Interview with Static Satellites: ‘The Symphony is about when you’re with someone and, on paper, it seems perfect and amazing but there’s not a click’

Glasgow/West Lothian indie rock band Static Satellites will release their fourth single, ‘The Symphony’, tomorrow (5 Feb) – showcasing their catchy riffs and deep rich vocals. It marks the second single from their upcoming debut EP, As The Dark Unfolds, which will be released in May.

The band, which was formed in 2018, comprises Ross Whelan (vocals/guitar), Ally Taylor (lead guitar), Sam Carlyle (bass) and Ciaran Boyle (drums). Carlyle and Wheelan are best friends from high school who had jammed on occasion with Boyle. Taylor was a happy accident: ‘We auditioned a few guitarists and then Ciaran remembered that he had a talented cousin, Ally!,’ Whelan said laughing. It was always Whelan’s intention to have the word ‘satellite’ in the band name: ‘We also looked at the name Satellite Score, we batted every name in the park. My mum liked it, so hopefully others might as well.’

Whelan describes ‘The Symphony’ as being about ‘when you’re with someone and, on paper, it seems perfect and amazing but there’s not a click’: ‘I wrote it when I was 19, I turned 24 a few days ago,’ he explained. ‘I came up with the bridge a few months later. Ally’s lead guitar takes it to a different place. I wrote it just acoustic, it was a slow song at first. It’s very influenced by Ben Howard’s album I Forgot Where We Were (2014). We’ve played it at various gigs over the years. It was the first song I jammed with Ciaran, it’s probably our oldest song.’

‘It’s about accepting that some things don’t work, no matter how hard you try’

In addition to ‘The Symphony’, the upcoming EP will feature the previously released single, ‘Fortify’, plus two new tracks, ‘By the Way’ and ‘Smoke Screen’, the latter of which will likely be released as a single before the end of April. ‘Whelan describes ‘Smoke Screen’ as being about ‘letting go of problems and people’: ‘It’s about accepting that some things don’t work, no matter how hard you try,’ he said.

‘By The Way’ is one of Wheelan’s favourite tracks to play live: ‘There’s an outro where we really get to rock out! The guitar riffs are quite quick and the drums are melancholic, they fill up the space. It’s quite a dark song, lyrically and in terms of the mood, it’s more in line with ‘Symphony’. It’s kind of about memories and losing your memory as you get older.’ I tell him he’s far too young to be losing his memory and he laughs.

Static Satellites have been likened to artists such as Two Door Cinema Club, The Strokes and The National and they have supported acts such as Red Rum Club, Scottish singer/songwriter Luke La Volpe, and indie poppers Voodoo Bandits.

They’re big fans of Glasgow’s ambient pop quartet, Who’s Olivia. ‘I know their drummer, Reece. The music they write has a proper build-up, they’re different, proper class.’ Whelan is also a huge fan of singer-songwriters Ben Howard and Jack Johnson. ‘Sam would say Muse, Cieran would say The Clash and classic punk and Ally would say The War on Drugs (an American rock band). If he could tour with anyone, he goes with American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean: ‘Just to be in a room with him, he’d be cool, wouldn’t he?’