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 GWILYM GOLD, keyboardist and songwriter for GOLDEN SILVERS, chats with YUMI SED from his home in London. As he enjoys a balmy London morning, (15 degrees on the day in question), they chat about the woes of being labeled a retro band and his desire to remain a fiercely independent group.
There is a little corner of London that is slowly exploding. The bands there play a breezy combination of ‘60s soul infused with powerful pop sensibilities. The Golden Silvers are one of those bands along with good friends and long time tourmates Micachu and Florence & The Machine. After winning a spot at the Glastonbury festival last year, life has been a charm for the Golden Silvers with mutterings around the globe about what the future will hold for these young up-and-comers. Despite only being together as Golden Silvers for a couple of years, Gold and Alexis Nunez have known each other since their school days. After a chance meeting with Ben Moorhouse the band was born. “Once Ben grew a moustache we knew he was a love god so we converted him to the bass,” Gold laughs. “The rest, as they say, is history.”
Aside from the band, the boys run a club night in London called The Bronze Club, where Micachu and Florence & The Machine have made appearances along with Mystery Jets, with whom they recently went on tour. It’s an exciting time for bands when they see their friends, as well as themselves, starting to reap rewards for their work. “It’s great to see everyone’s success,” he says genuinely. “Everyone has started to release their debut albums and we’re all starting to do well; it’s great to see.”
Their debut album, True Romance, is a psychedelic journey through indie pop, folk and, well, so many other genres that it would make for messy reading. The problem the boys face is the fact they are constantly pigeonholed as an ‘80s retro band. It seems that for some reason, when you incorporate keyboards and heavily effected bass, you must be the love child of Robert Smith and Ian Curtis. Presumably, the one thing that sets the band apart from most indie bands is their distinct lack of guitars. “It’s an annoying thing that as soon as you play on a synthesizer you’re doing something retro,” he says, sounding tired of the label. “I don’t know why that happens. The song structures and the mood of the songs is nothing like the ‘80s. If anything it’s closer to the Beach Boys.”
Despite being signed to an influential record label (XL – home of The Whites Stripes, Vampire Weekend and The Prodigy), both the label and the band have a strong philosophy of independence. “We’re on a really independent label that supports our independence in everything even down to doing our own CD artwork,” he says. “It’s so important for us to maintain control of ourselves and the band and it’s something we will continue to focus on throughout our career.”
TRUE ROMANCE is out now through XL/Remote Control. www.goldensilvers.co.uk
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