On top of the release of your new album ‘My Best Friend Is You’ and going on tour, you have a punk rock side project called The Reeceders, what can we expect to hear from The Receeders in the future?

We’re hoping to release a record in the new year, just for our sake really because i think we all think we’re the best band in the world. We like having fun together and laughing and writing songs and shouting. Brett says we’re a pop band and me and Jon think we’re punk rock. rehearsals are usually fun. gigs are always fun. We’re massive in winchester.

Was the writing/recording process different for ‘My Best Friend Is You’ compared to your first album?

It was, i think mainly because i wrote my first record in my bedroom and then toured it. This time i had the experience of touring the world, i had a bunch of experiences that pissed me off. I met some of the most wonderful people in the world, Ryan & The Cribs, Supercute, The Tachtenburg Family, Billy Bragg, John Cooper Clarke, and i also met some of the most cunty people in the world, some industry and media folk. Those things combined with having played live for 2 years gave me something to think about and therefore want to write about and it also changed the way i wrote and listened to music.

Which do you enjoy most: touring or recording?

For me they’re both wonderful environments to be in. Recording is probably healthier but they both feel like a bit of a cocoon. You get to escape something. You’re either hibernating in one place everyday and creating music or you’re travelling to a different town or country every day so you can leave something behind. I love both. They’re my life. When i haven’t been in the studio for ages i want to desperately and when i haven’t toured for ages i want to desperately.

Over the summer you performed at festivals such as Glastonbury, Oxegen and V Festival… Which was your favourite and do you have any festival experiances you’d like to share?

I really liked V and i was worried i wouldn’t but the crowd were amazing. Glasto’ just had such a great atmosphere because it was it’s 40th anniversary and me and Ryan played on the same stage which was really nice. At oxegen Blaine from The Mystery Jets stole one of the giant blow up frogs and everybody had a party around it, i don’t know how he did that.

Is there any country or city would you like to perform at in the future?

the South Pacific.

If you weren’t a musician, what occupation could you see yourself doing?

I would always be making music even if it wasn’t my career so i guess a broke musician and a waitress. I’m a pretty good waitress.

Who or what is your biggest influence, musically or otherwise?

Kathleen Hanna always inspires me, it’s her intelligence and activism and music. She actually changed the world proving an individual can make a difference. She has done so much for the confidence of women everywhere. I also love Rachel Trachtenburg, Julia Cumming and June Lei, they are a positive force of happiness and creativity and expression. i love them.

Kate Nash is playing in the Mandela Hall, Belfast on October 9th! GET THERE!

By Jessica Lester.