They say there’s no rest for the wicked. If that’s true, the lads from Lost Valentinos must have been very naughty boys! Fresh from a European tour, they’re already preparing to travel around our fair country to promote their highly anticipated debut album Cities of Gold. I caught up with the band’s frontman Nik Yiannikas ahead of the craziness!
You’ve just come back from a European tour. How was that?
It was great. We had been there briefly before, a few years ago, and in the time in between we have become a much better band. Our sound is definitely more refined and I think we have found our own “thing” now rather than something that is obviously borrowing from other bands, like we may have been in the past.
In the UK the crowds are quite tough, I guess because of the sheer amount of quality music they are exposed to, but I think we definitely left an impression over there and will be back there very soon. The rest of Europe was very receptive from the outset and, from our experience at least, I can say that playing in continental Europe is always a lot of fun!
You’re about to head out on your Conquistadisco tour. Are you looking forward to getting back in front of your local fans?
For sure. There’s no place like home! And we haven’t really done the regional thing yet, so it’s a bit of a journey into the unknown.
It’s a pretty fantastic name for a tour. What can music fans expect from these shows?
It is a great name isn’t it?! In fact it is a word that Ewan Pearson came up with to describe us whilst we were making the album. As for the tour, all of the following words go a little way towards describing the spectacle that is the Lost Valentinos live show: Gold. Black. Samba whistles. Air horns. Sometimes two drummers, sometimes one drummer. Kwaito. Forceful krautrockin’ techno. Manchester. Guitars. MS-20.
During the tour you’re playing Splendour in the Grass, and you’ve played Parklife, Falls, and Playground Weekender in the past. What do you enjoy about the festival experience?
Pretty much everything! You get the best riders, best treatment and biggest crowds when playing at festivals. Except when it’s a shit festival, then it can be a really bad experience.
