Summer has officially started! The summer solstice has arrived amid a fantastic spell of weather across the country, and festival season is already well under way. Arguably one of the biggest music festivals on the planet is taking place at Pilton Farm as we write this column. Glastonbury has come around again, and although the festival is synonymous with pouring rain and mud, this year sees a glorious and dry long weekend in Somerset.

With friends of Phluid Records; Andy Quick with The Land of the Giants, The Scribes and Elle and the Pocket Belles, giving it stax throughout the weekend, we can also look closer to home for some great new and independent music.

With a wonderfully sunny summer name “Simulation Sunday” are a new band on the scene, having only been together for 5 months.

Vocalist Carly, originally from the Midlands, Guitarist Ruby, from Dawlish, drummer Lewis, hailing from Exeter, and bassist Harrie, from Norbury came up with the band name “on the hoof” already having a gig booked, but no name under which to perform.

“We wanted something unique and cool,” the band told us, “and decided on Simulation Sunday.”

“We all knew one another through mutual friends, but when Lewis decided he wanted to put a band together that was what really cemented our friendships.”

As with all bands, there are differences in opinion: differences in musical tastes and differences with influences. Some bands can find all of these differences distracting, and in some cases struggle to settle on what style of music to play, often resulting in some band members being more dominant in the writing process.

With an eclectic mix of influences including, Nirvana, Radiohead, Will Wood and the Tapeworms and Muse, Simulation Sunday say that they have embraced diversity and produced music to suit a wide audience.

“A great thing with our band, is that because we all have such varied taste in music, we can have such a varied set list. There really is something for everybody.”

When we talk with bands and artists at Phluid Records, in preparation for writing a column, we very often ask “describe yourself / selves in three words. We get some great answers, together with amusing ones, but we have to say that this answer is a perfect description of a band put succinctly. Simulation Sunday describe themselves as ‘Humans And Instruments’.

Well, you can’t argue with that.

As well as getting out and enjoying nature, the band also told us that they love a good night out, one such night out on the Quayside almost ended with the band quitting almost as soon as they had started. 

“We were playing and apparently weren’t loud enough. People were getting angry because they wanted us to turn everything UP! Maybe this just goes to prove that louder is always better.”

If you fancy a great night out you can catch Simulation Sunday on the 25th of June at The Sylvania Café in Exeter, and at The Move, also in Exeter, on the 9th of July. Looking further ahead to the August bank holiday, you can catch up with the band in Chudleigh on Sunday the 27th.

If you want to check out the band on Social Media they are on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok all under @simulationsunday.

And, as we wrote earlier, the festival season is well under way. Together with all these dates to catch up with Simulation Sunday, we are looking forward to catching up with Sean and Johnny from the Scribes when they get back from Glastonbury. Having been at the Eden Project on Friday to see the amazing Jack Johnson, we are hoping also to catch up at some point with Legendary drummer Adam Tool, and poet, artist and author, Joolz Denby will be back to tell us all about plying in Spain and to talk about her up coming autobiography.

We have a raft of guests lined up to join us in the studio via live Zoom links, and some exciting new shows that have already kicked off with Wolfie’s Rockabilly Revival on Monday’s between 5 and 7 pm.

Search Phluid Records to keep up with what’s going on and find shows, interviews, articles and much much more.