After following up their much-loved 2021 EP 'It's Gonna Be Okay' with a string of impressive efforts this past year, Brighton-based outfit Dutch Criminal Record are back once again to deliver their euphoric new single 'Oat Milk'.
Lifted from their eagerly-awaited new EP 'Apathy Mixtape', which is due out soon, 'Oat Milk' makes for a wonderfully warm and alluring listen. Capturing more of that rich and textured indie-rock aesthetic they are known for, they are returning to the fold with one of their most impactful cuts to date here.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Joe: I’m gonna be boring here and say guitar, though my first instrument was trumpet I started learning guitar as a troubled early teen and within a month or two of playing was starting to write my own songs and fantasising about becoming a huge rockstar who played vlasti every year. I also think that playing guitar fed into my love of playing other instruments. I started bashing away at our piano at home more often and I got into other styles of Trumpet playing (Jazz and latin) which I enjoyed more.
Sam: The guitar. When I was a teenager and started listening to guitar music. Before then I played the Clarinet which I enjoyed but I wasn’t in love with it!
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
Joe: The first music I ever remember loving was Queen. My parents had a Queen greatest hits CD in our car and I absolutely adored every track. Eventually I got into Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, the kinks and then some modern music when I was a teen like Arctic Monkeys and The Wombats but Queen have always been one of my favourite artists.
Sam: I didn’t have a huge musical exposure growing up despite having a fairly musical family. I liked soundtracks from films or TV shows I’d seen. I remember owning the Toy Story CD and then just odd bits of classical music and hymn music - I didn’t really know much popular music until I was a teenager.
What was the first album you remember owning?
Joe: I think when I was 13-14 I bought “This Modern Glitch” By The Wombats and that was the first album I’d bought myself.
Sam: Coldplay - Parachutes which I bought when I was 12. This was when everything musically changed for me!
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Joe: Such a hard question, but it's actually gonna be “Goodbye L.A" by this band Blah Blah Blah, a very underrated band and that song is genuinely beautiful.
Sam: Too many to choose from, but Sparks by Coldplay would be high up my list.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Joe: I have a few ways of cracking songs, I write a lot with a computer so I can see the production/instrumental elements of the song start to inform the lyrical content of the song (I’m always a lyrics last guy, its not uncommon for me to be up at 2am the day before a studio session agonising over a second verse or something). Other than that I find that each song starts differently but normally with a cool guitar/bass/keys part. I find messing around with new sounds/techniques in my free time sometimes lights up that “ohh my god” moment when the potential for a song flashes up in your brain for a second and you spend months trying to faithfully re-create the potential you heard in that moment.
Sam: I think Joe does more than me maybe, I like to just be able to sit somewhere with a guitar quietly without too many people listening so I can sing as well haha. I sometimes find it helpful to play different guitars e.g. a classical guitar or an electric guitar. I haven't played in a while as they force you to write differently and come up with new ideas!
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Joe: Right now I’m revisiting Blue Weekend (Wolf Alice) and All Things Must Pass (George Harrison) both fantastic albums in my opinion. I’ve also been bingeing “Music For Psychedelic Therapy” - Jon Hopkins when I need some Zen on stressful train journeys.
Sam: right now I’ve been listening to Far Caspian, Blur, Beach Fossils and Albert Hammond Jr’s new albums, The Oppenheimer soundtrack and Pinegrove’s Skylight which is now one of my fave albums.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Joe: I reckon opening for Mac Demarco would be pretty fun, he seems like a chill dude.
Sam: Probably for one of my musical heroes eg Coldplay or The Strokes.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
Joe: Getting feedback from people who love our music is always wild and really humbling, it's really weird to think that we’re some peoples favourite bands and that our music means a lot to some people and that it never gets old.
Sam: Creating music that I’m proud of and think is an authentic expression of myself and us as a band. Seeing people react to that music and what it means to them.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Joe: I mean there’s loads, the exploitative nature of the music industry, the lack of security and constant self doubt about the future of your career… to name but a few.
Sam: The other thing I think is the fact you don’t feel in control of your success in the industry. You’re very much reliant on a number of other factors to grow your career as an artist and that can be very frustrating at times.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Joe: Smell the flowers, take time to congratulate yourself when you feel like you’ve reached a milestone which is important to you no matter how small it may seem in the grand scheme of your career. Morale is one of the most important things to have in the music industry and celebrating yourself where you can is a good way of keeping you and your team in good spirits.
Sam: Just keep going. I don’t even know who I’ve been told this by but sure that I have been - you’ve got to just stay in the game. Success doesn’t happen overnight so you’ve got to give it the best go you can and don’t focus on what others around you are doing.
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Dutch Criminal Record's new single 'Oat Milk' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.