Manon Williams speaks with Rhodri Daniel, founding member of Estrons, one of Cardiff’s most rapidly rising groups.
How are you finding the Welsh crowd react to Estrons, even though you’ve gained recognition on a global level?
Well, Cardiff is our hometown, and so we’ve played a lot of gigs locally, but we’re on our way up, so we’re still accruing our crowd at the minute. Just like everywhere really. So, we’re just on the cusp of selling out venues now. But, generally I find that Americans tend to go a bit crazier, maybe it’s because we’ve played on weekends there. If they love you, they’ll tend to start throwing each other around the place, but in Britain if the audience love you, they’ll start nodding their head intensely as a form of acknowledgment. It’s fine. I mean, in my old age if I like a band, I don’t tend to start throwing people up in the air.
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Is the song writing process itself collective, or do you all work on an individual basis?
I sort of go off and work out the skeleton in my head, or on the road. I have a Dictaphone, and I just kind of hum to myself, little songs or riffs, and then I come to Tali with the idea, and she starts figuring out some poetry or lyrics behind it. Then the band all listen to it, and switch it around to make a full length song. It’s like a conveyor belt of how to build a song.
What is the best achievement you’ve reached as a leading member of Estrons?
Personally I still feel that we’re getting there. We still travel in the back of vans illegally, and we crash on people’s sofas. So it’s still very DIY. But, being invited by BBC to perform as SXSW this year was fucking major. But, for me I think one of the highlights was a band called London Force from something like Scranton, in New York State, where The Office was filmed, and they did a cover of our song, Drop and it’s online on YouTube, even after all of the radio and TV plays, that’s my favourite. Because, it means that other musicians actually go, “this is actually good enough for me to cover.”
Estrons, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Fri 11 Nov. Tickets: £7. Info: 029 2023 2199 / www.clwb.net
words and picture MANON WILLIAMS