Glasgow’s alt-rock quartet North Atlas present their dynamic new single Another Ocean, out now via King Of The Woöds Recordings.
Leon (vocalist) from the band has kindly taken the time out to share his most influential records on this weeks Life Is Like A Box Of Records…
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give It Away live at Slane Castle
As soon as I saw this band I was hooked on the whole thing! We had to do it, we had to be in a band. I saw the Chili Peppers on this tour and it was me and my friends’ first ever concert. The energy was insane! It took us, we were all singing our lungs out and jumping around. The way Anthony Kiedis moved, with grace and confidence, Flea’s incredible bass skill and John Frusciante’s’ out of control long hair and beard, that’s how a band is supposed to look!
Metallica – Nothing Else Matters
There was this kid in our school that used to always pick on everyone. As I started to grow my hair out and the beginning of a terrible teenage beard, he told me once that I looked like ‘that stupid mosher that sings in Metallica’ (but I guess I thought that he looked like dappy, so just as bad). That weekend I went straight out and bought Metallica’s Black album and thought ‘I’m never cutting my hair again’.
Justice – Genesis
This is the first song on the record ‘Cross’. For me it was such a gateway band for a rock fan to explore and enjoy electonic music. The intro to this song feels like Planet of the Apes or something, so epic! But then it kicks into this crazy unique soundscape, it’s heavy and electronic but with a kind of slap bass, it’s like Cliff Burton meets Flea.
Jay Z – No Church in the Wild
The guitar intro to this song is so cool, like an old style rock riff juxtaposed with contemporary rap and electronica. The lyrics hit me ”Human beings in a mob, What’s a mob to a king? What’s a king to a god?What’s a god to a non-believer?” It personally felt like it was saying even the most powerful’s power can be taken away if people don’t believe in them.
AWOLNATION– Sail
Pretty sure I first heard this song on a Youtube video of a parachute guy crashing embarrassingly into a cliff, but the song stuck with me in a big way. It’s one we’ve covered a few times live with North Atlas for a bit of fun, we bring out some crazy vocal effects and get to screech ‘Blame it on my ADD’ which in my head justifies a lot of things. But seriously, in my humble opinion Aaron Bruno is one of the best songwriters of the 2010s.
Biffy Clyro – Machines
I think there will/should be a statue of Simon Neil in George Square in Glasow in the future, so our children will know…
Young Guns – Bones
This is a great song and I love the production on it, it was one of the reasons we really wanted to work with the producer Dan Weller who also worked with us on our single Another Ocean. It’s got a big contemporary rock sound and the drums sound excellent! My brother Cam was a big fan of the drums on this track.
Carpark North – Human
This Scandinavin electronic rock band are unfortunatly not that well known in the UK, but they make great music. The video for Human is super weird, who’d have thought dancing in reverse would look so cool! It’s videos like this that push us to reach for new and interesting concepts, because after all music videos are an extension of the song and can add a whole new depth and feeling.
Björk – Human Behavior
I know, it’s a weird song… but the more I listened to it the more it grew on me and like marmite, now I love it! Apart from bearing a striking resemblance to my big cousin, the weirdness of Björks sound and antics just add to my love for her incredibly unique music.
The LaFontaines – Asleep
In my opinion, one of the best bands from our city of Glasgow. Whatever is happening here… more please!
Another Ocean by North Atlas is out now via King Of The Woöds Recordings and is available to buy and stream on iTunes and Spotify now.
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