Influences: Land of the Giants

At HiFi and the Sunday Joint, we have our feet firmly grounded on a bedrock of soul – but, occasionally, bands come along to disturb the peace. One such act is Land of the Giants, who, with a fee, fi, fo and fum, will be rumbling through the club on Sunday 18th March, bringing their love of rock n’ roll with them. The following list compiled by guitarist Rob Austin reveals a classic upbringing in the heavier stuff, which had a hand in the band’s current sound – a mix of rock, blues, reggae and ska.

 

Your earliest musical memory

“Probably when I bought my Mum a Santana CD for her Birthday. I ended up listening to it more than her! His guitar playing has really influenced me over the years as well. He has such a killer tone.”

 

The first record/cd you bought

“That same Santana CD I bought my Mum!”

 

A record given to you by your parents

“My Dad gave me a really famous record called “Friday Night in San Fransisco”. It was a live record featuring Paco De Lucia who is one of the best Classical flamenco players ever. Still listen to this one.”

 

A record that made you pick up an instrument/play music

“This was more a collection of records for me. At the time I was heavily into the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. John Frusciante had some wicked guitar riffs and solos. His style is something that has always managed to creep its way into my playing.”

 

A tune from your school days

“I remember quite vividly listening to Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd pretty much on repeat. The solo is something like 6 minutes long! Something I’m probably not allowed to do.”

 

A record that altered your music taste forever

“Nine Inch Nails. Never thought I would be into anything like this but Trent Reznor is an absolute genius!”

 

A record from your first clubbing experiences

“I used to go to these Rock Nights at C103 in Plymouth. They would pretty much always play ‘Burn it to the Ground’ by Nickelback. Great tune to mosh out to!”

 

A record that affected your political standpoint

“Not really into politics but I like Rage Against the Machine and they are pretty political right?”

 

An unlikely influence

“When I first joined the band Tom, the bass player, asked me to come up with some kind of Afro Beat inspired lick. This was a genre Id never really experienced fully. He gave me Bixiga 70 to listen to and I loved it! A song we are currently working on has evolved from a Afro Beat style riff I came up with from listening to this.”

 

A current influence

“Really into John Mayer at the moment. Love his Bluesy style and he really makes each note sing.”

 

A record you want played at your funeral

“‘Alive’ by Pearl Jam. Love that song.”