Magic

Magic have finally landed in the UK. Having taken the world by storm with their stomping single 'Rude', the troupe have decided to try their luck on these shores. With the single already garnering massive attention, there is little doubt that the overseas success will translate to the UK market. Intrigued to find out how the boys feel about success on these shores, we caught up with them to talk success..

For those not in the know, tell us a little bit about how Magic came to be...

The idea for Magic came to me about 5 or 6 years ago. This concept of a modern-day Police was something that interested me. When I finally met Mark in the studio one day I thought that was a key piece to the puzzle. Then he brought in Alex and we started writing. About 6 months later Ben came in and we found the unit that would become Magic!

How did you choose the name Magic!?

It came out of our song Don't Kill The Magic which is what we called the album as well. After we wrote that song we started tossing around the word Magic, and it just felt right. People around the studio started calling us "Magic." It stuck. We tried some other names, but none of them felt as natural.

Comparisons are inevitable in the industry, who would you compare yourselves to?

We take a lot of influence from bands like the Police, No Doubt and The Wailers. That seems to be the common ground we all had when we came together. Of course we have our own influences as well. Everything from the Beatles to RnB and soul music, to hip hop and everything in between.

What is the strangest comparison you have heard to date?

Someone tried explaining that we're like Justin Timberlake. He's an amazing talent, but if I were to try to make comparisons musically between him and us I don't know how much there would actually be.

Your new single is called 'Rude' - tell us about the song..

It's a fun song about a guy asking another guy for his daughter's hand in marriage. I thought it was interesting lyrically because you don't often hear someone singing a love song that's about a girl, but actually directed at a guy. It seemed like uncharted territory to me which is what I liked about it.

The song has quite a sad story behind it, is it fact or fiction?

The story behind the song comes from a fight I had with an exgirlfriend one night. The next day Mark and I were in the studio and I just started singing "Why you gotta be so rude?" but it was much darker, but it didn't feel right. A few months later we worked on it again and thought "What if it was lighter?" So we tried it in a happier kind of way and the lyrics about "Saturday morning, jumped out of bed" just started coming out of me. So there is a true story that started it, but actually none of us have ever proposed to a girl so in that sense it's fiction.

While the song deals with a man being rude to you, what is the rudest thing you have ever done to someone?

That's a tough one. As a songwriter I take work very seriously. In the studio I have ways that I like to work. For example, I don't like people bringing friends or an entourage to the studio while I'm trying to have a session. So sometimes I have to put my foot down and remind people we're here to get some work done. I guess that can come off as rude, but it is what it is.

How much does the single exemplify what we can expect from the album?

The single gives a good introduction to the album. Yes there's reggae through the whole album. Yes there are interesting lyrics through the whole album. Most of the lyrics are actually much more personal than Rude. If you listen to Let Your Hair Down, or One Woman One Man or How Do You Want To Be Remembered, you'll listen to those lyrics and get to know me much better than you would by listening to Rude.

What are your goals for both the single and the record?

We just want people to listen and like the songs. The more you listen to the album, the more you'll get out of it. At first it'll be the hooks. But then you'll hear a guitar part that you hadn't noticed before, or a bass part you hadn't noticed, or a lyric. The point is the more you listen to the album, the more you'll get out of it.

Finally, by the end of 2014 you will have achieved....

By the end of 2014 we will have played some great shows, and really begun to establish ourselves as a live act. Right now people think we're a song. But we're much more than that. We're a band and the live show is a very important part of any band. We want people to hear our album and come to the show and really get to see the whole picture of who Magic is.