We sat down with Dan from indie rock trip Cusp, where we talk about the band’s recent tour with DMA’S, their new single ‘We Used To Talk’ and their busy recording schedule.

—

How was Cusp originally formed?

Dan: It’s been a long time really. There’s three of us in the band, I’ve known Jack for six years now and he worked with Adam at Topman, so things aligned in a way. We’ve been going for around 4 years now, but publicly only two years as it was all behind the scene recording etc.

—

Cusp’s latest single ‘We Used To Talk’ was released last week. What has the reception been like so far?

Dan: It’s been good. It’s a bit of a different song. I write so many songs, even over the years I’ve written around 150 songs a year. As a band we decided to release four EP’s within a year, and show the progression with each release. It’s not the type of music that some people will like, but we love that song. We haven’t played it live yet though.

—

What is the writing process like for you?

Dan: When we started I used to make demos at home, and then Jack would add drums and Adam would add bass to build it up. We weren’t recording it as a band before, especially through lockdown. One of the songs sounds so different compared to when we did it like that before, we got into a room and did it collectively and it turned out so much better.

—

This summer you played three shows with DMA’S, how did that materialise?

Dan: A lot of what we try to do is play shows and meet people along the way. We did some shows with a band called Planet, which is Johnny from DMA’S brothers band. I became really good friends with him even though he lives in Australia, and I think he sent the music to them. We were playing a gig in Cambridge with The Sherlocks and when we came off stage we received a call to say we have been offered to play with DMA’S in four days. It was definitely an honour. I’ve seen them live about ten times as a fan over the years. 

—

You also recently supported The Sherlocks, with two more shows coming up with them and also Andrew Cushin. How excited are you to get back playing shows again?

Dan: The Norwich show was great, we loved it. We thought nobody would be there as we were on early, but the crowd was great and people started to know the words. It was really good. We’re better live than we have ever been. We decided over the summer that we aren’t going to play to a click track anymore, and it feels more refreshing doing it that way. 

—

What has been your favourite show so far this year?

Dan: All of them for different reasons. Truck Festival was great because we didn’t expect anyone to be there. The tent was full and people knew the songs, it was definitely a highlight. We’ve done a couple of headline shows in London that have been great. When we play a support slot after 20 minutes I am just getting into it and then your sets finished, so with a headline shows I feel more in the moment. 

—

What plans do you have going forward after the fourth EP is released?

Dan: I think next year we are going to release less music but try to push each song more. Hopefully we can back that up with more headline shows, more support slots and some festivals too. It is mainly going to be building on the live shows as that is the most important thing for us. 

—

Do you have anything confirmed for next year that you can talk about?

Dan: The main thing is the music. We are releasing the third EP this November, the lead single will be out on 24th October. The fourth EP will be out in February next year. It has a song that we play live, and we think its one of our best songs. That will be out early next year. 

—

What would be your perfect rider?

Dan: It’s changed over the years. It’s going to sound really boring but these days we try to live healthily. I stopped drinking at the start of the year and I found that when performing it is the best thing I have done. A nice salad will be fine. 

—

A massive thank you to Dan for taking the time out of his evening to chat with us, and hopefully we will see Cusp live once again very soon.

You can catch Cusp live across the UK on the following dates:

17th October – Oxford, O2 Academy (supporting Andrew Cushin)
19th October – London, Islington Assembly Hall (supporting The Sherlocks)
21st October – Brighton, Concorde 2 (supporting The Sherlocks)
25th October – Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms (supporting Andrew Cushin)