUBJECTS THAT YOU LIKE TO WRITE LYRICS ABOUT ALL THE TIME?

Our lyrics are mostly relationship based and inter-personal, they convey imagery that a lot of people can relate to, stuff that happens between people everyday.

DOES THE MUSIC YOU GUYS (AND GIRL) LISTEN TO ON A DAILY BASIS FALL UNDER THE SAME GENRE AS THE MUSIC YOU ARE MAKING IN WHITE COLLAR KISS AND WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG GOOD OR BAD, THAT YOU COULD NOT GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD?

Wow, good question, both yes and no, we individually appreciate music differently, our tastes range from jazz to metal, from rock to pop, it really depends on the song, generally we really appreciate great musicianship. Song stuck in our heads at the moment, One Republic – All the Right Moves

WILL THERE BE ONE OR TWO COVER SONGS ON THE ALBUM AS WELL AND IF NOT WHICH SONG WOULD YOU LIKE TO COVER THE MOST OF ALL IF YOU HAD TO?

No covers (laughs), not on this album. There are so many songs that we would love to cover, Nate has been pushing to take an old classic and spice it up with a White Collar Kiss twist! We might do a cover later, on future albums, but can’t give a specific title quite yet!

A MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE SONG SIX FT. UNDER WAS ALSO FILMED RECENTLY. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE CONCEPT FOR THE VIDEO AND WHAT MADE SIX FT. UNDER THE BEST CHOICE AS THE SONG FOR YOU TO LAUNCH THE ALBUM WITH?

The video was a great opportunity to showcase the members of the band, so the concept revolves around the members, the song is quite edgy, and so we had the shoot in environments that represented the song to its fullest! We shot in factories, warehouses and in the streets of Cape Town. In choosing the song, we wanted to pick a song that represented us off the bat, so we picked Six ft. Under, this has a lot of attitude, and a lot of energy!

BEING YOUR FIRST MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT; THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A FEW PARTS DURING FILMING WHERE THINGS WERE NOT LIKE YOU EXPECTED THEM TO BE?

Haha, yes! Long hours, and endurance to do the same movements over and over and over again! But we worked with an amazing Director (Kim Hinrichs) and his amazing team, who made the process of shooting a video somewhat enjoyable!

THE HARDEST PART FOR ANY BAND PROBABLY IS TO CREATE “AWARENESS” AND MAKE PEOPLE TAKE NOTICE OF YOUR BAND. WILL YOU BASICALLY HIT THE ROAD AFTER THE ALBUM IS RELEASED AND TOGETHER WITH THE MUSIC VIDEO AND ALL THOSE THINGS JUST HOPE FOR THE BEST AND ENJOY THE RIDE?

The music video and the single are being released to all the relevant radio stations and TV stations across the country, then we look to release the second single ‘More Than This’, then hopefully go out in July and promote the album as it comes out across the country. While we are promoting the album we are looking forward to performing around South Africa with some other amazing acts!

LISTENING TO YOUR MUSIC I GET THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE TARGETING YOURSELVES TO GET PLAY LISTED ON RADIO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE (WHO DOESN’T) BUT; IN THE END OF THE DAY A BAND HAS TO MAKE THEIR MUSIC AS ACCESSIBLE AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THE SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC MARKET IS SO SMALL I GUESS?

Well, getting on radio is important, for any band, it just opens up huge opportunities. As far as the South African music market, right now, we believe things are alive and well, people love the music we (as a country) are making, international markets are looking at us now. Now is probably the best time to be in music, artists are experiencing growth, never before seen!

BESIDES MUSIC DO ANY OF YOU HAVE A HIDDEN TALENT THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT LIKE BEING REALLY GOOD AT FLY FISHING OR SOMETHING?

Uuum, Nathan has a killer Arnold Schwarzenegger impression! Bethany has a unique talent of not being able to whistle, whilst still believing she can whistle! Michael has an impressive chicken dance. Trevor can make a suit look good!

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ANYTHING ELSE FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?

We are releasing Six ft. Under to stations across the country, we would love for fans to request it from their local stations! Keeping an eye out for the music video! And hopefully supporting the album when it comes out in July! Also, thank you to Neil for the great interview!

INTERVIEW BY NEIL VAN ZYL