Interview: Cold Years

Grace Lazzaro speaks with Scottish rock band, Cold Years.

Grace Lazzaro
7th September 2020
I had the absolute honour of being able to interview the vocalist and guitarist, Ross Gordon, of Scottish rock band Cold Years and get some insight into their debut album, Paradise, which was released just Friday (04/09/20). If you have yet to discover this amazing band, instead of yelling at you for your naiveté, I'll do you a favour fill you in on who they are. As I said before, the are a rock band originating from a remote city in Scotland by the name of Aberdeen. The group is made up of Ross Gordon, Louis Craighead, Finlay Urquhart, and Fraser Allan. This four- man collective is all about being who you are and keeping to your roots and speaking up about things even if they hurt. This mentality heavily influenced their album, Paradise, as it is heavily draws from their hometown of Aberdeen and their distain of how for their generation, no matter how hard you try, you always come up short, that what you do is never good enough. Further down on the page, you will find my interview with Ross that sheds some light on things from the band's to the release of their debut album Paradise.

1. Putting aside all the labels of the music industry and whatnot, how would you personally describe the music you guys produce?

I think it's blue collar punk rock, but with a bunch of different stuff layered in between. We all have such varied backgrounds in music and influences, so when it all comes together it just sounds like "us". 

2. What goes into you guys’ creative process when writing a song?

It happens a bunch of different ways. Sometimes I'll record ideas in to my iPhone and send it to the guys and we work on it in the studio. Sometimes we write during rehearsal. Sometimes in the studio itself. It just kind of changes every single time, and there's no real set method. It's really collaborative now and that's so awesome when you have a band of people who are constantly writing. 

3. Did being quarantined help or hinder the band’s song writing/ that creative process? And how so?

It really helped. You have all the time in the world. Touring is off the cards right now so we have maximised creativity and written a pile of material. We all have home recording setups so it's super easy to collaborate. We've written a bunch of Cold Years songs, but also personal songs for ourselves too. 

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4. Has the COVID pandemic affected the recording, release, and general production of Paradise?

It didn't affect the recording as that was done in November last year, but it delayed the launch from May to September. We can't tour, we can't meet people, we can't really do anything. We have a show in Germany in 2 weeks though, which I’m kinda counting as our release show and we are super excited about it. It's sold out. 

5. What do you feel is the best song you guys have ever released and why?

31.  It's the first track on our new record and it's my favourite. It talks about the day my sister got married, and i just remember her being so happy, while my life was falling apart. It put a lot of things in perspective for me and it punches me in the stomach every single time I hear it or play it. 

6. Do you have any thing you would like to share about your latest album, Paradise? 

Buy it now! https://coldyears.limitedrun.com/ 

- Was the process (writing, recording, producing, releasing, etc.) easier or more difficult than you expected? 

We had a record a couple years back ready to go. Then we went on tour, and came back and scrapped it and started again. We pushed ourselves so hard on this one. We wanted it to be the best we could be. We re-wrote, changed, scrapped, fought, cried and almost died to get it to where it needed to be and I wouldn't change anything. 

7. What are tour plans, if any, for this album? 

Zero, the world is a mess. But hopefully that changes soon! 

8. Lastly, if you guys had one message to give your fans, what would it be? 

Thank you so much for listening to our music, picking up a record, coming to a show. We miss you all so much, and we can't wait to see you again. Stay safe.

Check out Cold Years on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.

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