In this interview spotlight, we chat with self-proclaimed Swedge Rockers The Naked Feedback about their new release, influences, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and the video for Who Is She? below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We are The Naked Feedback and we are from Blantyre in Glasgow, Scotland.
We are the self proclaimed “Swedge Rock” Pioneers.
You Tennesseans might not understand the term so you might want to look at Urban Dictionary to help and if its nit helpful then you’ll just have to fly here to experience it in the flesh.
Or fly us to play The Ryman Auditorium.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
The purple brick road?
We noticed a large gap in the scene for guitar music that makes you wanna dance and headbang simultaneously.
In Scotland the scene is just raw punk and light indie and its very “cliquey” and neither of those genres really interest us. So, we are here to give Scotland what it needs.
We come from a small ex mining village and life is extremely monotonous and it’s not affluent at all.
We want to make a living doing something we like rather than doing a job we hate just to get by. We really don’t want to be stuck in groundhog day and we want to be able to prosper and look after ourselves by doing something we love.
How is your new release different from previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Our latest single is called “Who Is She?”
Its catchier and people like to sing along but its also a driving rock song.
Also, theres a French verse and a drum machine in the track which are two concepts that we have really wanted to try out and will probably expand on in the future.
The music video is the most risqué and attention grabbing so far with less story than the previous videos but visually and sonically its leaps and bounds over the previous singles.
We wanted to make it different. The lyrics are light hearted and tongue in cheek. It’s an inside joke about our experience in London last year. Its about attractive girls. Unlike the serious concepts explored in the previous singles of drug abuse and paranoia.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
Yes, its hard to break into an extremely saturated market. But it’s not impossible, it takes a lot of planning and preparation and trial and error. Slowly we are establishing ourselves in Scotland and we are seeing a lot of grass roots interaction with the band.
Technology definitely helps get out material out to the masses but the downside is EVERY artist is doing the same.
The argument about Spotify ripping artists off etc. doesn’t really apply to small acts. We know we wont make money selling songs at this level anyway. To us Spotify is a good thing as it’s a global platform where people around the world can discover us.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
We are everywhere.
Facebook is still our main hub as it gives you all our tour dates and updates. Although Facebook has plateaued its still the best way to interact and connect with people.
Our music is on Spotify and Tidal and iTunes and really anywhere music can be bought or listened to. YouTube has our music videos and since we really put a lot of effort and time into them, we are trying to push our channel hard.
Anything else before we sign off?
We are releasing singles throughout the year and probably into next year. We have a rough plan for the future but we really want to play more shows outside Scotland.
So keep an eye out for us as we are in it for the long haul and the USA is only a flight away.
