The Tropicanas
The Tropicanas are West Lothians
Jangle Pop Pioneers. "
A dreamy, hazy off-kilter take on indie rock, It ushers you into their reverb laden woozy world" - BBC's Vic Galloway on 'Calypso Kool'
Ironically named due to Scotland's often gloomy weather and their desire for warmer climates and surfier times, The Tropicanas represent West Lothian with their off kilter brand of chilled grooves!
Extremely hands-on; writing, recording and releasing music independently, as well as creating their own artworks and videos.
The Tropicanas combine inspirations from modern bedroom recorders, such as Mac DeMarco, Stevie R. Moore and Tame Impala, With Bossa Nova legends such as Jorge Ben Jor and João Gilberto: creating a unique Lo- Fi sound.
The Tropicanas burst onto the scene in 2015 and have been attracting an impressive range of admirers including Tom Ravenscroft (BBC Radio 6 Music), Roddy Hart (BBC Radio Scotland), the Daily Record and Song By Toad. 'The Trops' have also been blessed to share the stage with acts such as Neon Waltz and Peach Pit, as well as playing the Pyramid Stage at the amazing Kelburn festival.
Recently released singles in the build up to their August E.P: 'Calypso Kool' and 'Sunflowers' , have been well received. Gaining national airplay on the BBC from Emma Lamont, Phoebe I-H and Shereen Cutkelvin (Tipped by Vic Galloway) as well as Amazing Radio's Jim Gellatly and Charlie Ashcroft.
Go to Sleep
Die neueste Veröffentlichung von The Tropicanas erscheint mit Heute. "Go to sleep" heißt das gute Stück, welches sehr außergewöhnlich zu klingen vermag, man ist fast geneigt zu behaupten Franz Ferdinand meets Kraftwerk. Es bedient sich quasi beider Welten und vereint diese kunstvoll zu einem Song.
Zu Beginn eine mit extra Coolness ausgestattete Basslinie welche normalerweise in den Tiefen des New Waves anzutreffen ist. Dem folgend der exzellent vorgetragene Vocalpart der dem Song natürlich seinen Stempel bzw. Charakteristik aufdrückt.
Ein weiteres Highlight die Synthparts die mich doch haben staunen lassen. Und auch der Umstand, dass man dem Track mit dem Refrain sprich Chorus noch eine weitere Steigerung herauslocken konnte sollte positiv erwähnt werden. "Go to sleep" von The Tropicanas zweifelsfrei gelungen, einerseits hört man vertrautes, andererseits kommt man aus dem Staunen nicht heraus. "Go to sleep" by The Tropicanas or the big surprise.
Q&A
The Tropicanas are...?
5 guys from central Scotland: Andrew, Ruaridh, Joe, Joe and Ryan. Our band name represents our chill approach and musical sound, while ironically commenting on the often horrible Scottish weather!
Who inspired you to make music in general?
Ruaridh: hard to say actually, my dad had really cool records that I'd listen to growing up and Andrews dad played guitar so I was kinda surrounded by it from a young age.
Andrew: Yeah I would agree with Ruaridh being surrounded by music and instruments for sure, I used to listen to loads of queen on a cassette walkman on long drives to my grandad’s when I was a little and I remember finding that quite inspiring at the time.
...and especially to the song "Go to Sleep"?
Ruaridh: I came up with the idea for Go To Sleep after buying a midi keyboard in lockdown and messing around with it. The bass riff kinda just came out of that and developed into Go To Sleep.
The track creates an amazing 80s atmosphere, especially the synthie sounds and the bass line, what are your favorite 80s artists?
Ruaridh: So many to pick from, obvious ones like Joy Division, The Smiths and The Cure. My mum always listened to 80s classics like The Thompson twins and Wham! which are engraved in my mind!
What is your creative process like?
Ruaridh: Our last few releases have come out of lockdown, we have a makeshift home studio in Andrew and Joe's flat where we record stuff. Unfortunatly a couple of us had to isolate during this time so weren't involved so much in the writing process and then had to learn it after.
Go To Sleep is the last of our lockdown tunes so our next strategy will be more collaborative and recorded in a proper studio hopefully!
When do you decide that a song is ready for a release?
Ruaridh: It's sometimes hard to tell something is finished, we sent Go To Sleep to our good friend Ally Kelly to mix and master and when he sent It back I was blown away... sometimes it's obvious.
Andrew: I think when you’ve had a song for ages in the pipeline you have to let it go, you can spend hours and hours tweaking little things. I’ve definetly tried to take a much less perfectionist view of music as I’ve gotten older, It either bops it doesn’t!
What's your most useful talent besides music?
Ruaridh: I like to draw and paint which is useful for artworks and that, it's also another way to relax and express myself.
Andrew: I make art and videos which comes in handy with making our promo material, music videos and stuff like that, it can sometimes be quite tedious but rewarding at the same time.
What was the first ever Pop/Rock/ ... song you listened to or remember on?
Ruaridh: The first record I really got sucked in by was my dad's Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality!
Andrew: For me it would probably be ‘Come Together’, it’s got such a weird sound to the rhythm in particular.
What do you prefer, a live gig or a studio session?
Ruaridh: Probably a studio session, gigs can be a bit more stressful. Some buzz playing gigs but I live experimenting and having a good time in the studio!
Andrew: Studio for sure, as long as it’s not rushed and just in our home studio. It’s nice to have time to try and work things out instead of being rushed which can often happen when you go to a studio and a sound engineer your paying for.
Do you remember your first live gig?
Ruaridh: I don't remember the first one we played but ill always remember going to see my first gig- Bloc Party at the barrowlandd just after silent alarm was released.
Andrew: Mine was maybe seeing a Scottish pink Floyd tribute band called mac flyod, or maybe it was a sum41 concert, it’s all a bit hazy!
What’s next for you?
Ruaridh: Hopefully getting us all in a studio together to record a few tunes and then plenty of gigging!
Andrew: To get big in Japan ho
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