With a debut album of lush, synth-heavy sophisticated pop out this week, Noel Gardner hears from Cardiff duo Plastic Estate about what makes them tick.
The core of the band is a duo, Nicholas James and Stanley Fouracres, but Plastic Estate is a full band for live shows. How was the album recorded – with the main two playing everything, or with a band again?
We recorded, produced, and mixed the whole album with some percussive input from Harry [Jowett, drummer]. The ‘duo’ element boils down to the fact that our ideas come from a very specific place that we both naturally inhabit. We work and think at the same level and it has made songwriting very fluid and easy.
How far back do the origins of Plastic Estate go?
Nicholas: Plastic Estate was created by Stan and myself in late 2018 as a duo and emerged into the public sphere in January 2019. Bassist Tristan Daniels has been with us since our first show – he can play everything and anything in one pop. Harry is one of the masterminds behind Private World and Pipedream.
Stan: I had a short-lived project called Where’s Ed? that I released an EP and single under – a version of our song This Place was originally part of its live set.
To me the production sounds like a (successful!) attempt to sound super high-budget for what I assume was a fraction of the cost.
Thank you! It’s down to Stan and his microscopic attention to detail. He’s acutely observant and savvy to the world of plugins and production software. It would be great to spend thousands on hardware, but if you start out with a clear intention and a bit of tech nerdyness, you can do it yourself for much cheaper.
Italian label Avant! released This Place on 7” in 2020, and are handling the album too.
We had followed their roster for ages and sent over a couple of tracks to Andrea at the label and just forgot about it really – a few months later, we got a response from him looking to release our stuff. I think I just walked out of work early that day out of pure joy! We haven’t actually met our man behind the screen yet unfortunately, but we’re really hoping it happens this year.
Are your inspirations as strictly 1980s as some have suggested?
Nicholas: The short answer is no. We have kinda accepted that if you use a synth and a ‘chorusy’ guitar, chances are the 1980s will be referenced – and that’s OK. I think the fundamental element that we take from that era is that ‘pop music’ can be interesting and sophisticated.
Stan: Personally, the 80s influence comes from modern bands that are influenced by 80s bands. Most of my favourite songs are from 2010 onwards.
Lyrically speaking, is there a theme or a mood running through the album?
Not as such. A lot of lyrics have been cultivated from experiences in our own lives which have been somewhat turbulent over the last few years I suppose. A lot of the tracks have quite upbeat, brighter motifs, instrumentally speaking, so we sometimes like to offset that with some darker wordplay.
Plans and/or hopes for 2022?
Get out and bring the album to as many ears as possible. Amongst all the promo and logistics for the album, we’ve been quietly writing a host of new material, so I’m sure some of that will make an appearance. Also we’ve been working on a small light show. which is quite exciting!
Plastic Estate is released on Fri 4 Feb via Avant!. Info: Facebook
words NOEL GARDNER
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