Music | Interview with Life In Film + Ticket Giveaway!

by Maddie Casey

Love the feel of effervescent indie pop with driving rhythms and catchy lyrics? Welcome to the land of Life and Film, a young quartet straight off the fine island of Great Britain, coming to the Ogden Theatre near you this Saturday evening. 

This group of minstrels from the UK produce a blend of alternative, indie rock perfect for pairing with long summer drives with the windows down, or fun-filled evenings along the preppy, sunkissed eastern shoreline. Music Editor Maddie Casey took a few minutes to chat with the boys of Life In Film this week about their upcoming show in Denver, touring with countrymen The Wombats, and of course, Jesus. 

Ultra5280 is running a ticket giveaway for you to see Life in Film open for The Wombats this Saturday (5/9) at The Ogden Theatre.
Simply "like", "share", or comment on our Facebook and Instagram posts about the band TODAY for your chance to snag a pair of tickets. Winners will be announced Friday afternoon (5/8). Good luck!

for the purposes of this interview, questions from Ultra5280 will be indicated with a "MC" for Maddie Casey, and answers from the band will be indicated by "LIF".

MC: Your debut record Here It Comes just released in March - how does it feel to finally have this LP available to the world? 
LIF: Its extremely exciting to have our first album out. it encapsulates a lot of different experiences for us; we're very proud of the way it has come together.

MC: This record comes after 2 EPs. What was the biggest difference in recording this full length compared to the EPs you previously released? Any big lessons learned? 
LIF: Our concentration was split between a lot more tracks, and (the task of) switching between different emotions and tempos between songs sometimes required us to refocus quite dramatically. Stephen was always great at making us feel at ease though which helped us to express ourselves.

MC: Your music embodies a lot of what the world sees as the trademarks of excellent UK Indie Rock. Do you feel like working with producer Stephen Street had anything to do with that? 
LIF: It was great working with Stephen, but I guess being in an indie band and living in the UK means that we absorb whats going on around us to a certain extent... maybe we would sound different if we came from somewhere else?! Stephen helped us crystalize a lot of what we were aiming for which is sometimes hard to perfect in a damp rehearsal space.

MC: For listeners that are unfamiliar with Life In Film, what do you want listeners to take away from the record? 
LIF: We never try and pursue a theme when we approach writing but i guess we just want to write songs that people can relate to. A lot of the songs have a bittersweet feeling and some speak of looking back and the passing of time.

MC: Do you feel like this tour has spurred growth in your group? In what ways? 
The floor of the tour van has certainly started growing things. We've already seen a lot of amazing stuff and met some really sound people. I think thats something we will take away with us and will no doubt have an impact on future writing. The scale of this country has quite a cathartic effect and it does feel like we can really spread our wings here.

MC: Describe your live show for someone who’s never seen it. (Even better, try and do so in one word). 
LIF: buyaticketandseeslashhearforyourself

MC: Let’s have a little fill in the blank fun: touring with the Wombats is _________ because ____________. 
LIF: Touring with the Wombats is fun because we get to fill in the blanks.

MC: This is Life in Film’s first US tour. What’s it been like touring outside of the UK/Europe for the first time? 
LIF: T
he satisfaction of having your passport stamped is such a dizzying high that it is going to be hard when we return to Europe and it's stampless ways.

MC: What are three of the records your band has been listening to quite a bit while on the road? 
LIF: We've been enjoying Twin Peaks, White Reeper and The Sonics.

MC: Seen any weird or stereotypically American things yet?
LIF: Lots of billboards telling us Jesus is real, which is good to know . A lot of road kill,  and we ate something called scrapple in Philadelphia, which was an eye opener.

MC: What’s next for Life In Film? Will we see you back in the States sooner than later? 
LIF: We're going to finish off this tour with The Wombats, but we are heading back over (to the U.S.) in August for our own headlining tour, so check for dates and times very soon!