Between touring, the release of their new ‘On And On’ EP and hot off the heels of having an iTunes Single of the Week there’s no doubt that Fossil Collective have been busy. David Dooley caught up with Jonny from the band to talk about the year so far and being constantly compared to Mumford and Sons.
How did the band come together?
Dave and I started the project about 18 months ago and we were kind of coming out of another band (Vib Gyor) that was coming to its natural end. Musically we were both starting to pull in a slightly different direction. We were working on what are now the early Fossil Collective songs. Starting to put those together but we did it very much for ourselves, there was no agenda, there was no trying to really achieve anything. We were doing it just to be creative and it all sort of snowballed from there really.
It was only 18 months ago? You’ve been quite busy with 2 EPs released in that time?
Yeah, this year’s been amazing for us. We’ve released two EPs, one for free on the website, two tours and loads of radio interviews so it’s been very hectic but very enjoyable.
Your latest EP came out on Monday, what has the reaction been like so far?
It’s been phenomenal. Both live and the feedback from the people out there in the social media world, it’s been really good. People seem to have really connected with it, which is very special for us when that happens, cos obviously you put your heart and soul into something and hope that people connect with it and they seem to have, so it’s been great.
Did the EP come together quickly or was it a drawn out process?
It came together pretty quickly. On and On, the lead track we’ve had that for a little bit longer. It was actually one of the first songs that Dave and I wrote together. These are a collection of songs that we had. We were putting together a catalog of songs for the album and we had these songs as well, so we decided they’d work better on an EP. So it’s a mixture really.
When the album comes out will it be all new tracks or will it be a collection of stuff that’s already been released with a few new ones added in?.
No, it’ll be new tracks. I think we’re gonna let On and On and Let It Go carry over to the album but the rest of the album will be new. We’ve been using this tour as an opportunity to road test and finish the writing on a few songs. Sort of gauge how they’re going. We’re excited. We’re going into the studio in November and then mixing in December. So yeah, we’re really excited to get it finished and get it out there.
So you’re touring in October, recording in November and mixing in December. It’s a busy end of the year for you?
Yeah, very busy. We’re happy with it. We’re happy to be, I don’t know if this is going to sound a bit hippy, but we’re happy to be doing what we love. So no complaints, the busier the better.
Let it Go was one of the iTunes’ singles of the week. How did that come about? Did they get in touch with you or did you go chasing them?
The head of alternative music at iTunes is a big fan of what we’re doing and he’s always kept in touch since we started the project, so when the opportunity came up it was a big deal for us and it’s gone really well in North America so far. So well that we’ve just secured an agent out there and are hoping to get out to South by SouthWest in March and maybe do some key dates out there and New York early next year as well.
And that was all kicked off from the Single of the Week?
I think it’s a combination of everything. I don’t think you can attribute it to one particular thing but it helped. It’s a big deal for us so we’re really pleased with that.
So what was the decision behind releasing your previous EP for free?
We had a collection of songs that we wanted to put out and we’re lucky that people will buy EPs and support what we’re doing and fund this. So we wanted to give something back really, and it sounded like a good way to say thanks for all the support so far, to put them out and let them out there.
With the rise of, for want of a better word, folk pop in the charts from bands like Mumford and Sons would you see yourselves as part of that circle or what are your opinions on the whole thing?
I’m not sure. We get asked this a lot and to be honest I don’t know. We’re big fans of Mumford and Sons, we’re fans of Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver and we’re not really trying to be part of any scene, we’re just happy with being creative. Maybe our influences predate the current scene. We’re going back to music we listened to as children, like Neil Young, Simon & Garfunkel and James Taylor, people like that. Musicians who were being played by our parents when we were younger, so it’s a strange one, but we’d be more than happy to be talked about in that kind of company.
In the case of Mumford and Sons, they went huge on their first album, Would you guys be comfortable if you were thrown into that stratosphere after one album or would you prefer for it to be a more drawn out process?
I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t think any musician can imagine what it’s like to be Mumford and Sons, but we’re just privileged to be doing what we love and obviously we want to get the music out there, to as many people as possible. So if it was to happen in a pop bubble kind of way, like it did for Mumford and Sons then why not.
What would you say your highlight of 2012 have been so far?
Probably some of the live shows. Some of the feedback that we got. We were lucky enough to support Benjamin Francis Leftwich on his headline tour, earlier in the year and one of the venues was a sold out Shepherds Bush Empire, so that was pretty special. A band called The Civil Wars have recently got in touch and said how much they love the music and would we go on the road with them, so we’re doing some dates with them at the start of November, which is going to be awesome, as we really love those guys.
Fossil Collective play the Academy 2 today (Nov 1) with tickets available from Ticketmaster