Music Q&A: Goldsmoke

What informs your songwriting?
Nick: Being brothers we were brought up on the same music, so we share the same influences, such as Earth Wind and Fire, Michael Jackson and Steely Dan. Their style and respective songwriting hugely inform our sound. It’s half that and then half our own working vibe together.

Tom: We try and keep the songwriting spontaneous and tend to rely on instinct rather that endless chiselling. Normally we have a day going through our voice memo ideas and then will work what feels the best into a new song. The lyrics are normally written in the booth on the day – we think best just to speak from the heart.

How have you evolved as an act over the years?
Nick: It’s still pretty early days for us as a duo. Being brothers we’ve obviously been around or playing music together for years but this is the first time we are setting out as just the two of us. It’s exciting to be in the beginning – we’re only just really starting to find our sound.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
Tom: Been getting pretty busy recently! We’ve been working on remixes, finishing up our second EP ready for next summer, and also the big task of turning Goldsmoke into a live show. We want to try and play as much of the tracks live as possible, though being an electronic duo there’s still lots of programming that needs doing. We’re working on making the live arrangements something that will blow people away.

What’s on your rider?
Tom: We’ve been working on a little homemade batch of mango rum for something to sip in the studio, so potentially a bottle of that. Not really big eaters before a gig, we’d much rather go for a dinner with pals afterwards. The Goldsmoke songs vocally are a roast so we have lots of the classic lemon/ginger things to help Nick’s vocal chords.

Tell us your most embarrassing or surreal experience.
Nick: Haven’t been fully embarrassed for a few years luckily. Having said that though now we’re sure that one of us will sneeze on someone on the bus and simultaneously poop themselves – a constant fear for us all. Tend to go for the Curb Your Enthusiasm approach and ride out the embarrassing moments.

What song do you wish you’d written?
Nick: So hard to pick just one. Feel like Making Love for Tom, the solo section in the George Benson version is perfect and the D’Angelo cover is such a vibe. For Nick it’s Love’s in Need of Love Today by Stevie Wonder, the greatest opening track of all time. Those or the theme tune from Grandstand.

What’s your worst lyric?
Tom: Our new single All Falls Down has a few weird ones. They made sense at the time. Think we went a bit too cryptic for even for ourselves.