Over the summer, you were the band that everybody had to see on the festival circuit and now you are being referred to as The Big Band of the Moment. How mad has the last year been for all of you?
Gradually, as it's gone on, it's become more and more crazy really. Everyone was asking us that question very early on because there was, kind of, internet hype and it didn't really feel like it because it was all internet hype. You'd get a lot of numbers online and that kind of stuff but there was nothing that powerful. And then, in the last couple of months, we've suddenly realised, it just went mad. It was all real and we started getting way more people at festivals and that was when we realised it was kind of happening.

I somehow missed seeing your set at Dublin's Longitude festival. How does your music transform from record to onstage?
It's more dynamic live, I think. The more chilled out songs are more so. People are a big part of the live show, which is amazing. Originally, it was quite difficult to replicate what we were doing on the record live so it took us a bit of time. That Longitude show was amazing actually. That was the first time that we were getting mobbed by people for pictures. After the show, Hannah [Reid, main singer] and I went to get a burger and so many people wanted pictures. It hasn't happened since and it's been about three months.

So many comparisons made between you and The xx and with Hannah's vocals in the same classical styling of Katie Stelmanis of Austra, you get that too. Are you sick of the comparisons or do you take anything from them?
I personally don't think we sound like The xx. I've never really listened to The xx that much. I know Dan [Rothman, guitarist] listened to their first album quite a lot and he listened to some of Jamie XX's stuff. It's not a bad comparison but it's just a natural thing that two guys are being compared because, in this world, everybody needs a point of reference. The more you listen to stuff, the more it changes from your natural knee-jerk reaction. I think The xx are more alternative to us. We write more traditional pop songs than them. I don't think we're that much like them but some of Dan's guitar sounds, for example, are.

The minimalistic quality to your music means that you can really easily focus on what each of you has to offer. That's probably what makes remixing your songs so interesting and there are so many remixes out there. Have you any favorites?
I really like the Fracture remix of 'Strong', it's quite trembly. Obviously The Kids of the Apocalypse remix of 'Wasting My Young Years' is cool. There's a couple of ones that I'm quite excited about, potentially, which I can't really can't tell you about but I think they take it up a notch. Because our music is so minimal, it's great that you can put your own sound on it.


I read that you took some time with this album as you kept tweaking at songs. Now that the album is out, do you feel at ease with what you have created?
There was a point where we were unbelievably perfectionist. I was probably closer to Hannah than Dan. Dan was always the one who wanted to just put it out whereas Hannah is so obsessive over the tiniest things and I'm quite similar. I don't think we'll be as bad on the next record because this is our first album having not been in the public eye. There's a fear if people won't like your music but now that it's out there, you can see people's reactions and some of the fine details are less important.

If You Wait was released on September 9, so over the last few weeks, are you completely at ease now or how do you feel since its release?
I definitely feel more at ease. It feels like a big weight off our shoulders. It's been so long in the making and so long in the studio and so long since we released our song. So I think the album, now that it's out there, it has a life of its own.

There's a really healthy music scene in the UK at the moment. Between yourselves, Disclosure, AlunaGeorge, Chvrches and Bastille, you're all quite young and you're different. Do we owe it to anything in particular, this pool of talent?
All of those artists, they all have electronic elements to them. I guess we're all young and fresh and have varying degrees of pop. I think there's just a wealth of talent at the moment and people choose to DJ that kind of music.

Imagine if Top of the Pops still existed, you'd all be running riot.
Ha yeah. I don't know. We'd still be a small cross-section for Top of the Pops.

You're embarking on a huge tour, kicking off in Hollywood and rounding up in Bristol - the Hollywood of the UK, I hear - and you have two Irish dates in there too. How do you guys feel about it all?
Basically, it's going to be touring for the next year so we have to try and reach as many people with our music and see what happens. It's so exciting, obviously.

Have you been to America before?
Yeah, a few times but I've never gigged there before.

And finally, tying with your name, what grammatical error really gets your goat?
Well, to be honest, the main thing that gets my goat, it's not really a grammatical error but when people say H (Hayj) instead of H (Ayj). I'm not really a constrictor when it comes to grammatical errors, to be honest, I make a few myself.

 

London Grammar will be playing Limelight 2, Belfast on December 2 and The Academy, Dublin on December 3.

Their album If You Wait is out now.

Interview by: Louise Bruton