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Pet Slimmers Of The Year are a British Sludge/Post-Rock/Post-Metal band who have become one of my fave UK Underground acts of recent years. They have appeared on my blog a couple of times now.
Their blend of emotionally driven Sludge/Post-Metal riffs have struck a chord with many of us in the UK. I have recently been given the chance to interview this great band.
Q1. How did Pet Slimmers Of The Year came about. And how did you come up with that wonderful name.
We were originally in a four piece progressive metal band called "A Thousand Fires" but following some commitment issues from our singer/guitarist we disbanded in 2007 but continued on as a three-piece instrumental band as we were inspired to continue to create music together. Our sound has continued to evolve.
We were originally in a four piece progressive metal band called "A Thousand Fires" but following some commitment issues from our singer/guitarist we disbanded in 2007 but continued on as a three-piece instrumental band as we were inspired to continue to create music together. Our sound has continued to evolve.
As for the name, our drummer had a copy of Schott's Almanac, a best selling, annually published reference book, in his bathroom. Whilst enjoying some light toilet reading, our guitarist happened upon a section of the book detailing awards given out during that particular year, one of which happened to be "pet slimmer of the year". Having shared this particularly amusing anecdote with the rest of the band we agreed it would make a good name and have been stuck with it ever since.
Q2. How do you describe your music.
Ambient metal although a plethora of words have been used to describe us ranging from post-rock to movie soundtrack metal.
Q3. Who are your main influences.
Bossk, Oceansize, Mono, Meshuggah.
Q4. Is The Band A Full Time Job For you or do you have jobs and families to consider as well.
Although we would love to be able to pay our rent from playing in Pet Slimmers of the Year we all have various commitments and we all have full time jobs but the occasional payment for a gig or some merch sales is always very welcome.
Q5. How has the reception been to your music. I became a fan through Sludge Swamp and have never looked back.
People seem to really be on board with what we're doing and there is a bit of a boom recently of bands doing the kind of thing we are trying to do so I think it's a good time to be a part of the whole "post-rock/intrumental" scene with bands like And So I Watch You From Afar, Russian Circles and The American Dollar making waves, as well as Bossk re-forming and doing a Maida Vale session for the BBC recently.
Since releasing our EP's through the Lost Children net label and now Bandcamp we have had literally thousands of downloads so there are people out there listening to it and taking notice.
Q6. Do you tour much and is just local gigs that you do.
We have always been very active when it comes to playing live and since we have been taken on by management we are getting bigger and better shows and more exposure which is exactly what we need at this point in time. Plans are being made for some tours in the near future and we would love to play outside the UK as well.
Q7. How do you feel the state of the UK Underground scene is going. There are some brilliant bands out there which I feel don't get the recognition they deserve. Mainly due to rubbish Pop-Punk/Emo/Hairgel Metal bands taking over the scene.
You’re right, there are some amazing bands out there that don’t see the light of day and the ‘underground scene’ is flourishing. Unfortunately, that type of music isn’t what 12 years old girls want to hear so until then we’ll have to remain underground. It’s a good thing and keeps the music honest. If we were all commercial we’d all be wearing skinny jeans, eye make-up and have ridiculous hair. There are people out there though that are supporting bands such as ourselves and it's always great to see them at gigs, wether that be our own or somebody we've gone to check out on a recommendation..
Q8. You give your music away for free on BandCamp or on Internet Archive. What is your view on labels clamping down on bloggers and websites.
The industry has changed, and people paying for music isn’t really feasible anymore. In this genre you just want people to hear it so if that means giving our EPs away for free, then so be it. Particularly in this genre, bloggers more often help you rather than hinder. We’re always grateful when anyone likes what we do enough to post/re-post it and share it with others, the more people that hear it the better and blogging sites are a good medium to enable this to happen.
Q9. Do you have any plans to release your excellent albums on CD or Vinyl. Or is just too expensive to do nowadays.
Although it is expensive to produce a physical copy of your music, especially for unsigned bands, we do feel it is nice to have a well presented CD. Our second release, "...And The Sky Fell" is currently available on CD with full artwork which we sell at shows. Our forthcoming single, "Days Since I disappeared" will be available in CD format at both London and Winchester shows on the 2nd and 3rd of June respectively which we will be giving away free of charge as a pre-release before the single is officially released online.
Q10. How has the reaction been like to your music. Nationally and Internationally.
It appears a bulk of the people who listen to us are European which we think is cool. Generally the reaction is “I’ve never heard anything like that before” which is what you want, in a complimentary way of course! The people who hear it generally tend to really like it, it's just getting that exposure so that more and more people can discover us and get on board with what we're doing.
Q11. What are the future plans for PSOTY. I have listened to your new song – Days Since I Disappeared. WOW. Can't wait to hear the rest of that EP. Amazing song.
Thanks, we are very pleased with it. That song will be released as a single in the near future along with an accompanying short film which we are currently in the process of producing. Another five track EP will follow on which Days Since I disappeared will feature. We will be playing gigs up and down the country throughout the year as well as hopefully putting some tours together.
Q12. You recently opened your BandCamp Page for free downloads of your EP's. Looks like you had a brilliant response by fans. How was the overall feeling of this happening.
Awesome! We are really pleased with the response so far, Facebook and Bandcamp have been really useful tools in getting our music out there. We are very proud of the EPs and we feel that the more people that hear them the better so why not make them available free of charge? Our manager has been instrumental (no pun intended.....) in getting our music out to a wider audience. We really feel like we have a sense of direction now and we are very optimistic about the future of the band.
Q13. Do you think about ever writing a song with lyrics and vocals like Pelican did on their last album or are you sticking to instrumental work.
Actually two of the tracks on ‘…And The Sky Fell’ feature some vocal lines. These are faint and prop the tracks up with a little extra melody. We intend to keep the balance of instrumentals and vocals at this level because it's how we like to hear things. We’re never going to become a band with a front man.
Thanks for taking the time in answering these questions. Keep up the excellent work.
Check This Great Band Below. And if you haven't checked them out. Do So Now!!!
BandCamp
Here is my fave track of this excellent band. The awesome A Letter To His Father.
