Amber Sway is a three piece indie rock band from Bridgend in South Wales, they formed back in 2012 and have garnered an impressive following on Soundcloud.
We caught up with Adam from the band in his local Bridgend milkshake joint and whilst choosing from the menu, we asked him a bunch of questions, here's how we got on....
Describe your band and music in one sentence.
We are Amber Sway, made up of Adam, Josh & Fabio, we play any genre of music with our own twist.
Give us three words that best describe you as a band?
Motivated, determined and ready
In your opinion, what is the BEST album/record ever released?
Personally I think The 1975's album of the same title will inspire many guitar bands in the music industry.
Which act/band made you want to form a band together?
There were a few bands like Green Day, MUSE and Foo Fighters. They inspired us to play our instruments in ways we hadn't considered before.
If you had a chance to put together your own ‘super group’, who would be in it? (only living members please)
I would have Travis Barker on drums, Jack White on lead guitar, Alex Turner on Rhythm guitar and Colin Greenwood on bass with Zack de la Rocha on vocals.
You are an indie rock band who's influences range from classical music to modern day pop music, have you received classical training?
Yes actually, I am studying for my grade 7 piano whilst my band mates learn their instruments classically also. This enables us to combine our skills resulting in us playing more complex music as well as allowing us to find good melodies and harmonies when writing music.
What song would you have liked to have recorded and why?
Probably, 'The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade' by The Joy Formidable because it is very atmospheric and nostalgic.
How has social media aided you and your music?
It has helped us be heard. On soundcloud and twitter we share our music and then people listen to it and tell us what they think.
First gig you ever went to? (honest answers please)
It Hobos in Bridgend supporting We Are FUBAR.
Who is going to win the World Cup? Why this team?
I think I will go with Germany. Spain's team is a bit old now and I think Brazil are overrated. Belgium are looking very strong as well mind.
How do you approach your song-writing?
I find it hard just to sit with my guitar and write so I wait for a tune to come to me and record it as a voice memo and work on it from there. Lyrically I write songs about my life and the lives of others around me.
What do you think are the 3 most important things to surviving a music festival?
Plenty of water, plenty of waterproof clothes and plenty of money.
First guitar riff you heard that sent chills down your spine?
Again it has to be The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade or Fire by Hendrix.
What was the best gig you ever attended (as a spectator), why?
I don't think this counts as a gig but I remember seeing a piano concerto and it blew my mind so that's why I took up piano but MUSE are probably the best live act ever to be seen.
Aside form yourselves, there are tons of great acts out there at the moment, name some that you would encourage our readers to go check out?
Wolf Alice
The Joy Formidable
The Neighbourhood
Charli XCX
The Strypes
Phoenix
Benjamin Clementine
What is your favourite MUSE track?
Map of the Problematique.
What ‘gadget’ would you have liked to have invented?
The iPhone, I would be so so rich.
What is the music scene like in Bridgend for younger people?
I don't think there is one for bands of our age and like us. The scene tends to be very heavy metal or even pop punk. Cardiff has a much better music scene and is quite close.
What was the first song you lever learned?
It was Holiday by Green Day. I recorded it as well, must be so cringey.
Do you think CD and Vinyl will eventually die off, leaving just soulless, gutless MP3 files to take over the world?
Yes I think so but I think the quality of MP3 will get better so its okay.
Name three people (alive, dead or fictional) that you would like as dinner party guests?
David Icke, Pope John Paul II and Ed Milliband. Can you imagine the arguments?
Imagine you’re setting up your own ‘dream’ festival, who are the 3 headline acts (dead/alive/reformed etc)
Radiohead
The Hendrix Experience
Nirvana
Would you rather live with a gorilla who can do sign language or a dog that sings lullabies?
I'm scared of dogs so it would have to be a gorilla that can do sign language.
What are your plans for the rest of 2014?
We plan to record a lot of songs! We have about 30 in total so we will be putting some on soundcloud and twitter. 'Insomniac' and 'Music to my Ears' are available now and are FREE to download from HERE
Adam opted for a classic Chocolate shake with an extra dollop of ice cream, we opted for a Banoffee Pie shake, which sounded lush but was actually a little too sickly, think they went overboard with the condensed milk....Whilst we were feeling sorry for ourselves, we asked Adam a few quick fire questions.
Coffee or Tea? Tea with one sugar
Drum machine or the real deal? Real Deal
Mac or PC? PC
Kebab or Burger? Chicken Burger
CD or Vinyl? CD
COSTA or Starbucks? Costa
The Rolling Stones or The Beatles? The Beatles
Car or Motorbike? Car
Camping or ‘Glamping’? Camping
Acoustic or electric? Electric
Jennifer or Angelina? Jennifer, wow MILF ALERT !!!
Fender or Gibson? Fender all the way
Tattoos or Piercings? Tattoos
Robert De Niro or Al Pacino? De Niro
God or Google? God
SOCIAL MEDIA
Musicmuso would like to thank Adam for sparing his time to answer our questions and we look forward to receiving more news about forthcoming releases as and when available. We also look forward to them getting their asses out there and playing live....