Chichester band Dutch Criminal Record look to the future on new label

They signed at the start of the summer which means it was a little bit too late for the festival season this year, but they are certainly hoping that the doors will open next year. Labelling themselves an indie surf rock band, Dutch Criminal Record have also just brought out a new single Light Up, a peek at their first new material since the release of their August 2021 EP It’s Gonna Be OK on frtyfve records. Dutch Criminal Record are Joe Delaney-Stone (vocals, guitar), Sam Thrussell (vocals, guitar) and Joe Frampton (drums).

Sam said: “Light Up is a song written in 2018 about missing my brother who was away at uni at the time, but really it’s for anyone missing someone. Initially it was an acoustic song inspired by Oh Yoko from John Lennon’s Imagine album and it was much more folky, having harmonicas instead of keyboard riffs. The final version sounds very different after we worked on it together in band practice, turning it into an indie pop tune with Joe adding a very Johnny Marr-esque solo which I love.”

They should soon start seeing the benefits of joining the label, as Joe Delaney-Stone says: “When we were self-releasing we didn't have the resources to find the right person to write to the festivals which you need to do – so this is going to be great. And we're also doing a vinyl pressing of all our back catalogue, something like 12 tracks, all of our biggest singles over the years. That will be coming out in September or October.”

Sam added: “We have never done a proper label before and, as Joe says, it is going to be all about all the extra infrastructure that they will have and that they can offer. That's going to make a big difference. We’ve always been open to the possibility of signing to a label but it's finding the right label that suits you. We've also taken on new management. It's a really exciting time for us going forward. It feels like the most direction and the most momentum that we've ever had as a band.”

And obviously it is great to put Covid behind them. Joe said: “Obviously it was pretty rubbish but actually at first, the pandemic was a bit of release. The gigging had been a bit relentless. But actually we were just going on tour and we had to cancel that and that was a big disappointment. We were going to be playing from mid-March and we did just one show. But at least everybody was in the same situation. Everything was being cancelled left, right and centre and it was nice to know that we were all in the same boat. And so we thought we would use the pandemic to do a lot of writing for the singles that we are putting out now. At first it was nice just to stop for a bit but the longer it went on and the more gigs we were missing, the more frustrating it became. At first we were thinking maybe we could do something by end of summer 2020 and then we realised that that was a pipe dream. It was a whole 18 months of gigs that we lost.”