WHITE ROOM : A Ferris Wheel in a Field
Ahead of their final show supporting iDKHOW at Electric Ballroom Camden, I caught up with White Room frontman, Jake for a quick chat.
Photos by Douce De Boisgelin
The Brighton-based five-piece seem totally at ease backstage; there’s no sense of hysteria or manic nerves as we relax in the early evening Camden sun. No hint that they’re about to play to 1,300 people. The brilliant band is made up of Jake (vocals), Jacob (guitar), Tristan (guitar/keys), Josie (bass) and Hen (drums). They are White Room and they’re on the edge of greatness.
Playing together in and out of bands since they were wee, the present line up has existed for about three years. Wonderland magazine describe them as their ‘new favourite rock band’ and DIY magazine claim their music ‘will sweep you off your feet and into a psychedelic vortex’, however when Jake describes their sound he tends to disagree, “I would say in the days of ‘Eight’ (their double EP) we definitely leaned on the rock side and there was a big Frank Zappa influence along with lots of Syd-Barrett-era Pink Floyd in there…But with ‘Shoot’ and ‘Bleeding’ it’s gone into a sort-of art-pop realm and I think with the new material that is yet to be released it’s gone in a more electronic-based direction actually.” Whatever their sound is, it’s bloody good and rightfully gaining momentum, as I witnessed later on that night, with numerous iDKHOW fans leaving the gig as White Room fans too. With the fan base growing at this rate I feel sure that world domination is just around the corner.
“I saw him [Paul Weller] at the Royal Albert Hall a few years back and walked past him and initially I pictured him as this seven foot giant, because of that aura he gives off, you know? Like most idols- -Yeah the power & stardom adds on a good couple of feet to them- "Exactly, well then we got into the studio I was like ‘I’m the same fucking height as Paul Weller, what’s going on here??"
They’ve worked with some great names which is evident in the sophistication in the production of their sound. Paul Weller was so impressed by the band he invited them to his studio where he had a hand in producing several of their tracks and they then went on to tour with him... as if it couldn't get any better? “I mean Paul was sort of my idol when I was a little’un. I learnt how to play and write songs from listening to ‘Days of Speed’, his acoustic live album so I had this whole obsession with one day seeing Weller play acoustically live. Going from that to touring with him was yeah, a pretty big jump.”
Having played numerous shows over the past few years, I asked whether there had been any stand-outs. “Definitely the first Weller show, that was always going to be huge. When we did Reading Festival Republic Stage, that was a really good one as well. We were playing just before King Gizzard as well and half way through our set we spotted them all standing on the side of the stage and tapping their feet which was super cool.”
The band all stem from Brighton and grew up going to many of the venues that they now play at, “Our last show at the Haunt in Brighton was probably one of my favourites as well. We used to play there when we were quite a lot younger and all our mates would come down because it was a rare 16+ night, and then we’d all end up going back to someone’s house for a party or something… yeah lots of memories there. So going back to the Haunt and headlining it as 23 year olds, that was a really special moment for all of us I'd say.”
They have all the energy of a spanking new band who just brought out their first single, but the knowledge, professionalism and talent of a bunch of old rockers. I had heard great stories of their live shows and was eager to see if they would live up to the hype and I’m forced to admit they totally did. This may have been a much more interesting read if they’d fallen short of my expectations and were a bit shit but instead they leapt over the already-quite-high bar and blew the crowd away. Very rarely have I see an audience take to the opening band so fondly, but by the end of their set it was easy to forget that they weren’t the main act. The laid back, relaxed Jake I chatted to before the gig was no more. “For any performer there’s an extroverted version of yourself that’ll come out and then you sort of step off stage and need that relaxed time to bring it back. I would definitely say that I put on a bigger version of myself on stage.”
The stage presence that they exuded carried all the way over the rows of screaming, side-stepping fans, hitting the bar at the back of the room and bounced back over everyone in the audience. The look in the wide eyes of the crowd was that of wonder and excitement, mirroring the energy of the band perfectly.
With only a half an hour set there wasn’t much time for in-between filler but regardless, the show ran like clockwork with tracks flowing seamlessly and the lighting setting a beautiful atmosphere-it was clear that their experience served them well. Opening up with the infectiously Bowie-esque ‘Bleeding’, they immediately set the tone and had the crowd in the palm of their magical hands. The harmonies between Jake and Josie effortlessly fly around the room, weaving through the waving arms and hands and resonating around the Electric.
The highlight of the night has to be when they performed my favourite track, ’Cannibal’. We briefly discussed the buzz around sinister, dark music and why young fans are really grabbing onto artists such as Billie Eilish, who personify this genre of music. “Nowadays a lot of music has been saturated. I think there’s also a lot of pleasure found in sort of fantastical lyrics and nightmarish melodies. Take ‘Cannibal’ - it’s so silly and off the wall, to me it was almost like a twisted lullaby to write.” The stripped back, eerie opening of the track matched with the flood of green light on the stage immediately captured everyone’s attention and held it until the very final note.
And then... LAST BUS' LAST WORD:
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Been listening to a lot of Midnight Sister, an LA-based band that have a really good album out. Also really liking Strange Cages, they’re based in Brighton too... and Opus Kink who I think are releasing an EP pretty soon.
What do you listen to on the Last Bus home?
Probably Simon & Garfunkel or Neil Young… something like that. 'After The Gold Rush'. Just stick that on and I’d almost wanna just nod off… ooh or Tom Waits- Blue Valentine… any of the above.
