Have It Your Way is out now!
Image: Holly Whitaker
Leeds quartet L’objectif recently unveiled their debut EP, Have It Your Way. We caught up with the band to chat about the release and so much more!
Tell us a bit about your musical background and L’Objectif’s origin story…
We started the band when we were like 12 when it was just me and Louis the drummer in the band. It was like that for a while until I realised the music I wanted to make could not be played with just guitar and drums so we slowly added more members. We asked our best mate Ezra to learn bass to which he did and basically now he’s an unreal bassist. Louis also remembered that his best friend Dan from nursery played guitar and so from there we had our four piece and things have been pretty positive since.
Congratulations on the release of your new EP Have It Your Way! Could you unpack the themes and concepts present on the release, and the importance of documenting them within this collection of songs?
The EP encompasses a lot of different themes but as they were written in a very bizarre time I like to think they have some cohesiveness. It explores emotions of disillusion and fear as well as typical emotions in teenage adolescence. Some songs are through the eyes of characters i have made up and others are about myself, it’s a mixed bag really.
How did you arrive at the overall sonic exploration and sounds present on the release?
Well after getting logic and slowly understanding more about production I had access to a wider range of sounds at my fingertips, so naturally your ear picks out sounds that it finds intriguing. One thing I learnt was I needed a lot of different sounds and textures in the band's songs to get it as full sounding as I wanted it to. I think the sonic sound of this EP naturally found its way to me rather than forcing anything as after a while I had a kind of production formula that I knew would work for the EP.
Could you tell us a bit about your creative process when writing and recording this collection of songs?
Well I would write the songs at home and produce a general demo then send everything to the band to add their bits bringing so much more to the song. After that I would finalize some things and that would be the recording finished. One song on the EP Drive In Mind was produced in a studio down in London so that was a very different experience for the band but a great one which helped us gel a lot as a band.
How did the EP evolve and change as you were creating it, and were there any tracks left on the cutting room floor that you think might have a life in the future?
There were a lot of songs made in the time of space the EP was being recorded. I would say there’s over like 10 songs that didn’t make the cut so maybe they have life in the future who knows. The final track list was only decided on very late in the process so it definitely evolved quite a bit over time.
Throughout the EP’s rollout, we’ve seen some great visuals (images and videos). How important are the visuals to you when it comes to portraying the stories and themes present on the songs?
Very important, we worked with some fantastic people to help and guide us with our visual representation. It’s definitely very important to us to convey the correct image as art is something we are all interested in and we want that to be resembled in the photos and videos we put out there.
If Have It Your Way was a piece of visual art that already exists, like a painting, photograph, sculpture etc. Which artwork do you think would sum it up?
God, what a question, very difficult to answer, I think there’s no way of not sounding pretentious here. Maybe Bedroom in Arles by Vincent van Gogh, simply because we spent so much time in our rooms working on music, you can see in the painting van Gogh's work on the wall and literally my room was just covered in lyric sheets, guitars scattered everywhere for months on end. Also the blinds are shut in the painting closing off the outside world, when this EP was written i think a lot of people would have felt detached from the outside world so naturally this project is quite introspective.
If you had to pick one song off the EP to play to someone who had never heard your music to make them an instant fan, which song would it be and why?
Have it Your Way, I think it’s definitely the most accessible song. It’s catchy as well and most people like catchy songs but also is a good introduction to the band's style.
Leeds has a diverse and vibrant music scene, who are some of your favourite local acts and why?
I don’t really know many. To be fair we haven’t been part of the music scene very long, I mean we have barely played any gigs so I'm not sure I can really give an answer to that. There will definitely be plenty of phenomenal bands and artists I'm sure because Leeds has always been great for music. One band I do know is Scum, Ezra our bassists band, who are a very very good punk band, so you should check them out.
You’re set to hit the road this August-October! What can audiences expect from this run of shows?
Energy i guess, playing live is such an exhilarating feeling and we all love it so we will definitely give a performance every night. Expect Ezra going crazy, Dan ripping guitar solos and Louis dripping in sweat.
Is there a chance we’ll see you performing in Australia when you are able to do so?
Yes hundred percent, we’d love to play Australia and as soon as we can we will be there, just have to do this school thing first.
RAPID FIRE
Biggest influences?
Talking Heads, Mac DeMarco, Pixies, Wolf Alice, King Krule, The Velvet Underground, The Stone Roses, Portishead, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Tame Impala. To name a few
Dream collaboration?
Hmmm difficult one, Gorillaz maybe.
Album that has had the most impact on you?
The Ooz - King Krule
How do you define your musical style in 3 words?
Colourful, alternative, angst.
Best song of 2021 so far?
Burn Me Out
If you could create the soundtrack for any film, which one would it be?
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, just so i could try and make the trippiest sounding music possible.
Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus?
Miley
A song you would love to cover on tour?
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Album you would listen to on repeat on a road trip?
The Stone Roses debut album (The Stone Roses)
First concert you went to?
I’m not sure i can remember i think it was Live at Leeds, the most memorable band I saw there was a band called Peace who are great.
Best concert you have been to?
David Byrne at the Leeds Arena
First album you ever bought?
think it was Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
Would you rather be a Spice Girl or a Backstreet Boy?
None of the above, if i had to backstreet boys.
What’s your favourite back street?
I don't even know any of their names I’m not going to lie.
Most memorable show you’ve ever performed?
One we played last week in Sheffield, definitely the best we have played as a band.
Guilty music pleasure?
Bad boy Chiller Crew but i’mnot really guilty of that actually.
If you could support any artist on tour, who would it be?
Maybe fontaine’s DC or Wolf Alice, that would be great.
An artist you think has had the most influence on the music industry.
The Beatles
What advice would your current self, give your future self, for a year from now?
I have no idea, be kind and have fun.
The moment you knew you wanted to be a musician?
Probably when I was 10, or earlier than that.