BAND PROFILE: BASTILLE

FACTS• Bastille were formed in 2010

• British Indie/ Pop band

• Started by the lead singer Dan Smith originally as a solo project

• Named Bastille because he was born on Bastille Day

• Now has 4 members: singer Dan Smith; keyboardist Kyle Simmon;, guitarist and bassist Will Farquarson; and drummer Chris Wood

• The band eventually signed to Virgin Records after the self release of their first EP- Laura Palmer in 2011.

• With Virgin, they released their first studio album Bad Blood in 2013 and it entered the UK album charts at number one with their biggest hit Pompeii peaking at number two in the singles chart. This is when they gained mass popularity.

• Pompeii was the UK’s most streamed song up until June 2014

• Won Best British breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards in 2014

• Their second album Wild World was released September 2016

From left to right: Simmon (28), Farquarson (33), Wood (31), Smith (30)

PERSONALITY• Despite Bastille’s sudden success they have remained very true to their roots and not been overtaken by the fame

that has come with it. It is rare to find any of the member’s in the tabloids because they are great professionals and never cause any controversy- their sole focus is their music and this reflects the Indie genre they partly belong to rather than the other side of them, Pop, which would dictate them causing headlines weekly (good or bad). They reflect their indie style in their clothing- it is more casual but still fashionable and as the frontman, Dan encapsulates this.

• Dan Smith who is the lead singer and main song writer is responsible for the forming of the band hence it was named after his birthday. He is a huge fan of the serial drama TV series “Twin Peaks” and it has influenced much of his work. The single Laura Palmer is in fact named after one of the character’s from the show. Many videos include references to the work of its director, David Lynch. It also explains the often dark themes to many of the videos and songs themselves. Bastille use a juxtaposition in their music with depressing lyrics but uplifting sounding songs. This could be Dan’s inspiration for the themes of classic television used in much of the Wild World album- from lyrics and ideas in the song to actual snippets taken from shows used as an intro. This deeper meaning and commentary on society is what separates them from many pop artists who are seen to have shallow lyrics hence they quickly gained a large audience from their first album despite having no hype or buzz beforehand. Dan Smith is commonly involved in his music videos, often playing the protagonist. The rest of the band rarely feature- the main reason for this being Bastille include minimal live performance so there’s no place for them other than short cameos. This sometimes can give the impression that Dan values himself more highly than the other members and has a sense of importance which is understandable given the band only exist thanks to him.

• Bastille appeal to a primary audience of young adults. This is reflected in how, at one point, the band had the most streamed song in the UK- with the younger generation more likely to warm to the new technology. Bastille obviously recognised this and utilised social media to promote their new album- this meant using Snapchat (one of the youngest average ages amongst the main socials). With a geo filter feature they were able to place landmarks across the globe which would reveal names of the song titles to the public for the first time. This also offered interactivity with the audience who were able to and expected to engage. This global search relates to the title Wild World.

• The band also have a British image mainly thanks to the distinctive voice of Dan Smith who doesn’t lose his southern accent when signing- often artists become (or at least sound) Americanised because of the general phonetics with singing as elongating vowels neutralises the voice making it sound like a general American accent. Dan’s style doesn’t sacrifice this and the uniqueness is an appeal for traditionalists.