We caught up with vocalist Sam Carter and guitarist Ali Dean of Architects just before they embarked on a weekend full of Slam Dunk fun. The band were a few hours off headlining the Monster Stage (Leeds O2 Academy), and after bemoaning the fact that PVRIS were playing a few metres away but we couldn’t watch, we talked about the band’s upcoming tour in South America, new material, and never getting a day off.
Hey guys! How are you looking forward to headlining a stage at Slam Dunk?
Sam: Good, yeah. We did it two or three years ago, but the festival’s bigger now and our stage is sick. All the stages are sick and the line up’s sick.
What can we expect from your set later on?
Sam: Well, we’ve had to change it up, because we’ve done the headline tour. We’ve moved some songs around to make it interesting and we’re gonna play a couple that we haven’t played in a long time, so we’re really looking forward to it.
The last time I saw you play was at Motion in Bristol.
Sam: Oh yeah, that was crazy!
Ali: Interesting venue. It was like a rave club.
Sam: When we turned up we couldn’t imagine playing a show there.
Ali: It turned out to be one of the best shows.
Sam: Yeah, it was amazing. We hope tonight’s gonna be the same.
Ali: Yeah, something similar.
Sam: We brought all our production with us so hopefully it’ll be as good as it can be.
So you’ve got some South American shows coming up right?
Sam: Yep, we’ve got a day off after this..
Ali: Not even that, is it?
Sam: We drive back from Wolverhampton and we get back whatever time in the morning, go home, do laundry, say farewell to friends and family, and then we leave the next day.
How long are you in South America for?
Ali: 11 days. We did a tour there a few years ago with Whitechapel and The Devil Wears Prada.
Sam: It’s sick playing out there. We went down really well last time we were there and we weren’t really anybody at all. We didn’t know of anyone who would remotely know us. We had an album on a small label that didn’t have any distribution out there, so now going back off ‘Lost Forever…’ with Epitaph putting it out – they’ve done so much for us in places like that – we’re really excited to see what the response is.
You always did well, but with the release of ‘Lost Forever…’ last year it really seemed to blow up for you, and deservedly so.
Sam: Yeah, it was really weird. Because it wasn’t like we did anything different. We put everything we could into it, and it was kind of make or break. It was like, if it’s just gonna be our sixth record then we’re fucked, but if we make it our best record then it’s a talking point. So I think people wanted that record, and we just gave it to them.
[While She Sleeps walk past, prompting a bit of a bromance moment]
Sam: Love is in the air!
Ali: They smell great, so you can look forward to that in your interview with them.
Sam: “The boys said you smell great…”
Ali: “They said you smell AND look amazing.”
You just got back from Russia. How was that?
Ali: Exhausting, but very fun. Lots of flying.
Sam: It was great.
Ali: It’s like there’s a grey filter all the time. If Instagram had a filter like that, they’d call it the Soviet filter. But the people there are very lovely, despite the grey filter and the grey outlook on life.
Sam: The kids are crazy. The shows were mental!
Ali: It was really good. Really fun.
Sam: Now let us come home and enjoy the houses that we rent!
What’s the plan after South America?
Ali: We have a couple of European weekenders and a little ten day stint at some point. Apart from that we’re gonna be re-fuelling and writing for the next record.
It’s so wild because in my head ‘Lost Forever…’ is your new album.
Sam: That’s what it feels like. Onstage I keep saying, “Who’s heard our new record?” And then you think about how many times we’ve played the fucking songs. I mean, we usually have another record out the year after, so this is lazy by our standards.
Ali: So lazy! All this time at home…
That’s half a day at home when you could be out there!
Ali: Yeah, we should be out there pushing it.
Sam: We could be in Ukraine!
Anything extra you want to add?
Sam: I just want to say thanks for being nice and buying our album. We’ll be back!
Ali: We look Slam Dunk, especially North. We love Leeds. Hatfield and Wolverhampton are a waste of time [laughs].
LAIS MW