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Music

DR. MARTENS SPEAKS TO CATHOLIC ACTION

Dr. Martens are proud to be involved in The Great Escape Festival held in Brighton that showcases new music from 450 emerging artists from all over the world. We’re catching up with some of the acts to find out more about them. 
 
Today we speak to Catholic Action, a four piece band from Glasgow formed in 2014 by friends Chris, Jamie, Ryan and Andrew, well known for their effortlessly fused pop and rock sounds. Find out more about the inspiration behind their songs, and what they stand for:
 

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Catholic Action. Image credit: Jassy Earl
 
 
For those who don’t know Catholic Action, how would you sum yourselves up in a sentence?
It’s a listed building, do what you like. 
 
Can you talk us through the inspiration behind your song ‘L.U.V.’?
I was screwing around with guitars in the recording studio, layering and distorting. It sounded huge. A bit like Thin Lizzy. As a 70s music obsessive, that was cool. Very cool. So we happily threw ourselves headlong down the studio rabbit hole… And here we are!
For those in the know though, L.U.V is actually an area within another, rather notorious area of Glasgow. One of us lives there… and the song was inspired by a particularly raucous evening we spent there. 
 
Tell us about your first Dr. Martens:
I remember my Dad trying to get me to wear them as a kid. He always had an oxblood pair. My Mum was having none of it. She liked disco – not punk. I got my first pair a good few years ago, and haven’t looked back. They’ve been around the world with me. They’re part of my uniform now. All black. All the time. 
 
Who in the music industry has influenced you the most?
Brian Eno. Both directly and indirectly.
Musically, his early post-Roxy Music record’s left a huge imprint on me. Listen to, “Here Come The Warm Jets” or “Taking Tiger Mountain…”. It’s so manic, so strikingly odd and unusual. But, it’s also always instantly catchy. The hooks and melodies instantly stick. I’ve always been interested in the balance between dissonance and melody. The thin line between Art and Pop.
As a producer, I’m just as influenced by his approach to creation. Using the studio itself as a musical instrument for instance or experimenting with roles and perspective. Oblique Strategies is always fun too, if you’re feeling brave. 
 
Three tracks you’re listening to right now:
MONEY, “You Look Like a Sad Painting on Both Sides of the Sky”. A clunky title for a dark masterpiece. This track is truly beautiful and Suicide Songs is my album of 2016.
“The Magician” by Andy Shauf is another dark pop gem, influenced by the same 70s singer-songwriters I obsess over. Brilliantly written and arranged. He played and recorded everything by himself too. I really admire that.
I don’t only listen to sad songs, you know. “Outside” by Parquet Courts is by far my favourite song off their new record. Short, sweet and punky. I’ve been playing Human Performance to death over the past few weeks. They’ve been one of my favourite bands for a long time. They do really interesting things with melody and the guitar. It’s all inverted and odd, but it’s always catchy. Like Eno. 
 
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Catholic Action. Image credit: Jassy Earl
 
 
What’s your favourite thing about the city you live in?
I maintain that Glasgow would be the best city in the world if it was 10 degrees warmer on average and rained half as much.
I love how friendly, open-minded and creative the people of Glasgow are. This city throngs with music and art – so drastically diverse too. The food is also great. And from experience, it’s by far the easiest place to be vegetarian/vegan in the UK. 
 
If you could make music with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
I wish I could make music with Andy Shauf. Every time I go and see him, I try to talk to him after the gig. We’re both quite shy though, and I haven’t quite plucked up the courage to mention much about what I do for a living. 
 
What advice would you give someone trying to break into the music industry?
Boldly, be yourself. Work hard. And have fun. 
 
Do you have any tour dates or releases coming up?
Yeah, aside from The Great Escape we’re playing Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Exeter along with some other festivals up and down the country.
Release wise, we’ll be putting out a members-only release for Flying Vinyl in the summer and we have something very special planned for the autumn. 
 
And finally, what do you stand for?
Vision, Creation & Peace: All that’s good for the soul. 
 
See Catholic Action at the Green Store Door on 20th May where Dr. Martens are taking over the stage. Additionally, our 1985 Leyland DAF Sherpa van will be on Jubilee Street each day featuring a free photo booth service which gives a 20% discount to spend in the Brighton store. 
 
Find out more about Catholic Action on Bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter