Music Q&A: Outfit

The band, originally from Liverpool, have made a debut album that thrives on texture and atmosphere. They play 12 Oct, East Village Arts Club, Liverpool

You’ve had such amazing reviews for the album – do you feel that it’s affirmation of all your hard work or are you not swayed by the critics?

Andrew: There’s no point denying that it’s a nice feeling to read something good about your work but you don’t make music for it to be reviewed. I’m always excited to hear from a fan who is enjoying listening to the album at home or wherever.

The album is so intensely constructed and the sound/production seems very carefully controlled. How do you intend to replicate it live?

Thomas: We’ve recently become far more comfortable with our live show and found ways to replicate our studio sounds without it sounding like you’re just listening to a CD. Some songs have a slightly different live feel and I think that’s important. We’ve recently started playing Elephant Days live, and the middle eight in that is the highlight of my set. It sounds great on record but when the five of us are playing it together it comes alive.

What is it about performing the songs live that you enjoy most? 

Thomas: Being honest, with playing live I just like to see audience reaction and work out what it is that people like most.

It seems like architecture and the urban environment are very important to the world you inhabit?

Thomas: Yeah I was joking the other day that we’d been slagged off by a lot of rural newspapers and maybe that’s ‘cause we have a city sound but there’s possibly some truth in it. There remains a fantasy of mine that you’d listen to Performance on your own on headphones walking through the city at 2am.

Do you all live in London now or are you back in Liverpool?

Thomas: Liverpool is where we all grew up (aside from Dave who is from Basel in Switzerland). I think we all always feel at home in Liverpool and it’s where our studio is, so Performance was made there. I live in London about half the time. There’s something appealing about its vastness. You can’t experience the same anonymity in Liverpool – its small size is at times really comforting and, at other times, overbearing.