Cloud House Interview
- Kayleigh
- Mar 16
- 4 min read
Talking all things Cloud House with frontman Conor.
Hey, hope you guys are well, could you start by introducing yourselves and your roles in the band?
We are a 5 piece indie rock band from Glasgow and the surrounding areas. Conor is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. Patrick is on lead guitar, Morgan on sax, synth and keys, Calum on bass and Jack is on drums and all tech aspects of the band.
How did you guys come together to be Cloud House?
We formed in a hot tub in 2019. Not as dodgy as it sounds haha. Conor first reached out to Patrick, having known each other through some mutual friends, asking him to originally play bass. He didn't but kindly accepted as he wanted to be in a band. Turned out he was an incredible guitarist so that worked out perfectly. Jack and Conor first spoke online and decided to get a jam session going. They really enjoyed playing together, and Jack kindly brought along Calum to play bass to complete that first initial lineup. Morgan joined around a year or so later for live shows but became a full-time member not long after he just couldn't stay away. That completes the full Cloud House lineup!
What was the inspiration behind the band name?
The inspiration behind the name 'Cloud House' comes from Frightened Rabbit. It lifts from the song 'Head Rolls Off'. Scott was a huge inspiration to us and so many musicians, and we take so much pride in the fact our name comes from his words.
So, you have just released your new single 'Golden Hour', what's this one about?
The lyrics were written around 4 years ago. It centers around the feeling of losing a parent and the aftermath of coming to terms with grief. The second chorus describes a dream that Conor had just days after losing his mum in 2021. A pretty difficult one to write, and it's taken quite a while to come to fruition. The chorus is all about feeling like no one really understands how you are dealing with such a life-changing event.
With the release you guys also put out 'Loved By You' which was the first song you wrote together. Why did you decide now was the time to release this one?
It was a strange one. We had been sitting on this for so long but it never really felt like the right time to release it. We didn't really ever change it from the initial acoustic, as we felt it worked like that. But I guess it didn't feel like a Cloud House song. We wanted to finally show something a little different than what we normally do, which feels like 100 miles an hour all the time. It's quite a nice change and I think it just showcases a different side to us.
How would you say your approach to creating music has changed between the original creation of 'Loved By You' and now?
Yeah it has completely changed. We're so collaborative now. Initially, it would be presented as finished songs, but now we all write together and really help each other. It's about putting ego aside and just having 5 different musical inputs. We feel it's the best way to write.
On the live side, do you have any favourite venues you've played?
Yes! Sneaky Pete's (Edinburgh) is always up there. King Tut's (Glasgow) is always special too. Definitely these two. I would say St Luke's is the best sounding venue we've ever played though. We felt good that night!!
Are there any festivals which would be the dream festival to play?
Glastonbury for sure. Has to be the goal!
If you were to collab with any artist, who would you want on your track?
That's a tough one. We would all have different picks I imagine. On current form, Sam Fender would be a top choice.
So, I know you are busy people, how do you manage balancing your home and band life?
We try to stick to meeting up every Wednesday and Thursday as a minimum. It's always hard when we all work day jobs and sometimes have to go away with work. We have a group chat that is relentless and we're always asking each other to do stuff. So that kind of makes up for any missed days. It's not easy. But we love it so much and it's always annoying to have to miss practice. I guess excitement keeps us going.
I've just got a couple more questions, would you rather have a pet dragon or be a dragon?
Pet dragon. 100 percent.
Why should people go and listen to your new single?
We're five independent musicians who absolutely live and breathe music. We're passionate as anything and we put everything into each song we do. 'Golden Hour' is the epitome of that. It's authentic and truthful and we think it can elicit some really powerful emotions. It's also catchy as hell if we do say so ourselves.
Thank you for your time today, is there anything you would like to add for people reading?
Keep supporting independent music. Always go down early to your favourite band shows to see the support acts! And please follow us on Spotify.
Interview by Kayleigh McKenzie
Cloud House online
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