In Bristol, we caught up with Richard Rogers (vocals/guitar) of Secrets to discuss their new album, touring, video games, hygiene, the music industry and the future of the band.

Harley (Music Matters): What can you tell us about upcoming tours?

Richard (Secrets): We’re currently on tour in the UK with Shields, then we’re going on tour in Europe with Our Hollow Our Home for a month and then we get straight back and we go to Japan on our first headliner there. We got two sold out shows over there already out of four which is pretty rad.

Harley: Are there any details that you can give us about the upcoming record?

Richard: It’s coming out (laughter), we don’t have an announcement date yet but it’s gonna out next year probably pretty early in the year. We have two singles (Incredible & Five Years) out for it already if you want to get an idea of what the record is gonna sound like. They pretty much encapsulate the sound that we went for on the record. We went really extreme in both directions heavy and light like poppy. We just took it further in both directions than we ever have.

Harley: Any inspiration behind that decision?

Richard: It’s just what came out. That’s how it was. We wrote this record differently than what we’ve written ever other record. We always wrote with Tom Denney before. He wasn’t with us on this one, it gave us room to expand on what we’ve already done.

Harley: How did the process differ on this record?

Richard: We spent about two months in a studio called Catacombs Studios with a guy named Johnny Liu. And we wrote there, just ourselves locked there in that studio and then we wrote other stuff just things that we’ve written in the past that we were never able to use for any other record. Then the rest we wrote with Brandon Paddock in LA Mike Greene who’s worked with so many huge names. 

Harley: You’re now signed to Made In The Shade Records, how does this differ in comparison to Rise Records?

Richard: It’s good, they’re a smaller label but they’re giving us more amenities to create the record that we wanted to so that helped out a lot because before we only had a month to write and record the record and everything, this time we actually had funding to go and write and have a place to stay together and also a month to record and write and change things so we’ve had a lot of time to sit and think about the record versus ‘okay it’s recorded, so it has to come out’.

Harley: Having been in the industry for a while now, what are the main things you’ve had to adapt to with the likes of YouTube, Spotify and revenue streams?

Richard: Streaming for sure, it’s all about online content, we’re not gonna have any distribution on this release, we’re going to release vinyl and then everything else is going to be digital because people aren’t buying CDs anymore. It’s weird, because before on all of our other records, we charted, we had sold so many copies, then on the last record we realised it wasn’t just about CD sales, its all about people listening on Spotify, Apple Music.  So that’s one thing that’s pretty crazy, It’s all happening so fast, when you see that number drop and you ‘re like ‘why is that like that?’ And then you ave to also take in the fact that people are listening in online. So we’re just trying to create more online content.

Harley: Our Last Night have obviously proven to be popular with YouTube and have set a precedent on how to do it, do you see yourselves going that direction?

Richard: I don’t think we’re going to go down the route of doing covers, because thats already been done. We just want have our own stuff. We’ll do a cover here and there because it draws attention and brings people to your actual music but I feel like it would be a sellout if we did covers every week as its not really our vibe. They did it really well and I’ve loved that band since I was in high school.

Harley: Me too, talking of loves, I know you have a Zelda tattoo and like video games but what else do you guys do in your downtime?

Richard: I just got a Nintendo Switch, and I’ve been playing Breath Of The Wild-constantly. Then it’s just video games, movies, then the band and I sit and talk with each other and make fun of each other. I talk with our guitarist Mike (Sherman) about nerdy shit all the time. We get along really well with that and then just planning our future. We’re in that process now where we’re getting ready to release something so we’re trying to think of cool ways to do it, so a lot of our conversations are based around that at the moment, but then there’ll be time for jokes.

Harley: Sounds like a good mix-with that, who’s got the worst touring habits?

Richard: Got it already (laughter), Conor (Brannigan), our bassist, he is the smelliest dude I’ve ever met in my life, I don’t know why. He’s like a bulldog, you shower him and he still smells bad. It’s super weird. Then I think everybody gets annoyed at me because I’m very particular, about things like if I smell anything bad I freak out or if I see messy stuff or if I see too much sauce on a sandwich I lose it. Kinda like a germophobe about that, so they get pretty mad at me but we end up really clean because of it.

Harley: How does the UK differ to the US for all aspects of touring?

Richard: We have a lot more coins now, instead of just dollar bills  (laughter) and there’s a lot less diners. We eat a lot of Greggs and McDonalds over here, because you guys have the stops that just have the same stuff every time, so we eat, like sausage rolls. 

Harley: Not really luxurious, it’s hard to eat fresh and healthy on the road.

Richard: It’s crazy, because you guys always make fun of Americans for being fat! (Laughter)

Harley: It’s so true! Do you have a message for your British fans?

Richard: Listen to our music… Please (Laughter)