Festival season is nearly upon us, and we can’t wait. The Big City event is potentially the best line-up of the summer, with an absolutely stacked roster of acts. One band we love is Cloth, local heroes who are quietly building a reputation for their music, both recorded and live. SNACK caught up with twins Paul and Rachael Swinton to discuss festivals, bands, and what comes next for Cloth.
You’re playing the Big City event – that’s a cracking line-up, isn’t it?
Paul: Yeah, it’s really cool. There’s a lot of Rock Action bands playing, with the Mogwai connection, but also acts like Goat Girl and Nadine Shah: great artists we’ve been listening to for years. It’ll be cool to be on a bill with them in the heart of Glasgow, alongside bands we’re pally with.
You’ve played a few of these all-day events, including Connect and TRNSMT. What’s your experience of them?
Rachael: I think they’re really fun; it feels like a special band day out. We try to make a thing of it, see as many bands as possible. At TRNSMT, we drove through the festival grounds by accident to get to that gig.
Paul: Specialist security had to escort us back off.
Rachael: I love them. I love the variety – it’s a line- up where there’ll be stuff we can’t see because it’s too stacked.
Paul: I feel there’s acts on there you might not normally get to see, such as Michael Rother or Beak>. I don’t think we’ll get to see Portishead any time soon, but we can see Beak>. They’re amazing. I think it’ll be a great one and it’s nice to get stuck in on these days with your friends. As Rachael says, it feels like a band day out.
You’re playing the Edinburgh Psych Fest in September. Where do you position yourselves on the psych spectrum?
Paul: I’ve asked myself this question as well. I don’t think our music is overtly psych-rock, in many capacities, but there’s sonic characteristics of that music, which is about experimentation.
Big reverbs on guitar sounds and processed drums that sound otherworldly; that’s been part of our music. I can trace a little bit of a lineage in that respect, but that’s maybe as far as I can get to in my head. However, I’m sure glad to be part of the psych family for that day.
It’s just over a year since Secret Measure, your second album, came out – how do you look back on the album, and the past year?
Rachael: I’m really proud of our second record and what we’ve been able to do. A proper UK tour, going abroad for the first time – it’s opened exciting doors and given me more confidence on where we can go next.
You’ve said you’ll be in the studio this year making a new album. What comes next?
Rachael: We are in the final stages of our third album – it’s really exciting. We’re adding finishing touches.
Paul: Lots of touring, hopefully. The plan is to release the album next year. We’ve been recording this year and we’re nervously excited about this new music. I believe it’s the strongest stuff we’ve done so far, through collaborating with other people and new approaches. We’ve taken what we’ve done before and built upon it. I’m excited for people to hear it, see what the response will be, and I think some of the songs will be tremendous fun to play live.
Cloth play Big City on 29th June at Queen’s Park, Glasgow. Tickets available here.
Main Photo Credit: Matilda Hill Jenkins
