Originating from Prestonpans, a small seaside town on the outskirts of Edinburgh, The Rah’s are set to release their new album ‘The Common Ground’ on the 12th of April. Backseat Mafia caught up with this up and coming band to find out a little bit about them before they make 2024 theirs.
Give us a potted history of the band
So we started as a cover band back in high school, usual Oasis, Arctic Monkeys etc, then around 2011 we started writing our own material. We released a couple of EPs and toured up and down the country, even over in Ireland. We first started the recording process for our first record in 2016. A few changes of personnel and work commitments paused the momentum, but we finally finished it over at Black Mountain Studios in Dundalk in 2019.
Our first album ‘When Does It Become Real?’ Was finally released in 2021, again a slight delay with the release due to the pandemic. Tracks ‘The Time Is Now’, ‘She’s Not’ and ‘Our Design/If You Never Try (You’ll Never Know)’ were released as singles. They were all really successful, earning plays on BBC Radio 1, Radio X, RTE 2, KROQ, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Darts and many many more.
We also got album of the week on BBC Nan Gaidheal. We went on to do 2 sell out tours of the UK and performed at Isle of Wight Festival, Y Not Festival, support slots at the Barrowlands and O2 Academy Leeds. We are now ready for number 2. ‘The Common Ground’ is due to be released on the 12th April. With a UK tour to follow and a big campaign to back it up!
Who inspired you to start making music
so personally Pete Doherty was the man who sold me the dream. My first gig and as soon as I saw him with the crowd in his hands I thought “that’s for me”. As a collective, we’ve been inspired by hundreds of artists. The obvious ones aren’t worth mentioning as our music does the talking.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
The View – Hats off to the Buskers was a serious influence back in the day. Arctic Monkeys debut was never off the speakers at parties. The Enemy, RHCP, Black Keys, BRMC etc.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone who’s never heard you, what do you say
It’s always a question we’re reluctant to answer, ha! I would say for this album the major influences have been from Black Keys to Jungle, Gorillaz to Jet, Talking Heads to Royal Blood.
Tell us about your new album
The album was fully recorded at Motor Museum in Liverpool with our producer Al Groves. We had an absolute blast. It’s the first piece of music we’ve fully recorded at one location. The studio has some serious history with the big names that have recorded tracks there, Supersonic was recorded there, so it felt pretty special to be doing our record there. We experimented with a lot of new stuff, which was what we originally set out to do, and you can hear it all in the music. Our sound has matured, and Al really brought the best out of us! It was an unreal experience, and we will never forget it!
Where can we get hold of it
The album is now up for preorder on our Shopify store, link below… T-shirt bundles, signed bundles etc
Tell us how you write
Majority of the time it will be a jam in the practice room and we’ll explore where it can go. Sometimes lyrics are already written in a wee scruffy notebook, normally needs the dust blown off it before use. We have a ton of unfinished tracks from all those years of practising and sometimes there’s a little gem we’ve forgotten about that comes to the surface; certain a couple of the new tracks are those little forgotten gems.
Tell us about your live show, what would be your dream gig
We’ve upped our live game massively and have seriously focused on making it sound as close to the vibe we created in the studio recording the record. The older tracks now have a new lease of life which was an unexpected progression! Our dream live show? Got to be a headline slot at Glastonbury or a stadium show at Murrayfield, why not?
What can we expect from you in the near future
Album is out 12th April, we’ve a few in stores the next day and then we head out on tour. Liverpool – Sat 20th April, Newcastle – Thurs 25th, Manchester – Fri 26th, Edinburgh – Sat 27th, Margate – Fri 3rd May, London – Sat 4th May.
Tell us your favourite records that are rocking your headphones/tour bus/stereo
Currently… we’ve went for one each here. The Black Angels – Don’t Play With Guns, Inhaler – Cuts and Bruises, Neon Waltz – Honey Now, Bill Ryder-Jones – Iechyd Da, The Smile – Wall of Eyes
Check out the Official Album trailer, below:
Find out more via the bands Facebook
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