aaamusic | On 12, Mar 2014

AAAmusic: Who are you and where are you from?

We are Lake Malawi, an indie-pop four-piece gradually getting established in London, dividing our time between Prague and the UK. The band started in September and was named after a Bon Iver song.

AAAmusic: What inspired you to get into music?

There were three points in my life that really changed me musically. When I first heard ‘The Scientist’ by Coldplay at fifteen, I knew I wanted to be in a band. Then, seeing The Flaming Lips meant a big deal to me. And finally, hearing Bon Iver’s last album (especially ‘Calgary’) blew me away… I like Phoenix a lot and bands like Foals or Everything Everything. With Lake Malawi we try to make simple pop songs sound interesting and exciting. We only started in September, so we haven’t really found the Lake Malawi sound yet. Having a blank canvas to work with feels good though.

AAAmusic: What have you done?

We just released our first music video for ‘Always June’ which is our first UK single, yeah! Currently, we’re working on demos with producers who did White Lies and Mumford & Sons – people we learn from so much. We’ll be touring the UK in autumn. We’re looking for a booking agent and a label now.

AAAmusic: What are you like live?

Our live gigs are ecstatic and quite a bit heavier and more rock and roll than you would expect after hearing ‘Always June’. The other day I broke some strings during a song and then ran into the crowd hitting a girl who was standing in the way quite hard. She fell over but seemed alright. Later, when she got up to her feet, there was blood on her top. Fortunately, it came from my fingers bleeding from the broken strings, not from her.

AAAmusic: What makes you different?

I read an interview with Guy Garvey yesterday and I can absolutely identify with what he said: “I’m always going to offer a note of hope because that’s who I am. It’s bound to bug some people but I don’t think the music’s for them.” I just think that looking at the bright side of life doesn’t make it a less intense experience. That’s definitely reflected in the music we make.

AAAmusic: Physical vs Downloading vs Streaming…How do you listen to music?

I got a record player a year ago and have since been enjoying the festive occasions of only listening to David Bowie without doing ten other things at the same time. We want to use Kickstarter to raise money to have a vinyl ready for the autumn tour. People help artists the most when they go to shows, that’s the business model now. We never really sold more than a couple thousand records. Gigs are the key to survival now.

AAAmusic: What have you been listening to?

I discovered Teenage Fanclub as I was roaming around Rough Trade East a while ago. I like that kind of guitar music like Yuck. Tame Impala are great, too. I need to listen to the new Metronomy album. One of my top five albums of all time has to be Sea Change by Beck. I also have James Blake and Feist on my iPod. A month ago, I went to a Glasvegas gig and cried, it was amazing.

AAAmusic: What are your aspirations for the future?

We’d like to record a good album with Lake Malawi and go touring in the UK and around Europe. We’re looking for bookers and labels now. Also, I want to get a trampoline for the garden in April if I have the money. And have kids one day, but that’s the long-term plan…

Questions answered by: Albert Cerny of Lake Malawi…