Having blasted into our ears with the quirky, fizzing sounds of ‘Mommy’s Favorite 1‘ and recent single ‘Only Class6 From Now On’, Dutch garage pop-punks 45ACIDBABIES have previously wowed crowds sharing stages with the likes of Sleigh Bells and Blood Red Shoes. And today they share brand new release ‘Don’t 4get To Smile‘ – a wonderfully obscure cacophony propelled by a swirling energy and vibrant, honey-sweet allure.
We caught up with the band to find out more…
Hi 45ACIDBABIES, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Thanks! So happy to be a part of this! We’re a four-piece. We make pop songs with a raw edge. We love to look for that thin line between sweetness and creepy, and try to follow that line with everything we make. The colour pink is our star of Bethlehem and one day we would love to paint this world pink. We want to create an environment to make you forget about the normal standards for a second so you can look at the world with the eyes of a newborn and be who you want to be!
How did you initially all get together and start creating music?
We went to a pop music school together. Herman Brood Academy it’s called. One of the subjects gave us space and time to create a set and perform it on stage at the end of a term. The teachers thought of the four of us as an interesting combination and they weren’t wrong. We stood out and that resulted in us joining the school tour where we played various venues with some of our schoolmates’ bands. At the last show of that tour we said yes to this rollercoaster of creative excesses and we were born.
You’re about to release your quirky new single ‘Don’t 4get To Smile’ – can you tell us a bit about this? Is it focused on any particular themes?
With ‘Don’t 4get To Smile’ we enter a Black Mirror kind of world, where happiness and validation can only be found on the internet. Everyone shows their best side on social media, while in real life, no one is special and we’re all glued to our phone screens 24/7. We know something is grim about this way of living. We could do something about it, but we choose to be ignorant and go with the flow, because we’re way too small to turn things around. We can’t all be Neo, the one from the Matrix, right? EVERYTHING IS FINE.
We love your vibrant, fizzing obscure pop sounds, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
It’s different for every band member. That makes us the interesting match we are today! I think I can safely say that the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a good overall influence. For the visuals, as well as the music.
You’ve previously shared stages with the likes of Sleigh Bells and Blood Red Shoes, but has there been a particular gig you’ve played that stands out as a highlight for you?
We loved playing with Sleigh Bells and the Blood Red Shoes. We also have very good memories of our tour with the Staat, one of the most important presences in the Dutch music landscape, our first real tour abroad. But I think our favourite gig ever was this very unexpected gig in the middle of nowhere. In a tiny DIY coliseum made out of pallets. It was filled with wasted people who were dancing like crazy and flinging with branches and making the coliseum quake by stomping on the beat. It was awesome. Big shout out to Piet Naus Memorial Festival. Always.
Being based in Holland, how do you find the scene is for new bands and artists there? Would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
We have this really cool event called Popronde. It’s a tour where 45 towns anticipate to give young bands a stage. Stages vary from real venues to the pub around the corner. We did Popronde at the beginning of our career. Performed a lot. Drove a lot. Slept very little. Shook a lot of glasses out of the pub’s cutlery cabinets by playing very loud. It’s not very difficult to get noticed, but it is difficult to hold on to the buzz. People’s concentration span is quite short and there are loads of cool bands running around in the Netherlands. Perseverance is key.
How have you been connecting with your audience and other musicians during the pandemic?
In the beginning I started riding my bike to deliver merchandise contactless to fans. Bands started playlists to support one another. Venues and organisations came up with live stream plans and creative ways to give artists a stage and the people at home gigs. We all became very creative with it. But I must say it has been exhausting. I really hope there will come an end to this soon because people are starting to lose hope and fun in what they do; you have no idea what a live audience and some interaction can do – it’s so so so important to do this together.
And has there been anything/anyone specific that has been inspiring you, or helping to motivate you, throughout these strange times?
The time we had on our hands by not performing gave us space to develop as a concept and as individuals. Our concept is a lot stronger now than it was before.
As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming bands that you’d recommend we check out?
There’s this new Dutch band from Nijmegen called 4B2M – short for 4 brothers 2 mothers (you guessed it, the foursome consist of brothers from two different families). They all played or are playing in other Dutch bands and last summer they stormed the scene with this new collective and a couple of great singles like ‘This Is Happening’ and ‘Get It Done’. GO check ‘em out!
Finally, what does the rest of 2021 have in store for 45ACIDBABIES?
We have two more singles coming up and the latest single release will be all the singles of 2021 bundled in an EP with some more goodies included, which we’ll keep a secret for now. Keep in touch and you’ll find out soon enough!
Massive thanks to 45ACIDBABIES for answering our questions!
‘Don’t 4get To Smile’ is out now. Listen on Spotify.
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