pridelands interview

I am proud to bring you an interview from newly-signed Sharptone Records band Pridelands, the pride of Australia! I spoke with Joshua, their clean vocalist (who is an absolute gentleman) about Australia, magpie attacks, and what Pridelands debut album “Light Bends” means to him.

Thanks for your time! Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with and what do you do in the band?

That’s absolutely fine! Thank you for reaching out. You’re speaking with Joshua Cory, I am the clean vocalist in Pridelands.

How long has Pridelands been around as a band with this lineup? Can you give us a little bit of band background for those of us that are new to you?

It’s been a while now, since 2018 I believe. We come from all different places across the country and it’s crazy to think that we ever found each other, let alone make music together. We’re just a group of people who have a very similar drive and passion towards making honest and emotionally-driven music in the hopes of connecting with people.

You’ve got beautiful beaches, a great economy and accent, and a shit ton (heaps) of good bands in Australia, mate. What makes Australia a great place for music, specifically?

This might be the first time I’ve ever heard from someone that Australians have a beautiful accent! But hey, I’ll take it. We are absolutely blessed by the amount of sheer talent in the country in all aspects of art, but music is certainly a standout. I think we all grew up with music in our lives in one way or another, it’s a massive cultural thing and has been forever. So I think it can be traced back to our upbringing as a generation. So many kids I know turned out to be musicians and so many of them are absolutely incredible at what they do. We’re lucky to be here and surrounded by this culture of music, for sure.

Australian Rules Football or Rugby?

For me it’s gotta be Australian Rules. I grew up watching the footy and tried my best to play it, but was never really good at it. Mason was dope at it though.

Pavlova or Fairy Bread?

Why not both?

Last Australia question, promise. Have you ever been attacked by a Magpie?

I absolutely have. I grew up in rural Australia so I think they’re a little overconfident there as opposed to the city. I used to ride around on my bike with a big stick to fend them off, like that is 100% what we had to do to not get swooped all day.

What was the writing and recording process like for your new record (and first for Sharptone) “Light Bends?”

It was fun, intense, difficult at times but most of all it was therapeutic. It took a very long time to finish but we all wanted it to be perfect. It was a debut album so we didn’t have anyone rushing us, which was incredible. We collectively made the choice to make it as perfect as we possibly could and there have been no regrets on our end. It was an unforgettable experience and to see how well it’s done in such a short amount of time has been incredible.

How did the relationship come about to sign with Sharptone? Impressive roster, there.

Our manager at the time got us in contact with Sharptone and before long we received an offer from them, which was incredible to say the least. Our friends in Alpha Wolf and Polaris had nothing but good things to say about the label so we felt like we were making a really good decision. Turns out we were right! There are so many good bands on their roster that we love so it’s incredible to see our name next to theirs.

With so many artists releasing music independently these days, what made the band opt for a label release instead?

I think primarily we wanted as many people to hear our music as possible. The prime directive of the band is to connect with people emotionally, so the more people that get to hear what we do, the better in our eyes. That’s what both of the labels that we work with offered to us and we would’ve been silly to say no really! Being independent is great, but the support we’ve received has been unbelievable.

How would you describe Pridelands music and what does it mean to you, specifically?

It means everything, really. It’s a means for us to express ourselves lest we go insane. Everything that we put out there is an honest representation of our hearts and minds at the given time we chose to write something and that’s all there is to it. It’s designed to invoke suppressed feelings and take you from the highest highs to the lowest lows. That’s what’s important to us.

Any goals for the band in 2022?

I think just to play as many shows as we can, given how hard it is right now in this current climate. We haven’t played a show yet this year and we’re itching to. We want people to hear this record live, all across the world.

Any chance you’ll be making it to the United States anytime soon? Would love to see you guys in person.

No doubt you will soon enough! We have an amazing team trying to make that happen and we sure as hell hope that we can make that work.

Other than the new record, of course, anything else you’d like to promote right now?

Totally, we’d like to shout out our labels, Sharptone and Resist Records. The band Deadlights from AU deserve a massive shout-out. George Lever is incredible. Black Lives Matter, Free Palestine, Free Hong Kong. 

Thanks for the time!

Thank you so much for having me! It’s been a pleasure.