“2025 is the South Arcade takeover!”
Vocalist Harmony Cavelle’s proclamation isn’t wrong. While 2024 has been an unbelievable time for the Oxford Y2K core trailblazers, plans are already in place to take the band’s rise even higher. Truly, this time next year, they could be anywhere.
Joined by guitarist Harry Winks, bassist Ollie Green and Oodie-wearing drummer Cody Jones, South Arcade meet Kerrang! amid a “crazy week of announcements” to take a breath and look back at how they got here, as well as what’s on the horizon.
“I think the beginning of the year was pretty tough,” admits Ollie, “because there’s no definites in this world, and especially doing music. But when it all started getting a bit better is when we stopped worrying. There’s a lot of pressure to have a good TikTok or good whatever, and it was the moment we sort of went, ‘Let’s just try and enjoy it, and capture the bits we enjoy.’”
It’s an approach that’s worked wonders. With the quartet picking up new fans and followers thanks to a steady string of superb singles throughout 2024, not to mention behind-the-scenes social media videos inviting people in their brilliantly chaotic world, South Arcade are killing it on every level.
And, crucially, they’ve proven that online numbers can translate into reality, as they found out when they stepped onstage at August’s Reading & Leeds to a packed BBC Music Introducing crowd. (If you want an idea of just how well that went, next year they’re coming back to play the main stage.)
Today, South Arcade cap it all off with their debut EP 2005 – a six-track release that collates their five latest singles, and the new title-track. Here, the band tell us all about it, and reveal why they’re so excited to take it across the world next year.
“I don’t know if I’ve got a suitcase big enough,” laughs Harmony. “I need to buy some new clothes! We’re excited to have a proper plan, and meet all these new people. It’s gonna be incredible…”