Suns Up
With effervescent guitar hooks and sugar-coated vocal harmonies, Sussex based SUNS UP burst onto the indie scene in 2019 with four instant and infectious anthems ‘Stay’, ‘Just Because’, ‘Love You Back’ and ‘Do What You Feel Like’.
We spoke with guitarist Sam Salkeld , to see what’s ‘UP’!
WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU GUYS?
Bad haircuts and wonderfully exciting music.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY LISTENING TO?
I'm trying to listen to as much new music as possible, but also stuff to keep me relaxed and content. I've got Guy Garvey's show on every Sunday, and have been playing a lot of Nick Cave and Broken Bells. Generally melancholic, but relaxing stuff that feels appropriate for these strange times. There's a Bill Evans piano piece called 'Peace Piece' which I've had on repeat as well.
WHAT’S THE MOST MEMORABLE SHOW YOU’VE PLAYED?
We played a homecoming show at The Hope and Ruin in Brighton towards the back end of 2019. Feels along time ago now, but it was an absolutely joy to play to so many friendly faces.
WHAT’S THE STRANGEST SHOW YOU’VE PLAYED?
We played a stripped back set in the office of a car painting garage somewhere in Frome earlier in the year, it was mad.
WHERE’S GOOD FOR PRE/POST-GIG GRUB?
That really depends where we're playing, but more often than not we can all agree on an Honest Burger (good for GF & Vegan options) More often than not we're more interested in a pre/post gig pint though.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LOCAL SUSSEX MUSIC SCENE?
When we were growing up, there were loads of places for us to play in Chichester, which was great. But the scene seems to have lost its way a little, and most kids understandably flock to Brighton. The scene in Brighton is fantastic. Not just locally. It hosts loads of talent from all over the world, obviously peaking with The Great Escape, which will be sadly missed this year.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE/MOST CHERISHED BIT OF GEAR?
I got an acoustic guitar for something like my 17th birthday. It's a dream to play. It was actually left in the back of our van for 2 weeks in July a few years back. The heat warped and split the wood but we've got a mate that knows a thing or two about carpentry and he managed to work some magic and it still plays as good as ever.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ALBUM?
This is hard. Probably Elliott Smith's XO. We might collectively meet in the middle on Graceland or Abbey Road though.
IF YOU COULD INVITE THREE MUSICIANS, ALIVE OR DEAD, TO A DINNER PARTY WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE, AND WHAT WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT?
John Lennon to talk about Climate Change & the state of global politics, Dave Grohl for the stories, and Kevin Parker about production and song writing.