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Mar 07, 2014 By Under the Radar Staff

For Under the Radar‘s 11th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the important issues of the last year, as well as some quirkier subjects. Check out our current print issue and digital issue for surveys from My Morning Jacket, Foals, Amanda Palmer, Local Natives, Wild Nothing, These New Puritans, Lanterns on the Lake, Xiu Xiu, and Summer Camp.

Here are answers from Jacob Scott of Pale Seas.

Top 10 Albums of 2013

There’s been the odd record that I’ve really enjoyed; Cate Le Bon’s new record Mug Museum is a real pleasure to listen to: it’s energetic and it moves you, her voice is magnetic and pure. Low’s record The Invisible Way is still Low. Other than that, I have to be brutally honest: I’ve not given much thought to new music.

I spend a lot of time seeking out interesting music, but this year that has taken me further into the past than anywhere else. Last year the Grimes release Visions seemed to be pushing electronic music in an interesting direction, but since then it has started to fall back on what it does best and that is repetition.

What was the highlight of 2013, either for you personally or for the band?

My highlight of the year has been recording our debut album, not only off of our own backs, but with the people that we wanted to work with. Paul Butler has been the man we all wanted to record with from the moment we met him, and I’m extremely proud that we’ve been able to. Going over to his studio on the Isle of Wight for a few weeks and getting to know him and the way he works has been a real learning experience.

Paul works in the most unpressured way: it’s completely natural, and if something isn’t working, it isn’t rushed. It’s infectious. We ended up jamming the same three chords for nearly four hours for one of the tracks until it all finally clicked, I’d almost forgotten I was holding a guitar by the end of it and when we came out of the studio Paul was sat at the mixing desk eating his lunch with a big grin on his face.

What was the low point of 2013 for you?

For me the low point was realizing that writing good music is no longer enough. The gap between the soulful and the soulless is increasing with every mind-numbing major label release, so much so that pop music is no longer popular, it’s just whatever people are being fed. It’s a popularity contest with one dribbling animal to vote for. Unfortunately we are all forced to be victims of it, whether it’s through TV, radio, magazines, or newspapers. It’s free food and people at the moment are too lazy to turn it down or look for another option.

What are your hopes and plans for 2014?

In 2014 I would like for our debut album first and foremost to be heard, something that for most of this year we have been trying really hard to achieve. Off the back of that, we would love to be touring, playing festivals, and seeing the world. I think that traveling is one of the principal blessings that being a musician has to offer.

We have an EP coming out at the start of the year, too, which will be exciting; I always like to see what people think of the music. One of the most important things for me is that we carry on moving at our own pace. The music should never be second-best.

What are your thoughts on the passing of Lou Reed? Did his music influence you at all and in what way?

The Velvet Underground is the reason that Pale Seas exist. Lou Reed was the first musician I listened to that felt relatable: he was a beautiful narrator of life and clearly put so much of his energy into his songs. When you listen to a Lou Reed or VU record, you know you are looking at the world through his eyes: you are seeing the places that he has been, the people he’s met, and the things he has thought. He was also the inspiration behind having a female drummer using just floor tom and snare-hearing Moe on those old bootlegs pulsing the songs along, frantically trying to keep Lou in time, is still one of the most exciting things I’ve ever heard. Never getting to see him live will be one of the biggest musical regrets I ever have.

What are your thoughts on the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate?

I think the debt ceiling being raised has a lot to do with government failing to win back the trust of the American people, something that won’t happen overnight. I think it’s pretty obvious that America hasn’t learned from its mistakes because the people responsible are still in power.

What are your thoughts on Obamacare, now that it’s being implemented?

Obamacare is long overdue: a nation as rich as the United States should be looking after its citizens regardless of cost. They were in no position to invade another country when they were massively failing their own people.

What is your opinion on the extensive government spying on the world’s Internet/phone usage? Is Edward Snowden a patriot or traitor?

People don’t go to war for their country, they go to war for their government. What Snowden has done for America and the rest of the world is one of the most unquestionable acts of patriotism of our time; he has acted against the government for the good of the nation. Humans don’t acknowledge there is a problem until it affects them, and he has brought the issue into people’s living rooms.

What are your thoughts on music streaming services such as Spotify and Rdio? Are they good or bad for musicians?

Without Spotify backing us we wouldn’t have been able to record our album, simple as that. They assisted us with our album costs, and we have also made more money through streaming than touring-for a new band to be saying that must show that what they’re doing is working. If anything, it should highlight how bands are being failed in other areas, such as the base rate that bands are entitled to for playing shows and record label percentages. Ask most musicians about gigging abroad and they will tell you their experience overseas was infinitely more pleasurable and rewarding than playing in the U.K. Streaming services are already here and need to be embraced so that they can help pay musicians the amount they are entitled to.

Who was the first person to break your heart? Whose heart did you first break?

It was a girl called Emily-I spent most of my teenage years lusting for her. We never dated, but we did go to prom together even though she had a boyfriend at the time. It was adequately awkward. I think heartbreak is an essential part of growing up, but I wish I spent less time doing it. The first person whose heart I broke was somebody that I should have treated better. I studied architecture in London to be closer to her and we broke up within a few months of me being there. Still, she’s very successful now, which for anyone reading is a great way to get your own back.

What was your most embarrassing moment in high school?

I really loved school, to be honest. I was hung from a coat peg in year four by twins and a boy urinated on me in the shower once after swimming, but he was spinning around, so I tell myself it could have hit anyone.

Do bad reviews bother you and which negative review has affected you the most?

Reviews only bother me when they don’t take the time to listen to you, or chuck you into a category. It’s just lazy. Someone said we were Britpop once, or that we sounded a bit like Coldplay. I haven’t spent my entire life writing music just for someone with his finger up his nose at a gig to compare us to the musical equivalent of the color beige. That said, we have been very fortunate with the people who have reviewed us so far. I pay quite close attention to our reviews, and the general public seems to enjoy what it is we’re doing. That’s the coolest part of being a musician-getting respect from our fans is all that matters.

What moment in history do you most wish you could’ve witnessed in person?

The moon landing, so I could make sure it was 100% legit.

What is your favorite word and why?

Why?

What was the first R-rated (17+) movie you remember seeing and how old were you?

The Ring when I was 14. Static still freaks me out a little; I’m cool with wells, though.

What’s the weirdest/grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I survived on chocolate spread on toast and Pink Panther Wafers for two weeks during recording. On tour I normally change it up a little and swap my toast for sausage rolls and ginger beer-I’m versatile like that.

www.paleseas.com