We had a chat with Reading-based five-piece Area 52 about meeting through Reading Rock Academy, their experiences with Radio 1 and BBC Introducing, and recording their debut EP.
Hi guys! Firstly, tell us about how the band formed. How was your experience of the Reading Rock Academy?
We all joined a summer band experience two years ago, we met there and it lasted three days but we wanted to carry on making music and gig together since we really enjoyed it!
You’ve recently released your new single ‘What Do You Want?’, which was premiered on Radio 1. How has the reaction been to it, and how does it feel hearing yourselves played on Radio 1?
It was an honour being played on such a well-known radio station, and the response from ‘Carry On’ and ‘What Do You Want?’ has been great so far, it´s really cool to hear people´s feedback, and we weren´t expecting such a great reaction on social media!
You’ve had a lot of support from BBC Introducing. How did that end up happening, and how has it helped you as a band?
We contacted our local BBC station and uploaded our music on the website. From there we got loads of support from BBC Introducing people like Linda Serck. We got to play shows and go on our local BBC Introducing radio station a few times. The experience we got was awesome, and it really helped us get our music out there.
You also recorded a BBC Maida Vale session, which is huge. How was the experience, and how did it go down when it was played on the radio?
It was nervewracking but so much fun and a good experience. The whole day was amazing, we got to work with some really lovely people and we had a lot of fun, we loved it. It hasn’t been played on the radio yet but we’re looking forward to that happening, but the videos have been released and they looked really great.
You’ve already done some pretty cool things, like playing at Reading and Leeds last year. How was that?
It was an unforgettable and surreal weekend, we never even imagined playing such a big festival where we ourselves go to watch our favourite artists. The fact that we achieved that is crazy to even think about and we would love to do it all over again.
What would you say has been your highlight as a band so far?
Definitely playing gigs together, but Reading and Leeds has been our most unforgettable one!
I saw that you’ve recently been in the studio. Can we expect some new music from you soon?
We’re making our debut EP which is going to be released in the next few months. We´re really excited for people to hear this.
How would you describe your sound in general? Who are your influences as a band?
Rock/Indie. We´re influenced by a lot of bands and artists as well as new sounds from up-and-coming artists in the UK. We like to take inspiration from anything that´s good regardless of the genre, so anything from Queens of The Stone Age to Kanye West.
Have you got any touring plans for the near future?
We’re doing a lot of gigging in the spring/summer, we´re really looking forward to it! We hope to do a small UK tour soon sometime.
What is your ultimate aim as a band?
We want to be able to grow musically, experiment with different sounds and create anything that sounds and feels right to us and have people hear it. And also just to have fun with it!
LAIS MW