Photo Credit: Corey Eyres
Following their set at 2000trees, we sat down with Delaire The Liar‘s Em Lodge to talk about why Trees is the best festival in the world, new Delaire music and who would be heading up their dream festival line-up!
Hi Em, you played on Wednesday, the opening day of Trees 2023 which was incredible. You performed a new track, where you took on lead vocals which was brilliant. How was it for you?
Thank you so much. It’s honestly really scary because it’s very new for me. I’ve never, never been in a band that I’ve been lead vocals on. I feel like one of the reasons that people remember Delaire is because of Ffin’s voice because it’s the voice of an angel, and because that song starts like very quiet. It’s very exposing, it’s honestly really scary. But as soon as it hits in, the whole thing, am I allowed to swear? [BTN nods], I feel like a hot bitch when we play that song. I love it. Honestly, it’s been it’s been a real change of tune. It’s really me realise oh, okay, I’m actually, you know, I feel like I’ve found my family. I found myself in this band. It feels fucking great. Honestly, I don’t know, I’ve been through a lot of different bands in the past and it’s like this is finally it just feels like the right thing for me, you know, and then being invited back to be like 2000 legends as part of that. I was like, what an honour. This is already my favourite festival in the world and then to do that. This is great. Honestly.
Yeah, Trees is truly magic. There’s something really special.
There’s something in the air. I don’t know what they do! I’m very sweaty. I just watched Origami Angel, they’re the best band in the world. I’m pretty sweaty and really tired. But I’m at Trees and in a great mood.
We’re just selling 2000trees for everyone at this point.
Honestly, if you haven’t been to 2000trees, come to 2000trees as it’s the best festival you’ll come to in your life.
So you’ve mentioned that you’ve seen Origami Angel. But who else have you seen this weekend?
I saw Heriot before and I’m wearing their cap right now [and waving an inflatable Heriot sword]. I love them. They’re one of the best bands ever. Yesterday I saw SOFT PLAY, who back in maybe like 2017, I’ve got a list on my phone of everyone pre-COVID that I’d seen live and I’d seen Slaves like seven times in the space of four years. I was really, really, really into them and then to see their comeback was just so amazing. It was like the perfect hit of nostalgia. It was fantastic, they were so good. And I’m so happy they were here.
For people who don’t know Delaire The Liar, can you sum the band up in five words?
Five words? Emo. Is spider-monkey one word? Can we count it as a hyphenated word?
It’s one word or two depending on what you’d prefer.
I’ll bank for two now to save myself. Just because Ffin is a spider monkey. Oh my god. I feel so on the spot now. Emotional. Did I say emo as my first word?
We could take it slightly differently to emo.
Energetic. Sad but in a good way. You know? I think that’s five. Right? Okay, awesome.
You released your latest single Bite Trap a few months ago and explored a new writing style. Can you tell us a bit more about it?
So Ffin is the main writing body behind the band, he will come in with all of the lyrical content and all that kind of stuff. But this time around when we came to writing bite trap. and the new song. In previous songs, it’s very much been playing on pre-existing things that have happened and I think it kind of got to a point where as much as that is great and you can write really great songs off doing it. It’s quite hard to play them live because obviously you’re having to tap into like, really deep emotional stuff that you want to be enjoying the moment that you’re in when you’re playing a show. It’s really hard to do that when you’re singing about very, very personal and like upsetting situations. So, this time round, we were like right, gonna switch it up, we’re going to go for a more conceptual viewpoint and write more about like storylines. There’s still an overarching theme, but we’ll write our own stories to do with the songs sort of thing. It’s been a really fun change honestly and opening the set with bite trap is so fun, because I’ve only just started doing screams and stuff as well. I’m still learning the ropes; I definitely don’t have the right technique. It’s so fun opening with that song and oh so good.
Should we expect more with that kind of writing style for the rest of the songs? What are we saying about the new music releases?
This is where you’ll catch me off guard as I’m doing an interview without Ffin. I will just say the word yes.
Can you tell us who you’ve been working with for the new music?
Kel Pinchin. Absolute legend from Modern Error. Incredible, incredible audio engineer and mixed bite trap for us and Lewis Johns mastered it for us as well. Lew also mastered Eat Your Own and did a fantastic job on that so we were like we had to go back to him of course. He is absolutely fantastic. Other than that, we recorded it at you know, Pirate studios. We recorded everything in Pirate studios and then apart from the drums, we went to Monolith Studios in London in Tottenham. They’re absolutely fantastic and then sent it all off to Kel and Lew!
