Photo by Liam Maxwell 

Bilk are a band going full speed. Since the realse of their self-titled debut, the band have gone from strength to strength and now find themselves as one of the most exciting bands in the UK. Gigslutz sat down with frontman Sol Abrahams to chat about their upcoming album, ‘Essex, Drugs and Rock and Roll’, their largest tour to date and the stresses of rockstar life.

How are we keeping?

Yeah good thank you. Just come from editing the video for our new song… well the song’s already out, but the video comes out in a couple days time.

Is there any insight you can give us into the video?

It’s black and white and it’s cool as fuck! It’s proper rock n roll and it looks sick. I’ve only just started the edit on it, but it’s looking fucking cool man.

And you guys have got your second album coming out in January, how are you feeling about it?

Yeah I think people are hyped up about it man, it feels great. We’ve recorded the tunes so we’re excited to get it out but it’s like that with any music, once it’s written you just want people to hear it.

Since I wrote the album I’ve been saying the same thing to myself and the boys but I think it’s the best album about in band music right now. I think it’s fresh and exciting and something new.

But we’re just going to have to see what happens when we release it, people might dig it, they might not but that’s not really any of my concern. If people like it they like it and if they don’t they don’t.

So how am I feeling about it, to answer your question I’m just in a flow with it! I’m ready for it to come out and I don’t really feel any two ways about it.

And how did the album come about, was it a quick process writing on the road? Or are there a few tracks you’ve had kicking about for a while?

We had the last album, Bilk self-titled, and that was a collection of songs I’d kind of built up over the years, things we’d forgotten about and turned around for the album. But this was completely different because I hadn’t really written anything, I just hadn’t felt inspired and wasn’t really into it.

But I had Luke, Harry and my dad, who’s our manager, breathing down my neck about it saying, ‘fucking hell we’re about to get in the studio and we’ve got no songs’, and they were just waiting for me to come up with the goods!

So I wrote one song, our new one, and thought that’s cool I’m in a groove now and then I was writing like 3 songs a day building up to the album and I just enjoying it, locking myself in my bedroom.

It got to when we were recording the album and a few days before I had the album ready. There was even 1 more I wrote in the studio while we were recording the album so I completed the 13 songs.

It’s refreshing to hear someone talk about their second album in this way, shaking off the pressure of it and getting back to basics.

The way I think about it is, and I’m not saying I’m void of stress and pressure, but this job is the fucking dream! I never want to be that sort of artist that just sits and moans about being in a rock and roll band because I fucking hate artists like that. At the end of the day you’re living someone’s dream. I want to inspire other people to start a rock and roll band to carry on that vibe.

It is stressful at times, it’s full on as fuck, especially when you’re doing everything yourself, because we’re at that sort of level as a band where we’re not small but we’re not massive either, we’re top of the underground and it’s easy to get stressed out. Like while we were writing the album there were moments where you think the pressures on, but you’ve just gotta remind yourself I’m a rock star, I don’t need to get stressed out. Would Bon Scott from AC/DC get stressed out?

So with the writing process I just had to take a chill pill and think whatever comes out comes out, and it’s amazing, I couldn’t be happier with it.

And touching on the name of the album, Essex, drugs and rock and roll, is the local pride always been something that’s important to you?

Well we tell people we’re from London when we’re in the states playing gigs! So I wouldn’t say I had like a mad local pride in Essex really, I’m not flying the flag for them unlike Sam Fender and people like that where they play a stadium gig and they’re all in Newcastle tops and it looks more like a football game than a gig. I don’t really get that football, local pride really.

Especially being from Essex where it’s not the place to be most proud of in the UK I don’t think ahaha. I mean it has its pros and cons like everywhere but it’s not that I’m proud of being from Essex, I’m proud of being real. I’m proud of being me.

It’s more I want to be real and talk about where I’m from! It’s all you can really do, I can’t talk about running a barber shop in Los Angeles because I’m just a bloke from Essex so obviously I’m going to talk about that because it’s my reality. And I think people relate to that.

With the album title I don’t think it’s a deep thing, we were off our tits in Germany in a hotel after a gig and Luke said, “Essex, drugs and rock n roll” as sort of a play on words, and he thought we’d put it on a t shirt, but I said, “that ain’t just merch that’s the album name”

And you guys are about to kick off your biggest tour to date, how are you feeling for it?

I’m fucking up for it man. It’s 27 dates around the UK and Europe, it’s our biggest tour yet. But I fucking love getting out into Europe, they treat you very well the Euopeans and I love seeing the new cities for the first time and chatting to all the people there.

As I see they treat you right over there, they look after you with these massive spreads backstage with all cheese and grapes. They really sort you out with the food and that…and the drugs sometimes as well aha.

But I’m up for it man, playing live and having the energy of it that’s my bread and butter and it’s the best part of the job.

I heard a quote, and I can’t believe I’m going to quote Taylor Swift right now, but she said, “You go through so much bullshit in this industry, but you do it all for that hour on stage”, and it’s like that. There’s no better feeling!

Tickets for bilks upcoming tour as well as details of their new album can be found here.