Introducing: Safari

When The Line Of Best Fit heard they were going on safari there was a mad rush to buy as much khaki clothing as possible. When we realised we were going to meet the band Safari the excitement level never dipped as their dark yet danceable vibe makes them an exciting proposition. Anyway, here’s what they had to say for themselves – also, if anyone wants to buy some barely used binoculars or insect repellent let us know at the usual address.

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should..
If you enjoy moving your hips, a dark lyrical twist, and a live band with a passion to have a good time then you should get your eyes and ears to one of our shows!…. what else can you want in a band?..dancers?…we can get some dancers…

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
My step dads attempts to win some cred involved show of his drumming skills on pots and pans. I was too young to understand he wasn’t cool, so everything started from there for me, chopsticks on shoe boxes to what I am now!

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
Our songs contain a little part of all of us! When we write songs we write them together and just play at free will until something clicks together. If Craig our bass player is moody he will play a dark riff, if Ian our singer is happy he will sing something uplifting over it, everything just merges and blends until we all like what is happening. I guess our inspiration is keeping it real, not writing songs about something we don’t feel. Whatever is happening in our lives at the time or things that trouble or inspire us, we try to distil that into our songs…. it’s that juxtaposition of having someone singing uplifting lyrics over a dark hook and vice versa that seems to work.

Name your Top 5 records.
Arcade Fire Funeral
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
Depeche Mode Violator
Forward Russia Give Me A Wall
Love Forever Changes

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
Our First Gig as Safari was at Start The Bus in Bristol! Which is a good 3 hours from our home town.. that seems a long way for a first gig considering we are based in Hertfordshire, but they asked so how could we refuse?! The gig was definitely a success, we nailed our set and had plenty of people throwing shapes on the dance floor at 1am, we just hope they remembered us the following morning! We have little cards we give to all the drunks now, all original artwork mind… our plan is to start leaving the cards out, but at each show there will be one unique piece of artwork designed by our very own keyboard banksy Jonny. These cards will be one-offs and hopefully one day they will be well worth having!

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
Someone described one of our songs as sounding like a malfunctioning photocopier…. we still don’t know if that’s a good thing or not? Was it justified, sure, they took the time to come and see us play and then they wrote about what they thought, it’s valid.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
I’m a hobby-aholic! I’ve lost count of how many things I have tried to learn in past six months! I can make a pretty good Balloon Poodle, can knit a decent scarf! The most recent is me becoming a bit of a lomographer! I like playing around with old film cameras, taking random pictures and although not a waste of time, since I love it, it costs a lot of money to print and process film. When your as amateur like me, I must get about 4 decent shots out of a 36 roll of film…..massive waste!

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
I’ve never really thought about what else I could do, I studied music tech at college and I spent most of my time either in the studio or playing live. It would have to be something creative, paint some bad art? Write a awful novel? Something expressive! Thinking about it I should really have a plan B..thanks for reminding me!

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Coffee shops are good friends to musicians/struggling actors/anyone who needs easy money to keep themselves alive! But, what a massive bore they are! I would have about 20 conversations a day about the weather, shamefully flirt with old ladies for tips, and take shit from men in suits who look 3 dodgy lattes away from a midlife crisis!

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
The theme is “You’ve just split your pint over the guy they nicknamed “big big daddy dog”
The Buzzcocks: ‘Oh Shit’
Jay Z: ’99 Problems’
The Animals: ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’
Cut Copy: ‘Hearts on Fire’
New Order: ‘Run’