We at Indie Top 39 first fell in love with Coral Palms when hearing their edgy and infectious tune, ‘Open Roads’. Since then, the London based quartet have released their third single, ‘Drink Too Much’, and continue to showcase their tight and high energy sound. We were thrilled when they accepted to be interviewed, and talked to us about how they met, the music industry as a whole and what albums they’d take with them if they were stranded on a desert island. Please enjoy getting to know Coral Palms a little more.
I love discovering bands still in their relative infancy – what brought the four of you together?
Will – Chance and fate in a spiritual sense I guess. I met Callum before I even knew who any of the others were. We met on the first day of Uni and bonded because we’re from quite similar areas. Ollie and I formed a very strong brotherhood and began writing together, then Adriano produced the tracks. Following that, we needed a bass player and guitarist for live shows, so the parts of a puzzle slowly but definitely slotted together following our three years of university together.
‘Open Roads’ was the first single I heard from you guys – and I was hooked straight away. With over 110,000 plays on Spotify, how proud are you of the track?
Ollie – Super proud!
We set our goals and expectations for this project before releasing and this song has gone above and beyond!
Coral Palms
The most rewarding part is receiving kind words from family, friends and random new fans!
Staying with ‘Open Roads’, I recently came across the stripped down version on YouTube. It’s beautiful! Which version is your favourite?
Callum – It’s hard to put your finger on it. We are all massively proud of both versions on different levels. Creating a stripped down version of Open Roads came so naturally and we had a lot of fun arranging it. The song works on so many levels. But we can’t wait to be out in front of a crowd dancing along to the full electric version.
Your brand new single, Drink Too Much, is yet another infectious and high energy tune. What does the song mean to you?
Will – It’s quite uncanny how much of our adolescent experiences are shared when it comes to myself and Ollie. One of the reasons we formed a very deep friendship very quickly was because we understood each other and had often experienced very similar issues with relationships, mental health, and feeling like the ‘slightly different one’ amongst our peers because we had a passion for music.
‘Drink Too Much’ explores and exploits all of the above in its lyrical themes and was originally named after my favourite film of all time. In short, for me it’s a tale of vulnerability, self-reflection and the search for self-discovery at a young age.
What would success look like for Coral Palms?
Adriano – Playing big shows and festivals around the world, namely Glastonbury.
We’ve always loved the live side of music and we find our purpose on stage, in front of a crowd. Success would be thousands of people singing our lyrics back to us in real time.
Coral Palms
Whilst we’re not quite in the clear, there seems to finally be some hope regarding the global pandemic. How was your lockdown experience?
Ollie – The most difficult bit was not being able to play gigs. The band thrives on stage as that’s where we truly feel we can connect with our fans. We’ve been adjusting and managed to keep the experience positive by being as creative and active as we can! We did a few livestream gigs and filmed a few videos (when it was safe to do so).
OK guys, you’re about to be stranded on a desert island and can only take 1 album each with you? Let’s hear it!
Will – Where The Light Is, John Mayer
Callum – Hot Fuss, The Killers
Adriano – “Exodus”, Bob Marley
Ollie – Holy Fire, Foals
Each band has a different creative process. Could you tell our readers a little bit about yours? How do you turn an idea into a finished article?
Callum – Our creative process differs from song to song, whether it be one of us bringing an idea to the table or someone having a near finished demo. Most of the development of the tracks happens within the confines of Ads studio. When we are all together it all flows and we have our ideas and inputs so as time goes on it very much becomes a collective effort.
When we are all together it all flows
CORAL PALMS
If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?
Adriano – The industry isn’t perfect but I always feel it’s best to work in the circumstances you’re given. That being said, I would change how much artists are paid for streaming numbers. An artist can’t survive on streams alone and that is made even more difficult in a world without live music (as we’ve just experienced first hand).
I know the band is inspired by acts like Foals and Two Door Cinema Club. Who else has shaped the musical soundscape of Coral Palms?
Will – We are all children of indie. Perhaps from my perspective, more recent indie success stories such as The 1975 and The Night Cafe – they are probably more reflective of the slightly more brooding sound that we have.
We are all huge fans of an artist called SG Lewis, and we take inspiration from artists similar to him when we are working on synth and electronic elements in our music.
Two of my all time favourite musicians, Matt Bellamy (Muse) and Serge Pizzorno (Kasabian), come from your neck of the woods. Are there any hidden gems in Devon that we should know about?
Ollie – That’s a great question, If there are they are very well hidden. Hopefully Coral Palms will be on the list of Devon hidden gems soon.
If I grabbed each of your cell phones and opened Spotify, who would I see under the recently played section?
Will – Blushes – a local band who aren’t together any more but they have some huge tunes.
Callum – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend – an incredibly crafted album and an absolute dream for anybody who’s into their guitar music.
Adriano – Charlie XCX, Laura Mvula and UMI
Ollie – Everything Everything
What would you put down as the band’s biggest achievement to date?
Every new step that happens for us is a crazy achievement
CORAL PALMS
Callum – Every new step that happens for us is a crazy achievement, it’s tricky to pick just one. I think having the trio of tracks all appearing on BBC Introducing has been huge for us and the kind of recognition we always wanted when getting these tracks together. It’s an achievement we are hugely grateful for.
You’re allowed to collaborate with one musician or band. Who do you choose?
Adriano – There are so many artists that inspire us collectively and individually it would be impossible to pick just one! We’d love to collaborate with whoever comes up naturally – who knows what the future holds.
I must say, your musical careers appear to be off to a blazing start. What does the future have in store?
Will – I think there’s still more to come but we are definitely out of the starting blocks. I think we’d like to get to a point where we find the right extended team around us and begin working with new industry heads.
I think there’s still more to come, but we are definitely out of the starting blocks.
CORAL PALMS
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This coverage was created in collaboration with Musosoup as part of the #SustainableCurator movement.
