We spoke to frontman Felix, of four-piece indie band Divorce, about their upcoming debut album, the touring experience, and how the Nottingham music scene shaped the band. With their debut album, Drive to Goldenhammer, out next month, and a huge headline show at London's KOKO in April, this year is looking to be the biggest yet for the band.
It felt like an incredible opportunity to pour everything we had into a body of work that will hopefully be the first of many.
I hope a record that feels honest. We followed the songs first, without setting out to say a certain thing we chose songs that felt like they belonged together. It’s an expansive piece of work, and very much symbolises the feeling of transience we’ve all experienced since we started the band.
We all met through the Nottingham music scene in one way or another, and over years of playing in other lineups and projects. That definitely fed into the confidence we had in starting Divorce. We knew to a certain extent the ways in which we wanted to work, and a few of the pitfalls we’d individually experienced starting out. We found each other through a shared sense of the kinds of music we valued or took inspiration from. We were also lucky to experience the Nottingham scene - going back a few years - when there were more independent venues. Those venues were rare and important back then and many of them aren’t around anymore.
Playing four nights in a venue we knew so well was a crazy experience. That venue means a lot to us and it was where we’d had some of our most formative experiences over the years. Also being able to connect with a small audience of a couple hundred people four nights on the bounce in the same room felt like a very unique experience. I don’t think anyone had done that before at Bodega. It’s something I can imagine we’d like to do more of in other places because the level of connection with the audience is unlike anything else.
So excited! We’ve been sitting on the album for about a year now, so getting to play all of it to rooms full of listening people will be very cathartic. The EU tour is a first for us, and the concept of getting to travel to places we’ve never been before and there being people there to see it will never get old I don’t think. We feel incredibly grateful and lucky to have the chance.
I like to think I prepare as best I can for each tour we do, but you never really can be fully ready for what it throws a at your body and mind. In some ways I find it easier existing on the road, you get into a rhythm and find ways of taking pockets of time or space for yourself, which is often not very easily done sharing a van and hotel rooms and eating together all the time. I tend to get a lot of reading done which is always a plus.
Back in the summer we played a festival in the south of France called MIDI Festival. It was our first time playing anywhere without a roof over the stage and the weather was incredible, we could see the ocean in the background behind the crowd, who were also lovely. We ended up having a couple of days holiday swimming in a lake nearby and eating as much cheese as we possibly could.
I think we like to make people feel like there isn’t much of a line between the stage and the audience. We’re so lucky to play songs and meet people all the time so I hope people can enjoy that as much as we do.
Wilco is a big one always, The Blue Nile when we want a cry, a fair amount of Joni Mitchell deep cuts, Fiona Apple. Some new artists we really like include our dear friends from Dublin, DUG, who are supporting us on our UK tour in the spring!
Antarctica
You can see Divorce live across the UK this year. Live performances include:
Get ready for an unforgettable tour and keep an eye out for their debut album – listen to Divorce on Spotify:
