motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your new EP Soft Crust. Could you tell us more about the writing and recording process?

JACK (CAPTAIN CROCODILE): It’s a bit of a blend of old and new songs, after our old psych-rock project psychomantics in finished in 2020 we had an intermediary period where we were writing some more slowcore esque tracks which never made the cut for captain crocodile.

RAYE (CAPTAIN CROCODILE): We reamagined those songs (When Im Gone, Trembling Cartoons & Nugget Of Solitude) along with some new content and produced it at my home studio.
Jack: we decided to strip the songs back down to core elements and focus on a more lo-fi sound, it’s fun to experiment and bush the boundaries of our sound. We used an array of old drum machines, an old Casio keyboard and recorded most of it though MacBook mics.

MOTEL VOID: Last year, you put out your last album Fums Down, which includes the successful opening track Tried to Stay, now with over a quarter of a million streams on Spotify. Did that kind of online success help you in other areas – like getting more live show offers?

RAYE: Yeah I’d say so, we have always been more of a studio orientated band, however with the success on streaming platforms we have upped our live game.

JACK: We try to do live performances a little differently, make it a bit more aggressive and punky as we feel it suits the energy well; that as well as giving our audience a unique experience that they won’t get just streaming. I think it also has helped us when it comes to the visual work we do, allowing us to collaborate with some cool artists which is really fun for us.

MOTEL VOID: Had you been involved in any other music projects before forming Captain Crocodile?

JACK: Before Captain Crocodile we had a neo-psychedelic project called Psychomantics, similar in style to early 2010s Australian psychedelia however as much as we enjoyed it, we wanted to push the boundaries of music and genre and it felt a little constricting.

RAYE: I also was involved in a solo project, Ferns4Raye focusing on lo-fi folk/acoustic/singer-songwriter stuff, still have a few songs up and still plan on releasing more in the future however the croc has become my priority at the moment.

MOTEL VOID: You’re active between Sheffield and Liverpool – how would you describe the local scenes in those cities? Any local artists you’d recommend?

JACK: Both great cities, each with a very distinct style. I find that Liverpool is more focused on its psychedelia, post-punk and singer-songwriter music while Sheffield is more focused on broader indie and electronica.

RAYE: Some of my recommendations for Liverpool would be ‘Casual Blood Service’ & ‘STONE’, and for Sheffield I’d have to say ‘I Monster’ – all great artists with class tunes.

JACK: For Liverpool I’d say, ‘Alright (Okay)’ and ‘Centerfold’, when it comes to Sheffield it would be similar to Rayes answer,
‘I Monster’ & ‘The Moonlandingz’. So much good music from both cities!

MOTEL VOID: Who were your biggest influences when working on the new EP?

RAYE: When it came to influences its hard to pin down, there’s a mishmash of quite a few artists. Off the top of my head I’d have to say ‘Sign Crushes Motorist’ & ‘Teenage Suicide’.

JACK: Following from rayes response, I’d probably chuck in some ‘King Krule’ & ‘Loving’ into the mix there too.

MOTEL VOID: You’re set to play Float Along Festival in Sheffield this September. Are you planning a tour to go along with the new EP

JACK: Can’t confirm or deny at the current time, but we are looking to do a UK tour soon as well as perhaps branching out to Europe next year.

RAYE: We release pretty much every month so if we tour it would most likely be another EP/LP further down the line. We are taking a little couple month gigging break at the moment to recuperate and work on some new recordings.