London’s art-rock quartet Pace return with the release of their vibrant new single Strange Secrets, out now via AWAL.
Combining sweeping guitars with colourful synths and vintage piano tones, Pace are able to create a sound that is both playful and undeniably infectious. Frontman Jamie Ley’s impassioned baritone soars effortlessly over the eclectic instrumental flourishes, whilst the quartet’s tightly woven harmonies chime perfectly into place. Co-written by Justin Young (The Vaccines) and produced by Brett Shaw (Florence & The Machine, Foals), Strange Secrets is about having the confidence to stand up for yourself and confront someone, even though it may be difficult. “Losing trust in someone can mess with your mind, but we want people to feel empowered when they listen to the track,” Jamie elaborates. “It’s about not being afraid to make tough choices, especially if everything seems weird. You gotta know that things will get better!”
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Pace about their music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into you, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
The style has built very organically over the past couple of years, starting off as (frontman) Jamie Ley’s studio project, transforming into the energetic four piece we are today. We’ve always kept the same ideals, and still perform one or two songs from the early days. Most of our tunes start out on the piano or guitar then we all come together and play around, adding parts until we’re all happy.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
We released our first track ‘Foolish’ back in 2017. Since then we have spent a lot of time writing together and will be looking to release more singles and an EP later this year.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
We have a great dynamic and are all influenced by each other. It’s really important to have fun when you play and not take yourself too seriously. We’re always up for trying something different in a way that makes us want to push harder, play longer and experiment more. We try every suggestion amongst us and there are no egos if we agree that something doesn’t work. It’s a very creative environment to work in.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
We wanted to release an upbeat track ready for summer. We enjoyed experimenting in the studio using a tape machine as well as vintage piano and synths. We also used a Marimba for a solo, which we didn’t plan on doing before we were in the studio!
What was the last song you listened to?
Dana Gavanski – Catch
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
We’re a big fan of vinyl, as it fully involves you into the artists intentions by encouraging a complete listen of the LP. Music is commodified so easily being used as background music etc. so to find the time and sit down with a full LP is a real treat for the listener, and also for the artist.
Saying that, we’re also heavy streamers. Accessibility to such a huge array of eclectic artists makes it easy to find your new favourite jam.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Spotify is our go-to, especially since they just increased the maximum amount of music you can have stored! It’s where you can find us and where we intend our main platform to be, although we are on Apple Music & Soundcloud too. We’re not on Bandcamp but understand it is one of the best ways to support smaller artists, through album and merch sales.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
As you say it’s competitive out there with so much new music being released now. We just try and stick to our principles, play gigs and record new ideas to the best of our ability and grow our fans organically!
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
Since we’re quite new we’ve mostly played smaller venues such as; St Pancras Old Church, Old Blue Last, New Cross Inn and also a spot at The Alternative Escape Festival in Brighton but we would love to play the summer festivals next year! We’re doing a series on Instagram called #PlayAtHome where we take turns to play some of our own songs and covers of artists we like, you might also catch us doing live stream sessions through our Instagram page these days!
List on any upcoming live shows here (if applicable).
Before lockdown we had an exciting show booked at the Old Queens Head in London, it’s been rescheduled for August 6th and hopefully it will be safe to play by then, but it’s more important to act according to the guidelines. If it has to be postponed, it will just mean that we will spend more time getting excited for it!
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
We’re big fans of Instagram and are more active there than other platforms. All four of us have the login and it’s run very democratically, so there’s a way to connect through to all of us on there. We have also been experimenting recently with Twitch.tv and TikTok… It’s a work in progress but watch this space!
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Words of wisdom right now are just to go easy on yourself, especially during the current year. We don’t think anyone’s really going out there in 2020 and announcing it’s the highlight of their life so far, so with that in mind, give yourself a break. You’re gonna wake up every so often and just feel an immediate ‘Nope!’ to the world and it can be hard to pull yourself out of that funk, ride it through and really appreciate the days that are more manageable. It’s not easy out there right now!
