Portsmouth indie band Crystal Tides take influence from classic noughties guitar riffs and modern feel-good pop melodies. Crystal Tides have been making big strides over their last few releases, gaining lots of momentum in a short space of time.
Through hard work the band have sold out local shows, played UK tours & received multiple Radio 1 plays to demonstrate this bands potential. Taking influence from bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Foals and The Wombats, Crystal Tides create a fusion that gets you dancing and singing to their catchy hooks.
We had a chat with Crystal Tides ahead of their UK headline shows and performance at Manchester’s Neighbourhood Festival this October.
Hey Crystal Tides – thanks for chatting with us! Can you tell us a bit about Crystal Tides came to be?
Thanks for having us! It all started with me (Billy) and Harry (lead guitar) writing songs on our breaks at university. We would spend hours working on music never with the intention of gigging it but as we got more into it and started rehearsing with other members it quickly grew into something special. We had a few member changes from when we originally started, introducing some friends from previous music projects and then Crystal Tides was born! Since then we’ve been gigging at every opportunity we can and really honing our craft.
Your new single ‘The Middle’ was released last week. What can you tell us about the track?
It’s a very special song to me this one. Just over 2 years ago I lost one of my best friends to cancer. At the time, I didn’t really know how to process it and perhaps didn’t deal with it the best way. I started to write the song about coping with the loss and feeling lost myself. I struggled after a lot with feeling like I hadn’t captured enough memories with my friend and how I wish I captured more of those special moments and wanted to get that message in the song, to try and encourage others to capture special moments with the people they love because you never know what could be round the corner.
We’re loving the singles you’ve shared so far from your upcoming EP ‘The Middle’ which is available from 27th Sept – what has been your biggest inspiration throughout the making of the EP?
I think with this EP we wanted to focus on being personal. We wanted to show side to Crystal Tides that we hadn’t shown yet by being vulnerable and honest in our music.
There are a few chances to catch you live from September as you join Ocean Alley on the road and begin your own UK headline tour. You’ll also be joining the lineup at Manchester’s very-own Neighbourhood Festival! How are you feeling about the upcoming shows and what might fans expect from your set?
Very excited about all of these shows, everything we do seems to get bigger and better so it’s natural for us that every next gig becomes the best one! Our fans can expect loads of energy, probably some bad on stage humour, loads of singalong moments and who knows maybe we will chuck in some surprises.. but you’ll have to come and see!
With a pretty extensive touring period ahead of you, we must know what a typical day on tour looks like for you? Any gig rituals or must-haves?
We have a weird clap pre gig ritual. Do it before every show. Our drummer counts down from 3 and we all clap in time to get locked in. If one of us is out of time we go again. Must haves for the tour I would say are McDonald’s with a side order of McDonald’s and then a one off Toby carvery.