Glasgow five-piece Vlure make the sort of dark glam numbers that drive you to miss being out and about at 2am in dingy clubs, probably underground, with strobing lights and soundsystems that blast your ears off. Quite a specific miss, that one, but there you go – we’ve clearly been stuck indoors for way too long. Two singles in and their latest, ‘Shattered Faith’, is out now. Conor Goldie tells us more.
Hi Conor, how’s it going? What are you on with today?
It’s going well, thank you. Today we are rehearsing for our socially distanced tour in June. It feels great to be back in a room playing music together again.
Who are you all then, tell us a bit about yourselves?
Vlure consists of Hamish Hutcheson on vocals and on-stage theatrics, myself on guitars and DAWs, Niall Goldie on bass and intrusive (yet vital) ideas, Alex Pearson on synths and keys, and of course Carlo Kriekaard on drums and Ableton shortcuts.
It feels like you guys have arrived pretty fully-formed, did you have experience in or around music prior to putting Vlure together?
We have all played in bands for years, it’s how we met. Niall is my brother, we have been making music together since we were young. We met Carlo about five years ago in Glasgow and began playing together not long after. I had booked Hamish’s previous band to play a show, and we were blown away by his performance. Naturally, we invited him to come and make music with us, he graciously accepted and transformed the band. Alex joined us shortly after that and brought with her the intelligent musicality and the patience of a saint. The rest is history, as such.
Have you always wanted to be a musician? What did you grow up listening to?
I can only speak for myself, but there is nothing else I have ever considered. It’s been the one certainty in my life up until this point. I think it’s safe to say we are all aligned on that. Myself and Niall grew up listening to a broad scope of music; our parents live for it. Family nights around the fire pit were soundtracked by everything from Leftfield & Faithless to Nick Cave and Public Image Limited. Carlo and lex grew up honing their instruments to a terrifyingly good degree, and Hamish lives to be on stage.
Are you creative in non-musical ways too?
Vlure for us is about all forms of creativity. Music is, of course, at the heart of it, but we love the art of building a world around that. Whether that is imagery, poetry, production, video, clothing or theatrics. It’s all important. We hope to show you even more of that soon.
Your videos so far have been shot in really interesting locations, how do you go about sourcing and conceptualising those?
Both videos were filmed in locations that are somewhat important to us and are part of the story of the band. ‘Desire’ was filmed in the loading bay of our rehearsal space in Glasgow. It’s where we wrote these songs and formed this band. After our first practice, Niall, Hamish and myself sat on the roof, drank tins and dreamed big plans. It felt a fitting place to introduce people to the band.
‘Shattered Faith’ was filmed in the gardens of Pollok House in Glasgow’s southside. Myself and Niall grew up a short walk away from it. As teenagers, we used to go and drink there with our friends. Hamish used to visit the same park with his father when he was young, so it holds a lot of sentimental value. The second location for that video was Oxford House. A space occupied by our good friend and unreal architect Paul Stallan. We knew as soon as we visited it that it was the perfect space for what we wanted to capture.
Are there lots of exciting up-and-coming bands in Glasgow at the mo? How’s it feeling?
Yes, Glasgow is cooking as it always is. In our studio building alone there are enough exciting bands, artists and producers to make your head spin. It is going to be a lovely thing seeing everyone get back to doing what they love.
Do you have lots of songs ready and raring to go? What can we look forward to?
We do indeed. There will be lots of four to the floor, sweeping statements and raw emotion.
What do you most enjoy writing about, generally?
I think, naturally, we lean towards writing about the big questions. Hamish always says with his words that it’s about ‘personal politics’. I love that sentiment. You can only give what you know.
What do you do for fun?
We push the boundaries of how long it is socially acceptable to stay awake with our friends and talk until we can’t talk anymore.
Anything else we should know?
No, just that two nights ago, I witnessed Carlo put raw asparagus in his vodka mixer, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Vlure’s single ‘Shattered Faith’ is out now.
