Madina Lake: "It's like being back from the dead"

"We haven't played or even been a band for five years or something," Nathan Leone states. Talking before Madina Lake's first performance at Slam Dunk, the excitement that surrounds the group's return is at an all time high. "It's been great knowing we had Slam Dunk," the frontman enthuses. "It's a festival atmosphere; you can run into a bunch of friends in other bands... It's incredible. It's like being back from the dead or something." Ten years on from the release of their celebrated debut, and four years on from their last performance together back in 2013, the enthusiasm that greets the group as they take to the stage is second to none. "It's insane!" Nathan exclaims. "I had no idea what to expect. Since we have not been a band, we really entered a totally different life. It could not have been more of an opposite life to what I have at home." Jumping around on stage, diving into the crowd, with fans screaming along to every lyric, it feels like barely a moment has passed since the group were last together on stage, let alone four years. So what exactly have Madina Lake been up to during their time apart? "Mateo [Camargo] moved to Los Angeles, where I am. We've been writing music for TV and films," Nathan details. "We just did a trailer for the new Pirates Of The Caribbean film. It's amazing." "He and I have been writing partners for fifteen years or something," the frontman continues. "We started writing pop songs for other artists, doing co-writes for them, and that was amazing. We went from pop to film and TV. It's like a completely different animal. Coming back almost full circle to write with Madina again has been amazing. That's obviously what really moves us."