SCATTERCHILD
SCATTERCHILD dive into loneliness, climate change, collaboration, cinematic soundscapes, daring visuals, and their evolving artistic world surrounding their upcoming album, Different Oceans Alone.
1. “New Ocean” explores isolation, loneliness, the desire for something better, and the human impact on climate change. What was the emotional starting point for the song, and how did these different themes come together?
It’s a weird question for me to answer because with a lot of my songs, I tend to not know what they’re about until they’re finished. To be honest I kind of don’t think songs are about anything until they’re finished. I guess the metaphor of the ocean grew out of the theme of loneliness at the song’s core, being lost at sea. The climate change element fed into it because it’s a dominant, inevitable change that can only be stopped if humans pull their finger out, and we aren’t currently.
I do remember being very fearful and uncertain of myself after a breakup when I started writing New Ocean. It was post-pandemic, I had been isolated in a new house-share for six months after; I basically had to go out and rediscover myself in the world, which was really daunting. So, I suppose you could say it’s a darker version of ‘there’s more fish in the sea’, in that sense.
2. Quentin Wylie of GETNER brings a strikingly raw and snarling vocal presence to the track, contrasting with your more restrained and introspective delivery. How did this collaboration come about, and what did Quentin bring to the song that you felt was missing?
Well, he brought a raw and snarling vocal presence the song was missing! I do a lot of yelling but it’s ‘controlled’ yelling, I can’t do the gritty, Alex Turner-y via Joe Talbot thing Quentin does. I wanted that contrast, I wanted a dirtier vocal tone to cut through the washy arrangement, and to tie into that idea of identity and rediscovery. Quentin’s vocals let the lyrics convey a level of contained rage.
A big thing I’ve been trying with writing is using voices the way rappers do, as instruments, and getting different vocal tones to convey different feelings is an idea I’m really interested and am exploring more currently.
I’ve known Q for ten years. We both moved to Manchester at the same time for uni. We’ve always had each other’s back musically, he’s been an immense supporter of my work and GETNER are, by far, the best live band operating in the city right now. So tight, so much fun, absolutely authentic and absolutely lethal. Up the bais!
3. The song combines lush strings, propulsive drums, glitchy ocean samples and a strong art-rock groove, with a cinematic quality you’ve compared to a Bond theme. How did you approach building such a rich and dramatic sonic world around the song?
Well, the whole thing started dead small, with just the guitar sample in the intro and those glitchy drums. I have very little recollection of how it all came together, it was one of those songs that just poured out fully formed in a wave of inspiration. We recorded the drums in Essex around the time we were finishing off An Everyday Landscape, so it was gestating for like, 3 years before we added Quentin, and of course the strings.
It was Izzy’s (Isabel Williamson, of art-folk project St Cloud) idea to put a full string arrangement behind it. We basically wanted it to sound like a rippling, tide-torn ocean. She wrote an incredible arrangement with her on cello and Coraleigh Kelly-Edwards on violin. We actually recorded it at Izzy’s house, in her little homemade recording booth. So there’s stacks and stacks of tracks played by two people. My favorite part are the triplet stabs in the first chorus.
But yeah, that’s what took it to that next level. I do think it would make a good bond theme! Maybe if Amazon ever gets round to casting the new guy we’ll give em a call…
4. SCATTERCHILD are known for ambitious and sometimes unsettling visuals. What was the creative concept behind the “New Ocean” music video, and how did you want its imagery to complement the themes and atmosphere of the track?
The concept for SCATTERCHILD videos is always the same: “how much can we fuck Jay up before we start getting concerned for his wellbeing?”
I’ve been out in blizzards, punched in the head, made to run a bleep test for 6 hours, and buried alive. Does anybody make me do these things? No. Why do I do these things? I don’t know. But it makes for damn good television.
So obviously we had to throw me in the sea fully clothed. The basic premise was I try to drown myself and Quentin saves me. Quentin persuaded me to film it during the summer not the winter so that I wouldn’t get hypothermia, which I think is cowardice on his part quite frankly. So we shot it on Formby Beach in the summer and all got burnt to a crisp instead.
Harry Proctor shot it and did a fantastic job on the edit. It’s a miracle we got anything done to be honest, because as soon as I got in the water, we realized that Quentin hadn’t brought a change of clothes so couldn’t get very wet. So then we couldn’t stop laughing because we realized that in the video, Quentin would supposedly be dragging a soaking wet dickhead out of the water without getting a drop on him.
Also, apparently I can’t take direction very well because Harry kept yelling ‘via the dune’ at me when trudging through the sand, and I kept going the wrong way.
Behind the scenes footage of ‘New Ocean’: https://www.instagram.com/p/DaK1POsDdCm/?img_index=1
We wanted savage waves to intercut with the bigger moments of the song, leaning into that cinematic quality. I always want our videos to be an extension of the song’s mood. That’s a really important part of the process.
5. You’ve described “New Ocean” as a cornerstone of your upcoming album, Different Oceans Alone. What can listeners expect from the album, and how does this single introduce the wider artistic and musical direction you’re taking?
Well New Ocean encompasses a lot of what we’re trying to do sonically on this record. It’s a darker, groovier, more aggressive album than our first. It’s also more cohesive. It goes on a pretty defined emotional journey from accepting an ending to facing a beginning. It’s a significant step up from An Everyday Landscape.
I think it’s a really dynamic, varied track list. There’s stuff that goes straight for the throat, really punky and ferocious, but also there’s a song called ‘Unnamed Child’ (featuring our friend BETS) that’s devastatingly sad. Our keyboard player and second vocalist Laura is really annoyed at me for it, because it makes her cry.
We’ve got other vocal and instrumental collaborations all over it, from some of my absolute favourite artists on the Manchester scene as I know it. It was really important to me that this record be a time capsule of the fantastic music scene I’ve grown with.
6. 2025 brought sold-out shows, bespoke live sessions, collaborations and a successful Edinburgh Fringe run, while 2026 promises even more new music. Looking ahead, what are you most excited for SCATTERCHILD to explore next, both musically and creatively?
Musically, it’s all about Different Oceans Alone. We’re gonna drop a few more tunes before we announce the release date.
We’ve got a really great live lineup now, and getting our new material in front of audiences has been very exciting. The reaction to New Ocean has been ace. We’re really excited about our next single FRUSTRATOR. That’s been getting an amazing reaction live; the video for that one is bonkers too. That comes out on Oct 2nd.
We’re really keen to tour again this year again – our first tour in 2024 sold out most of its run, we’d love to play more places. Festivals in 2027 is the goal. We’ll see.
We’ve got a headline show in Manchester at The Rat & Pigeon on Oct 28th, where I’ll also be celebrating 30 years of fucking shit up: https://dice.fm/event/6donl8-scatterchild-rat-pigeon-28th-oct-the-rat-pigeon-manchester-tickets?lng=pt