Chvrches Talk Hayley Williams, Longitude And Brexit

What a difference a year makes.
Last summer, Scottish electropoppers Chvrches were sitting on the then unreleased Every Open Eye and suffering from some understandable second album jitters. Adding to the trio's stress levels was the fact that they were touring the festival circuit performing songs which were virtually unknown. Not surprisingly, when we caught up with synth-lord Martin Doherty, he admits he's a lot happier to be playing this year's muddy fields, especially now his band's current opus is a bona fide success.
"It certainly makes for a more fun experience for everyone now the record's out and people know the new material," he begins. "We also don't have that pressure hanging over our heads about how this album was going to be received. I definitely think bands feel that more on their second album than any other.
"I've really learned to love touring," he says. "It wasn't something that came naturally to me, but the energy we get back from a crowd is incredible. I always look forward to festival season. It becomes quite a social thing because you bump into other bands that you don't see too often, and of course you get to play to more people."
Martin tells us that while their previous stint at Marlay Park caused a few grey hairs, the performance was a triumph over adversity.
"This is our second time at Longitude, we're veterans now! Our first one was pretty crazy. We'd flown in with our gear, but it got lost and everyone was panicking before the show as we might have had to cancel. Our tech at the time, Ben, managed to cobble together enough equipment for us at the last minute though, and it ended up being awesome. Irish shows have always been really good gigs for us."
Currently in promo-mode for the remodelled version of 'Bury It', the song's sugary hooks have been given some added spice in the form of vocals from Paramore front-lady Hayley Williams and the two acts make for a formidable tag team. Can we expect more collaborations in the future?
"She's making a record right now, so I guess she'll be focused on that, but hey, never say never. She's an unbelievable talent and a great person. We initially got to know each other when she messaged us on Twitter. Then she came to our show in Nashville and sang 'Bury It' with us without ever intending to record together and things started to snowball from there. The new version worked out as good as we hoped."
Speaking of hopes, the dreams of Doherty's native Scotland were recently dashed with the result of the Brexit referendum. With the UK now planning to leave the EU - regardless of the majority of Scottish and Northern Irish voters wishing to stay - we ask how it'll affect his band.
"Everything's up in the air and there's a lot of people dealing in half facts or straight up lies because folks don't know exactly how it's gonna fall, but certainly if we're no longer in the EU there's obvious issues right off the bat like paying for visas and employing 'non UK' staff. For example, our production manager is a Swedish guy - will that create problems down the line with the authorities? Personally I thought it was a really sad day for the truth and for politics.
"It's a very difficult time right now. I'm also wary of being the guy in the band on a soapbox talking about politics, but this is something that affects all our lives and everyone can feel it. Everyone in Scotland is hurting over this, as I'm sure the people of Northern Ireland are too. We're staying hopeful for the future though, and we'll for sure be bringing the positive vibes over for Longitude!"

Check out the revised edition of Chvrches 'Bury It' with Hayley Williams.