Our regular run-down of as many of the upcoming Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! Dunes play the Jager stage on the Friday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Hi, we’re Dunes, we’re based up in Newcastle/Northumberland.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We got together in 2016, so around 7 years.
Where does the name of the band come from?
We’d love it if we could remember if we’re honest. It was probably the least shit name we could come up with at the time and in hindsight we should have picked another one as it’s not particularly unique it would seem. Guess a little nod to the ‘desert rock’ bands which influence us and we liked the idea of creating something that’s not there, surprisingly there aren’t any deserts in the North East.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
As alluded to just now we’re influenced and play stoner/desert rock, so think bands like Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Torche QOTSA, Dozer, Lowrider, big riffs with big choruses. I think there’s a healthy dose of our Northerness in the lyrics as well, the lyrics/subject matter is often gritty but delivered with a tongue in cheek. But ultimately we want our music to have a groove and be fun to experience.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Well that’s up to them really isn’t it, but we’ll definitely have better shirts, probably be louder and hopefully we’ll give folk something to dance to and have a good time.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
No, never none of us have. However, I (Ade, bass), went to Bearded Theory last year which is on the same site. Which ultimately is no use in this context, but I’m aware of where it is which will help no end with getting there.
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
A very nice chap named Simon emailed us with an offer that we decided not to refuse.
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What sort of setlist can we expect?
Punishing and gruelling, nah we’ve got a good mix of our material and going to be debuting a couple of new songs which we’re pretty excited about.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
The Grey, who are an unreal instrumental band from Cambridgeshire, those guys are phenomenal. Bossk as well, we were all (still are actually) obsessed with their album Audio Noir in the early Dunes days. Crowbar of course, Church of the Cosmic Skull, Tuskar… there’s loads and we keep noticing more every time we see the lineup.
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re currently finishing off demos for our third album which were recording later in the year. We’re also heading over to the USA in September for a couple festival appearances and a tour, we’re playing Desertfest New York and Ripplefest Texas so should be an exciting trip, so lots of preparation for that.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We played Liverpool a few years ago and the entire audience lay on the floor for one song and did a weird squirmy fish dance, that was pretty funny.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Three or four pints of some sort of ale or chalky craft beer and then we normally crack a bottle of rum to share between us.
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