Interview: Poundshop Parka- From Abbey Road To Stardom
Poundshop Parka is an indie pop duo with an alternative vibe. Pete Devaney and Tom Jenkins have come together to form the duo and to create inspired tracks for taking the indie music scene by storm; their authentic lyrics and 4 tracks being recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios with a B Side Recording before their debut single has even been released. Pete masterminds the song writing and composition as a talented multi-instrumentalist, with Tom bringing the beat in the percussion.
Questions
Hi guys, welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine; it’s great to feature you. Before we get into it all, how are you doing with Covid and lockdowns etc.? Are you and your family safe?
All good with us thanks and our families are all safe and sound.
You are a duo band, which I think is quite interesting. Can you talk me through the process of how you record stuff and do live gigs; and how do you make up for the other instruments needed in the songs?
Our ideal way to record is for us to play the song together, live in the studio room; with me (Pete) on guitar and Tom on drums and I’ll be doing a guide vocal over the top. Once we’ve got a take that we like, we layer everything over. So I’ll re-record the vocals, put a bass on, add any lead guitars; and then work with our Producer Hollie to keep tweaking it until we like it!
We haven’t done any live gigs, so we will need to add a bassist and a piano player to our ensemble to do the songs on stage. All the songs have fairly simple arrangements so it shouldn’t be too complicated to pull off.
Can each of you tell us about your own background, where you grew up and what got you individually into music?
I’m Pete, from Milton Keynes originally; but I’ve been living and working in London for the last 5 years as a freelancer in TV Production. I started working from home when the pandemic started in 2020 and around that time I started to write the album. I’m a big fan of British guitar bands, and growing up, I went to some really memorable gigs to see the Arctic Monkeys and Oasis at Wembley (just before they broke up).
Tom grew up in Silverstone, so not too far away from me, but we only met when we both were attending the University of Birmingham as undergrads. Tom is a big music lover and was actually DJ whilst he was studying (“DJ TJ” we used to call him).
For people who haven’t heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
There is a song on the album about Syd Barret from Pink Floyd; another song that is inspired by the Arctic Monkeys; and then a third song called “T. Rex”. So, the whole album sounds like a bit of a blend of those three groups, to my ear.
What bands did each of you grow up on; and whose music you still listen to today?
The Beatles are my favourite band. Tom is similar in his taste to mine, but he is also a big lover of rap music like Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Do you feel your musical influences affect what music you are writing today?
Massively! As I mentioned above, three of the songs are a direct reference to groups that I like so they are very overt influences.
Let’s talk about the new track, Managing Director. That is an interesting name for a song; how did you get to that name and what is the song about?
I might sound a bit vague answering this one, as this song wasn’t really “about” something. I was just trying to find words that fit the music. The first 40 seconds are supposed to sound a bit like a wide-eyed person going out on an adventure.
Who all worked on the track?
All the instrumentation was done by Tom and myself. Hollie Beadell is our Producer and really helped guide us through the process as it was our first time in the studio. Rebecca Beadell is on top of branding and marketing at the label and has honed our image and the outreach that we have planned for the next couple of months.
You have a new album coming out soon, of which some of the songs were recorded at Abbey Road Studios; can you tell us about that experience? It must be so cool to record at such a legendary studio.
An incredible experience and a day we will never forget! We were there for five hours and recorded four songs, including a song called “Room”, which is going to be one of our next singles. We were lucky enough to have a little look around the place. It’s like a Tardis, it’s huge! We even got to go into the hallowed Studio 2 where “Sgt Pepper” (and many others) were recorded.
Where else were some of the songs recorded?
Most of the recording was done in West Acton at a recording studio complex called “The Qube”, which is a great space, and it has been fun to spend time there.
Some of the recording was also done in Croydon, including recording a song called “Syd” in a church. We dotted microphones all over the space and got some really nice reverb, so we were very pleased with the end result.
How long was the whole recording process?
Around 5 recording sessions over 4 months.
How many tracks are expected to be on the album and when will the album be out?
The album will have 8 original songs with two kind of bonus tracks at the end, which were both recorded on a piano at Abbey Road; one of which is a stripped down version of a song called “T. Rex” and the other which is a cover of “The Long and Winding Road” by The Beatles (sung into a microphone used by Paul McCartney, may I add, eek!).
Let’s talk about playing live: You said earlier you haven’t had the chance to play live yet; what could we expect if we were to attend one of your gigs when that day comes?
Yes, we haven’t played any gigs yet. We would hope to create a sound live which would be as good as, if not better, than what is on the record.
Can you tell us what else you have planned in the pipeline?
On the 26th Feb we are doing a few of the songs live for Instagram; and we have a wonderful cello player called Hannah who is coming down from the north of England to help us with those. Then, on the 12th March we are doing a “Live to Vinyl” session down in Brighton with a few other artists who are also working with the “B-Side Recording” record label.
Can you give us your social media and streaming links; how can people get hold of you and your music?
Please do check us out on our Instagram and Facebook at “poundshopparkamusic”. Music will be released online in all the usual places (Spotify, TuneCore, Apple music etc.).
Thank you for doing this interview, do you have any last messages for our fans and the readers?
Thanks for having us! We hope your readers like the new single and please do look out for our album which is scheduled for release in April.
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