A rising name in the international music scene, The Neighbourhood is no stranger to pop music fans, having made it to number four on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums and Top 10 Rock Albums in the Unites States for their self-titled studio album released last March.
In addition to hits like “Sweater Weather” and “R.I.P. 2 My Youth”, the 5-member band is also known for their black and white aesthetic which they take very seriously, producing music videos and requesting to be photographed only in black and white, that is until recently.
Set to take the stage at Good Vibes Festival 2018 this July 21st, we managed to catch up with The Neighbourhood’s bassist, Michael Margott or Mikey, where he talks about why the band decided to ditch the black and white DNA, people’s misconceptions and more.
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How did The Neighbourhood came to be? Mind telling us the story behind the band’s name?
Jesse, the vocalist, was the one who came up with it. He thought it’d be a good idea to find a name that represented the five of us. We all grew up in the same Neighbourhood (no pun intended) and it’s a good name so we started using it.
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Can you name some of the major influences for the band?
We don’t really have any. We just kind of do our own thing and let our music speaks for itself. When you start getting influenced by so many people then you’d start to sound like them and we don’t ever really want to sound like anyone, and we try not to get influenced by anyone musically.
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Black and white has been an identity of The Neighbourhood. Is there any reason why you guys chose that as the band’s aesthetic?
Black and white used to be something that we stick by for a long time and very important to us but we recently just changed to colour. It [black and white] is still special to our fans. That’s how we felt when we were younger, writing music that we wanted to be represented by black and white, and now that our music feels more colourful it’s only fitting to change the direction to colour.
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For the first time ever since your debut, The Neighbourhood released a colour music video through “Scary Love”. Do you consider the change as part of the band’s growth or is there other factors that influenced the direction?
We wanted to try out something a little different, a little more ’80s, a little more pop and electronic. Basically, that’s how “Scary Love” came about. The song is perfect for a colour music video.
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You guys just kicked off the second leg of your tour. Speaking of which, what do you enjoy most about being on tour?
Food! Food is my favourite thing about being on tour. You get to experience food from different cultures which I think says so much about the culture itself.
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If you would have to pick an artist to collaborate with, who would it be and why?
Kanye West. His creativity is undeniable and I think he’s one of the best artists of our generation.
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The band will be performing alongside SZA, Vince Staples and more on the first day (21st July 2018) of Good Vibes Festival 2018. What can we look forward to?
Expect a good show because it’s a very good lineup. Vince is incredible, SZA too. I would love to work with them at some point in time. All of us are different and we’ll definitely bring a fun show.
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What are the plans for the future? Any collaboration in the works?
Yeah, there are collaborations in the works but I can’t announce those yet. Hopefully it will be released soon!
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What are some of the misconceptions that people have about the band?
That we’re an alternative band. We make pop music. It’s a pretty big misconception by the radio and general public.
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Lastly, if you have to describe The Neighbourhood in 5 words or less, what would it be?
Pop, dark and spontaneous.
The Neighbourhood will be performing at Good Vibes Festival 2018 Day 1 on July 21st together with SZA, Vince Staples, Louis The Child, Petit Biscuit as well as local acts Lunadira, Zamaera and more. Find out more about Good Vibes Festival here.
Source: Photo courtesy of the artist
