WE SAT DOWN WITH // DECO

Words by Robyn James // @robynjames0

  • Newbies ‘Deco’ consist of Max and John, two young lads from Nottingham
  • After the release of a track titled ‘Chances’ in 2017, they began to gain a larger fan base
  • Deco’s sound is a refreshing twist on classic indie, with more electro and pop influences throughout
  • 2018 saw the band embark on their debut headline tour
  • WTF? were lucky enough to chat with them about their sudden rise in popularity

Image: @decobanduk

WTF?: Right! To kick things off we want to congratulate you guys on your recent success. How has the past year been for you? Any highlights?

Deco: This year has been amazing – we’ve been on tour twice and had a huge festival season! We’re currently half way through our UK tour and the highlight has to be our sold out homecoming show at The Bodega in Nottingham – it was mental to sell out a venue that we grew up watching/supporting bands in.

Tour, Party or Block: The Killers, The 1975 and Wolf Alice.

– Tour: The Killers

– Party: The 1975

– Block: Wolf Alice? (Even though we have no reason to block Wolf Alice, we love ’em!)

Take us through a typical day with Deco!

Normally wake up around 8am. Stick on some 80’s bangers while we eat breakfast. Head to the studio, try and emulate the bangers as listened to over breakfast. Onwards to the pub for a quick Lagunitas… Home for Netflix & Chill.

Have you had any crazy fan experiences at all? If so, tell us what went down!

Not necessarily fans being crazy, but a crazy experience that included a fan? We played Y Not Festival this year, and Razorlight were the secret headliner for Thursday night. We bumped into Johnny Borrell walking round by the dance tents.

We were having a right drunken chin wag, when the most surreal thing happened. A 14/15 year old lad walked up to us, and I was thinking “Ah, our times up, nice to meet ya Johnny” but the boy said “Are you the singer from Deco? Really gutted we missed your set earlier, are you playing again?” The look on Johnny’s face was one of complete confusion… Seems like a nice guy though despite his bad rep – maybe he’s mellowed with age!

Image: Scruff of the Neck

Finish the sentence: “When I dance, people say I look like…”

Rick Astley

“If I could swap lives with one celeb for a day I’d choose…”

Leonardo Di Caprio

“My most embarrassing moment has been…”

Guitar strap snapping on stage and having to stop the song – back when I was 16!

Cozy night in or crazy night out?

Crazy night out

“The first record I ever bought was…”

The Killers – Hot Fuss

Dream collaboration?

Nile Rogers

What would you say to your younger selves?

Probably, wouldn’t say to change to much because you and your music are shaped by you’re experiences but would definitely say to start taking more seriously at a younger age!

What bands/musicians inspire you guys the most and how do they influence your work?

We’re heavily influenced by 80’s music, artists like George Michael & Tears for fears – especially melodically. We pride ourselves on catchy melodies and I guess those guys have really helped us find our path.

In terms of new, emerging acts, who’s capturing your attention and why?

Big fans of Low Island & Stereo Honey. Quite different to what we do but we just love how they merge elements of pop with some real dark atmospheric sounds. We saw Low Island when we played 110 Above Festival this year and they stood out – such a complex sound being absolutely nailed live.

What’s the writing process like? How do you put together a song?

Max comes up with the core idea for the song, normally by whistling tunes that come to his head into his phone and then develops into a full demo. We then take the songs into the studio and develop together.

Which five bands/musicians would appear on your dream festival lineup and what would your festival be called?

ROYFEST – Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Kraftwerk, Jeff Buckley, Wham

And finally, what are your aspirations for 2019? What can we expect from Deco?

Our debut EP will be out early 2019, with another later in the year! We’ll hopefully be heading on a couple of support tours early on and then doing the biggest shows we have ever done! Watch this space!