The best way to describe Black Circles is an Alternative Pop Rock trio with a unique spin of Blink 182 meets Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age all rolled into one.
During a time where a rehash of rockabily rock and punk music fills the popular and underground music scene in the United Kingdom, the Black Circles sound scratches the surface of a sound that has a classic 60's sound, but delivered with a modern edge created with the magic hands of Dan Josman and his Gibson Les Paul guitar, with Mayumi Nishara on bass, and Simon Juniper on drums.In August of 2010, Black Circles released their first single, "Little Girl", a hard hitting rock song with a pop melody. Like much of their other music to come, this song was inspired by bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Cheap Trick, Nirvana, Biffy Clyro and Jellyfish.
Listen to a special exclusive audio interview with Dan Josman and a rare 4-track unreleased music feature by Black Circles only available on The Great Unknowns Presents: Episode 81
I know little to nothing about Black Circles, except you have a kick-ass song called, “Little Girl”. Tell me a little bit about yourselves.
“Cheers Mikey, glad you like it. About us…we’re a British rock band, consisting of me, Dan, on guitar and vocals, Mayumi on bass and Simon on drums. I met Mayumi about a year ago, I think it was a friend’s gig. I said I was looking for a bass player, she was looking for a band blah de blah de blah..A couple of months later we heard about Simon through a mutual friend and you know we had a jam and it all sounded great. Yeh and the Circle was complete….so to speak.”
How long did you gig and perform before you released your first single?
“Well since forming last year we’ve gigged everywhere. We’ve done shows in Manchester, Brighton, Oxford, London…everywhere we could really. Cos’ playing live really helps to perfect the sound and get you ready for the studio. So we’re really gigged away. Our debut single, Little Girl was released in August which was fantastic and we’re all happy to be hitting the road next month to promote it.”
How did you come up with the name, Black Circles?
“Black Circles was the name of a song idea I had a couple of years ago. For some reason I just couldn’t finish it but the title stuck in my head. Then when we were thinking of a band name, it was just there and I thought, actually, we could use this as a band name. And we did.”
Any meaning behind the name, Black Circles?
“Well it (the song idea) was written just after my last band finished so for me, it represents a new start.”
Your sound is comparable to Foo Fighters meets Blink 182 with your hard hitting and in-your-face rock. Who else inspired your sound? “Wow! I’m flattered that you compare us to the Foos and Blink. That’s a real honour. Individually, we’ve all grown up on different music. I used to listen to The Beatles, Soundgarden. Mayumi likes heavier rock and metal and Simon listens to reggae and prog, anything really. So I guess we subconsciously fuse these styles together when we write our own songs.”
I turn away many bands from the UK because the overall music scene there seems to be a rehash of 50’s and 60’s rockabilly and a combination of the 70’s punk rock era, but your band is one of the few that are moving forward instead of backwards with a more modern style. Why do you think the music scene is the way it is in the UK?
“Mmm. I’m not too sure what going on in the UK at the moment. I guess it easier for major labels to repackage older music because they know there’s already a market for it. It’s a real shame cos’ there is so many fantastic bands that probably going to be underground than mainstream. I guess its style over substance. It’s a real killer.”
Do you ever feel like there is pressure to sound a certain way in order to make fans appreciate your music or do you just do what you do and hope it sticks?
“I think when you’re a teenager and you get in your first band, you’re keen to fit in and be noticed and so tend to sound like other bands. But as you go along and develop your own style you realise that you can’t please everybody. So, I think it’s important to be aware of what’s hot and what’s not, but you should always play the music you believe in.”
Who’s the writer of the band?
“We all write in the band actually. I mean I’ll generally come up with a verse chorus idea and then bring it to the guys and we’ll jam it through. But sometimes Mayumi comes up with a bass line and I’ll sing something over the top and providing it sounds good, we take it from there.”
Is there any particular song that is your favourite?
“Ooh I couldn’t say, I love them all equally.” When is your full length CD or EP going to be released for purchase?
“Like I say we’ve got our single out now and you can buy that from iTunes. As far as an album goes, we’ve actually got too many songs now so we’re going to use these couple of months to gig like mad and play various songs and various sets and see what the fans like. Hopefully they’ll help us decide what going to go on the album.”
Do you plan on doing a music video in the near future?
“We’re actually thinking of doing a video for the next single. It’s probably us going to be rocking out in a very small room. But we’ll keep you posted.”
What else is in store for Black Circles?
“We’ve got lots of gigs coming up over the next few months. Playing shows at Universities, doing live radio recordings, got some reviews coming up online. Its all happening, it’s all very exciting. Next year we’ll hopefully be playing some festivals.”
Any plans to perform in the US?
“We absolutely love to perform in the US, so if someone can arrange our travel, we’ll be there.”
Find more of Black Circles:
MySpacePurchase "Little Girl" on Amazon.com
Listen to an exclusive audio interview with Dan Josman with an unreleased 4-track music feature only available on The Great Unknowns Presents: Episode 81
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