Having began 2023 by releasing anthemic indie rock number Far Too Soon, with more singles on the way, Cardiff five-piece Basic State tell Craig Strachan they’ve matured since being born as a band into COVID.

Your new single Far Too Soon came out recently. Tell me about how you recorded it and what it’s all about…

Harvey Sivell, Basic State vocals: The couple of tunes we’ve got coming out now, we wrote 18 months ago now and they’re all pretty similar – focusing about something bad that’s happened, trying to get yourself back on track. We were going to do an EP and then scrapped that idea, so the songs we’ve been releasing follow a story. Far Too Soon is about seeing an ex-partner a lot quicker than you thought you would after you’ve prepared yourself for a certain day; someone says “oh and by the way, they’re up for the weekend…” and then you’re like “shit, what do I do now?”

Billy Safill, Basic State lead guitar: What better time to start releasing songs like that than in winter when everyone’s feeling down and sad?

And as I understand it you’re still recording new songs in Cardiff?

Harvey: Fingers crossed, we’re starting recording on the 6th of February with Alex from Papa Jupe’s T.C., somewhere near Metros nightclub in town. He’s a sound boy and his band is probably one of the best in Cardiff at the moment, so we’re in good hands. It’s going to be called To Feel Alive.

Billy: It’s a bit different then what we’ve released in the past – it’s gone down a bit more of a psychedelic route, I’d say, slowed down more.

You’ve undergone a few lineup changes too.

Harvey: A little reshuffle of the pack. I used to play guitar and then dropped that, because we saw our mate wasn’t in a band and he’s better than me. He’s brilliant, his name’s Adam Shore.

Billy: And we’ve recently acquired a new shit-hot drummer, Sam Saunders. Fits our vibe perfectly.

At the risk of asking a cheesy question then, how would you describe your ‘sound’ up to this point?

Harvey: We’ve tried to do our music for live audiences, trying to sound good at gigs. That’s what our first EP that doesn’t exist anymore was all about. Now we’re trying to grow it, so you’ve still got a good live sound in your headphones but more expansive. We’ve got plenty of Oasis influences like Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants but also I’m loving Fontaines D.C. at the moment. Skinty Fia is brilliant.

You mention other small bands in Cardiff – what’s the current landscape like for them across the post-COVID live scene? Is there a sense of camaraderie?

Harvey: 100 percent. God knows how many bands we’ve met now from Cardiff playing gigs around here. It seems like a lot of people just want to help each other now because we all want the same things: to have a fun time, see some good music and get as far as we possibly can but bring everyone else along for the ride as well. We’re headlining Clwb [Ifor Bach] in May, and we asked the Malakites first because they gave us a support slot for the same place and the same room. I think everyone wants to help each other and why wouldn’t you want to? The days of being that competitive prick walking around thinking “I’m better than you, fuck off,” are gone now.

New stuff coming out this year, then – what’s your timeline looking like?

Harvey: We’re trying to do one single around every month or two, just so we can keep it going. We’d had so long without a tune and hated it because we’ve played so many gigs but were never able to release songs at the same time.

Billy: And the singles we did have out were…

Harvey: Shocking.

Billy: Yeah. We just wanted to get them out as soon as possible, and looking back it doesn’t represent us or where we are anymore. Lockdown changed it all really – you go into the pandemic with an EP and come out of it a totally different band.

What’s the best thing that could happen for Basic State this year?

Harvey: Win the lottery.

Billy: Something in the range of a proper tour or playing a proper big festival, even on a small stage.

Harvey: Just to keep going: as much as there is to be said about other people trying to help us out, no one else can help you more than yourselves. We’re all happy we’ve got the final pieces to the puzzle and now it’s time to push on. With our headline gigs in Clwb, Buffalo and the Moon, just keep the ball rolling.

So do those count as your resolutions then? Or are you gonna work on your frontman skills, Harvey?

Harvey: I still don’t know what to do with my arms, mate. Tell you what – when I got asked that question on New Year’s I said, “continue to not give a fuck and have a good time”.

Basic State play Buffalo, Cardiff on Tue 31 Jan (tickets: £3. Info: here); The Moon, Cardiff on Sun 12 Feb (tickets: £6. Info: here)

Basic State Linktree

words CRAIG STRACHAN