Take a step back into the 70s and 80s with Barley Passable and their newly released single, ‘All I Have’. With splashes of modern French pop and new wave elements, Kai Ollmann (guitars and vocals) and Davy Brown (keyboards and vocals) give their listeners pure nostalgia while at the same time creating a contemporary classic. The two originally met through a passion (or lack thereof) for their studies and cite the likes of Daft Punk, Jungle and Justice as inspiration.
We know you’re itching to learn more. Find it all in the exclusive interview below.
Tell us about your highlights for the year
We’ve been writing together for roughly 3 years, and All I Have is our debut track, it is has been such a big moment for us to finally release music so it was definitely a massive highlight this year. Plenty more highlights very soon though!
If you could paint a picture with of your sound, what would it look like?
We love mixing our music with a bunch of different mediums, so an accurate picture of our sound would be a painting split down the centre. One half is a true depiction of victorian era decadence; smatterings of burgundy and tyrian upon tablecloths stained with champagne and red wine from the night before. The other half, a crisp representation of 70s chic; worn golds and creams correlate to create an image of high fashion, fine photography and beautiful music, revealing art and culture as accessible to those who know where to find it. The painting comes together with both sides oozing comfort and lushness in a way that all can enjoy.
What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?
Audio Video Disco – Justice. Random Access Memories – Daft Punk. Jungle? Quelle jungle? – Bon Voyage Organisation. C’est Chic – CHIC. Jungle – Jungle.
What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?
L’Impératrice, Confidence Man, First Beige and Grapetooth. All of these bands are putting out so much great music and the way that they all have such a strong image that perfectly complements their music is super inspiring to follow.
How did you get to your first gig and how was it?
Whilst we haven’t had the opportunity to play live yet, we can only imagine that the way we get there will be…in style.
Tell us one interesting fact about yourself that no-one would expect.
Even though the music we make might not show it, both of us studied Jazz Performance together at university. It’s where the two of us met, and it was the reason we started writing together.
What do you consider your biggest achievement so far?
After 3 years of writing and planning behind the scenes, putting out our debut single ‘All I Have’ feels like our biggest achievement to date.
Famous last words?
Hard to say. We don’t ever plan to leave.
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