Q&A: Platoon Turns Simplicity Into Power in New Single, “Fix You”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY FAITH LUEVANOS ☆
U.K.-BASED INDIE ROCK BAND PLATOON ARE BACK—with the release of their new single, “Fix You.” If you haven’t heard of Platoon yet, you’ll be sure to leave a fan by the end of this. Consisting of Archie Brownlow, Tom Martineau, Stan Brown and Marcus Evans, Platoon was formed out of a shared dream of making music, which fortunately brought their paths together.
Contrary to their previous releases, the new track remains stripped down, yet the message is all the more powerful. It’s more than a guitar and vocals; it’s a heartfelt message that bleeds onto the pages, emanating depth and acceptance of what cannot be changed.
The Luna Collective received the opportunity to chat with Platoon about the new single, the anticipated arrival of their debut EP, their creative process, and more. Read the full interview below.
LUNA: Can you introduce yourselves and share some backstory as to how the band formed?
PLATOON: Our names are Archie, Stan, Marcus and Tom. Stan and I play the guitar and do the vocals, Marcus is on the bass, and Tom is on drums. Initially, we formed at school, Stan, Marcus, and I all went to the same place and had been since we were around 11. None of us knew how to play anything; we just knew that music was something we were all into.
I remember we assigned our roles in the band and probably had the name before we could actually play, then we went off and learned after lockdown. We have had a couple of different drummers over the years, but they never worked out. Then I met Tom at school, and we became close. I didn't know he played the drums at first, so when he told me, I introduced him to the others, and he instantly just got it, so we asked him to join the band.
LUNA: Your new single, "Fix You," is out now. How would you say your music has evolved since you first started to get to where it is now?
PLATOON: “Fix You” is different from anything we've done before, really. Our older stuff, we look back on it, and it's easy to see that kind of classic U.K. indie influence. I think our sound has changed slightly because of where that led us in terms of what music we listen to now. There's a lot more variation, some folk, a bit more American-influenced perhaps. I think you will always be able to see that older, maybe “pop” side of us in a lot of what we do, though.
LUNA: What sorts of local scenes are you guys a part of? Do you have a favorite place to perform?
PLATOON: It's hard at the moment, we're all split up at the minute studying in different places, so it's been a struggle to play a lot and establish ourselves within a scene. We're all done this summer, though, and the plan is to move in together and head to London or another city, Leeds has been floated, and properly get stuck in. That being said, we've been very lucky with the gigs we've played so far, and we always get a good amount of people coming down to support, which is great.
LUNA: "Fix You" is an incredibly raw story of acceptance. Sonically, how and when did you know you wanted it to remain stripped down?
PLATOON: I think it's easy when there's four of us in a rehearsal room to just get carried away and try putting our own spin on a song, but this was one where we all kinda knew it had to stay as simple as possible. Stan sent us the song as a voice memo, and with that, he could sing and play the guitar, and it already sounded pretty complete. I think all that could have made it better was to get a female vocal on there in the second verse to give it a lift.
LUNA: What does your creative process look like?
PLATOON: It varies as we're all apart. It's normally one person getting an idea and sending it to our WhatsApp group. That can be a full demo if someone knows where to go with it, or a guitar or bass part with no melody. I say we're all apart, but Tom and I actually live together, so sometimes when we get the chance, we try to write together, and that's a fun thing to explore.
LUNA: Who are some of your musical inspirations?
PLATOON: We all listen to lots of different things personally, but I think collectively as a band we're big fans of people like Elliot Smith, The Beach Boys, Radiohead, and Blur. More recently, This is Lorelei, Westside Cowboy, Dutch Interior. I think “Fix You” is quite Beabadoobee with its kind of sweet but catchy melody.
LUNA: You announced last month that your debut EP will come out this year. What are you most looking forward to with its release? Also, is there an official release date?
PLATOON: We're of course very excited for everyone to listen to what we've been working on. I think we're all pretty desperate to get it out; it's been in the works since before last summer. We've no date yet, unfortunately, I've been learning to mix from scratch, so that's why it's taken so long. There's one more to finish up, and then I'm going to make some improvements to the others so they'll be a bit different in the EP, which is fun. It's hard as we're all studying at the same time, the current aim is late May or June. In that time, though, we should have started on the next project, which is a single, so that will hopefully follow the month after.
LUNA: Three words to describe your music?
PLATOON: Raw, maybe a bit angsty, and fun.
LUNA: Any final messages to share with fans and new listeners?
PLATOON: We've got some band t-shirts now, which is fun; but apart from that, keep your ears peeled for the EP and thank you for listening!
