Iggy Waller (vocals and bass), Vincent Barulis (lead guitar), Jude Crook (rhythm guitar), and Zak Waller (drums) make up the powerful alternative rock quartet President Elect. President Elect are a striking collective that are poised to dominate the indie rock scene in the coming months. Their songs combine enticing hooks with relatable lyricism and distinctive vocals, all while capturing an essence that is somewhat nostalgic of the late 90s and early 2000s.
Rebound is their first single, which they released in 2022 after receiving favorable reviews for a number of demo releases including “Addicted” and “Last Forever EP.” This new release, which was recorded by Tayte Nickols at Mad Fox Studios in Manchester, also denotes a new phase for the band and an improved, “in your face” sound. Particularly evident in the song “REBOUND” are the group’s references to bands from the 1990s and 2000s, such as Paramore, Blink-182, and Placebo. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
PRESIDENT ELECT: President Elect was formed by me (Iggy) & Zak, twins from Essex, who committed to making their dream of being the biggest band in the world a reality. After heading off to university in London, we met Vincent, and then the year later met Jude, which has been our current line-up ever since. Through playing gigs and releasing demos we found our sound, and we’re so proud to have captured it so well in our debut release‘ Rebound’ which came out a few weeks ago on the 9th June.
2. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?
PRESIDENT ELECT: In all honesty, the band has always strived to write and perform original music. We are always very happy to play covers, with our longest serving one being ‘Supersonic’ by Oasis. However, we found ourselves writing better and a larger range of music, which allowed us to entertain a crowd without the need for that extra assistance. With that said, though, I’m sure all of us as a band have our inspirations that we used to try and copy. It just so happened that when we brought all those elements together, they turned in to our own sound.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘PRESIDENT ELECT’?
PRESIDENT ELECT: The band has a lot of musical influences from the individual members. For example, Zak and I were massively inspired by The Foo Fighters as our first major influences, whereas Vincent (our lead guitarist) had more of a blues and indie edge to his influences. As a band, though, we would probably say bands like Catfish and the Bottlemen, Paramore and The Arctic Monkeys inspire our sound the most. The name is simply just our name, mine and Zak’s dad mentioned it, and it stood out for the type of music we wanted to write and perform. We’ve had a rocky relationship with it sometimes where we have thought about changing it, but when we look at where the band is now, I think we’re all very happy that we kept it.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
PRESIDENT ELECT: In one phrase, we describe ourselves as an alternative-rock powerhouse. But, in more detail, our sound is quite ‘in your face’, but in a more meaningful way than you’d expect. There’s an emphasis on storytelling and hooks that works well alongside the catchy counter melodies and riffs. In our live shows we leave everything on the stage, it’s high energy with everyone singing and dancing from the very beginning.
5. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
PRESIDENT ELECT: We love having a strong message and story behind our music, story telling is definitely one of our biggest values. It’s really great to be able to leave things open as well though, there needs to be a healthy balance to get the most out of a song.
6. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
PRESIDENT ELECT: In terms of training, we would all consider ourselves self-taught but through the help of our university courses and a few lessons here and there, we have definitely developed and gotten better. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of just playing together and playing a lot, which is something we have done. It is a mixture of the two.
7. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
PRESIDENT ELECT:
I think the latter probably represents our current music the most, mainly talking about topics and experiences that people in their late teens and early twenties would also relate to. We’re definitely not anti using music for greater goals, though, we just don’t want to label ourselves too early on in our careers. We’re also just a bunch of kids in the grand scheme of things, I think it’s important to allow ourselves time to develop and wait until we truly understand and believe in what we’re saying before we start sending out political and cultural messages within our music. It’s about being as authentic as possible, and what we are doing now is that.
8. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
PRESIDENT ELECT:
The music industry is such a tough nut to crack, and I would say we’re probably working harder than the results we get. We understand that’s part of the journey, though, and we’re not the type of band to give up when things don’t go our way. We just have faith that all our hard work mixed with great music we’re really proud of will reward us in time.
9. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
PRESIDENT ELECT: We’ve always prided ourselves on being a live band, so I think we probably get excited about the most. Since working with Tayte Nickols of Mad Fox Manchester, the studio has definitely taken a new step and is equally as exciting as well. Hopefully we are going to be one of those bands that the live shows and studio songs are both to the highest and most exciting quality.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
PRESIDENT ELECT: We love the gigs we play and interacting with the crowd. Our headline show at The Hope and Anchor in March was an incredible moment, we’re proud of all the energy and work that paid off! Releasing our debut single on the 9th June was also so great, we’re really proud of REBOUND and can’t wait to keep the momentum going!
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