In the last few months, since the release of Eat Your Own, what has changed for you as a band?
Wow, that is a very big question. I mean, a lot in terms of personal things. I mean, I’m not gonna speak on his behalf but Ffin’s been very vocal about what he’s been through recently. I think we’ve all had a bit of a turbulent time, the past year and a half. It’s been a lot; all of our lives have changed a lot. We’ve all been through certain things, and then coming back to write bite trap and some other new stuff, it’s honestly been an absolute breath of fresh air. It’s been really nice to be able to channel these emotions that we’ve been holding on to for a really long time and use them in the way we know is best and right. I’m not trying to toot my own trumpet, but write some really cool songs.
Thinking lyrics, are there any standout Delaire lyrics for you?
Oh my gosh, honestly. When we supported As Everything Unfolds on tour last year, we reintroduced our song One Of Us Is The Killer back into our set. We hadn’t played it for ages, we’ve never played it as the current line-up, when it was a two piece, they used to play it a lot. It was a big task, trying to make it from a two-piece band to a four-piece band. But playing that song because I wasn’t involved in the writing process at all because it was before I joined the band, but some of the lyrics in that song just really, really hit home. I’m playing it live and be able to l sing those lyrics and get all the emotion at the same time. It’s amazing, so for me, it sounds a bit I don’t want to call it silly. Sorry Ffin, but the lyric ‘I’m sorry for always apologising‘. It’s very, I’m so bad with words. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s very you hear it and you’re like ‘but you’re apologising to me’. Whenever we play that song, I could speak on behalf the others it’s unanimous. When that heavy bits hit, it’s so fun. I love playing that, I would play that song every day for the rest of my life I could and that lyric specifically. It’s one of those things as well when we played on Wednesday, and you got to look out into the crowds which was insane that people even went to see us. But there was like a row of people in the front who have been to our shows before and seeing them screaming that back. It was amazing. Honestly, I just I love it.
I can really feel how warm and happy you are about it.
I love being in this band. It’s so fun and I’m so so grateful that we’ve got to be here like I said before Trees is my favourite festival in the world and the fact we’ve been invited back, second year in a row it just means the world honestly. Coming here in 2018 and then like now being invited to play it’s just great. I’m very bad at words other than it’s fucking sick.
What would be your dream festival line-up but with Delaire The Liar headlining?
On Sunday we supported about Prince Daddy And The Hyena who played yesterday as well. Fantastic people amazing band, been a fan of them for a really long time. So, before us was my mate’s band Negative Measures, and Negative Measures are one of the best bands. I feel like they don’t get their flowers that they deserve, they’ve been going for well I think I saw them for the first time at my mate’s house in 2015 I think it was and they’re from Brighton, a hardcore band. They are absolutely incredible. If we were going to do a festival where we were headlining which even sounds weird to me, but if we did that, I would want Measures to have the highest slot and Heriot, but also Heriot would be above us let’s be real.
Any huge, out there names you’d love to on your line-up?
Origami Angel. Sorry, I’m obsessed with that band. They are so good. They’re absolutely fantastic. As Luke is walking past, they’ve now broken up as of two day’s ago but Press To MECO. Love them so much. The first tour I ever went on was with Press To MECO and Vukovi. Vukovi is another band. Love them to pieces, loveliest people, sick riffs, sick band. Oh and Unpeople as well. So, Luke and Jake from PTM’s new project. I would very much like to play some shows with them soon.
I absolutely love when bands take this time to big up mates and the band’s they love.
Honestly, my favourite part of being involved in Delaire in the few years that I’ve been part of this is the friends I’ve made and just meeting other people who share the same passion. It’s really heart-warming, because I don’t know, I’ve been in a lot of bands in the past where we haven’t like fallen out necessarily, but there’s been a bit of a divide between wanting to keep things small and local versus like, passion. I really want this to be the driving force of my life and now being part of Delaire. It’s just really great to be in this community and meet so many people that share the same passion and drive. It’s inspiring as well, it’s great. It’s what keeps me motivated.
And finally, because this has turned into such a warm, fluffy interview. Can you summarise 2023 and beyond plans for the band?
Big things coming. That’s all I can say big things coming. Big things coming sooner than you might think.
You can read our review of 2000trees 2023 here – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
bite trap. is out now via Rude Records, available to stream or purchase HERE.
