Music, Style & Culture

Cloud Control: Sun-Drenched, Melodic Pop

George Boorman meets up with Heidi and Alister in London.

The setting of my meeting with Cloud Control’s Heidi and Alister is a simple, yet quirky café in London called the Breakfast Club, which is rather apt. The reason this is so suitable is because Cloud Control create simple, yet quirky songs. Sun-drenched, melodic pop which cascades through your mind as easily as the evening surf. Words they use to summarise their sound include "average", "won’t blow you away" and "good for a listen… yeah, quote that!"; Cloud Control are either very modest or extremely chilled out. Or, most likely, a combination of the two.

Formed upon the sunny hills of Blue Mountains, Australia, you can hear the strong influence that their hometown has on their music. With a population of 14.21 people per km squared (yes, I did the maths), there's little music scene to speak of. How did they form the band? "I just asked randoms," laughs Heidi. "Yeah, I’d never sung or written songs before, it was a total accident," Alister confesses. Because of this isolated upbringing, finding shows was hard. "If you were in a band like ours [in Blue Mountains] you’d drive to Syndey to play," Heidi explains.

Cloud Control won the Australian Music Prize for their debut album ‘Bliss Release’ back in March. When asked what the $30,000 prize money went towards, their answer is simple: "we just split it four ways." So what’s on the tour bus stereo? "Err… we all listen to different things," but Alister currently has a taste for sludge-metallers Weedeater, Pavement and doom metal. Each to their own.

Following support slots for the likes of Local Natives, Arcade Fire and Foo Fighters, Cloud Control are soon to begin their largest UK tour to date in Autumn, stretching from Edinburgh to Brighton. They have supported on many tours but they may finally be growing out of their eternal support slots and into a headliner in their own right. With England’s summer still yet to be seen Cloud Control’s tour may well coincide with our sunny spells, and this can only work to their advantage.

Cloud Control's new single 'Gold Canary' will be released on 15th August.