Originally appeared online February 2015
Once hailed as “the future of indie”, midlands-four-piece PEACE have been bang-on our radar since 2012 with the release of dreamy debut album ‘In Love‘.
Now promoting a new album and currently in the midst of a sold out tour – I managed to catch up with lead-singer Harry Koisser. What materialized was a sleepy chat about teen-movies and Led Zep.
The story of PEACE’s formation was one which didn’t exactly start off so peaceful..
“Me and Dom were the first people who met at college.. and we really didn’t like each other.” He tells me. “But then we kinda became mates, I guess just because we both wore Led Zeppelin tshirts. He was friends with Doug and Sam was my brother so it just fell together like that. We played wherever and whenever we could. We were such a teen band. You could make a teen-movie about us” Harry admits “Its the kinda shit Dave Grohl bangs on about y’know? From the garage to the stage. Small town boys.”
November and the Criminal, which would eventually become what we now know as PEACE was the first line-up to contain all four members. “We played probably to a maximum of five people at a local pub. And then after that we formed PEACE and were a little less shit by that point. It kinda became something quite nice.”
As the primary songwriter for the band, I was interested to know Harry’s creative process..“I kinda write songs in the way that a classic songwriter writes bloody songs. Have you seen the film Music and Lyrics ? Its exactly like that. EXACTLY.” He admits.
The band’s evolution included trying to imitate others such as Explosions in the Sky, with long songs and Lynyrd Skynyrd-esque vocals over the top. Eventually they came into their own.. although Harry’s still not quite sure what that is. “I always wanted us to sound like Led Zeppelin. But with a little bit of techno as well. Maybe we’re in the middle? Maybe that’s us. I dunno what we are, I’m confused.”
A confusion which is unsuprising. From four teenagers kicking around in Birmingham, the lads had to grow up quickly when their first album dropped. This almost ‘forced maturity’ has informed much of their material. Harry elaborates this for me.
“The first album was made at that point in our lives where the four of us had honestly just been having irresponsible fun. And then at the end of it we made this record ’cause our band got signed. We went on tour. And we stopped. All of that stopped, all of it went away. Y’know we weren’t out clubbing every night. We were playing shows.”
He continues “The first album was just a massive melting pot of like ‘wanna have a good time – wanna never die – wanna keep doing this forever – wanna fall in love – what is life?’ .. then this time its a bit more like ‘okay, life’s weird – love’s really weird – I’ve had a look at it and I don’t like it – I wanna go back to the bubble’. But I write songs so honestly. I just write what I’m seeing”
Speaking specifically about the new album (out this month) Harry explains,
“The album is called ‘Happy People’ but it doesn’t have to be all that. If there’s a sad song on there, maybe in comparison to all the other shit that’s going on in the world, its actually quite a happy song! I quite like that idea.”
Back in 2012, much of the music press branded the band as “the future of indie”, something I was interested to hear Harry’s thoughts on..
“At first, I was like fuck that’s really good. The only problem for me was like..(this probably sounds really bratty) I was never into indie music. And I feel really bad, ’cause we’re like representing this new generation of music. But I’ve just never been into it.”
So did he think Peace was ‘indie’ at all?
“I never did, but I think its just something you’ve gotta accept. I don’t know what we are. I can’t make my mind up. I just wanted to mix 90s trance, hard techno and the sounds of Led Zeppelin basically. That was it.”
With the definition of what ‘indie’ is as a genre pretty sketchy – is it a vibe, a sound or something else entirely – the conversation turned to its influence on kids growing up..
“I really think people are desperate to find a new subculture..” Harry tells me “But maybe I’m wrong. I sometimes accidentally speak like I’m speaking with some sort of authority and I need to bear in mind that I don’t know everything”
But surely his opinion was as valid as anyone elses?
“No, I don’t have any opinions. I’m not on the planet to boss people around. Or at least not yet. At the moment I’m just here to look at everything. Drift around. That’s all I want. Maybe I’m just trying to not have any strong opinions so that I don’t have to take on any responsibility. Continue my childhood.” He reveals “I’ll say something with some meaning one day – just not today. Maybe I’ll become more active.. like fuck, maybe I will!”
Which led me to my final question.. any plans for 2015 (and beyond)?
“I’m gonna fucking rattle some cages. Shake shit up. Change EVERYTHING. I’m gonna stand up for what I believe in.. well, I’m gonna believe in something and then I’ll stand up for it. I’m gonna start a movement. Change the world. Get the girl. And that will be the ending of the teen-movie”
What ever happened to peace?
Album ‘Happy People’ is out NOW.
cattface.com 