BARSTAFF, a four-piece indie pop band from the North West, fusing experimental indie sounds with sticky dancefloor energy whilst tentatively poking a toe into the pop music pool.

Inspired by the band’s chronic addiction to TikTok, Telephone Tuff Guy is yet another indie-pop earworm that BARSTAFF is about to add to their ever-growing repertoire. There’s plenty of BARSTAFF’s signature wit and one of the catchiest hooks the band has penned to date.

Telephone Tuff Guy is the second single from the band’s upcoming sophomore EP. Maturing since their explosion onto the Northern indie scene in 2022, BARSTAFF’s new tune boasts noughties inspired sticky dancefloor riffs with unforgettable sing-along pop melodies. A teaser of the new direction the band is heading in.

Telephone Tuff Guy releases on 27th March

1. For someone that is yet to discover BARSTAFF in 5 words how would you describe yourself.

Experimental Indie Pop for Losers.

2. What inspired you as an artist?

We all inspire each other to be honest. We’re 4 friends who love making music and we bounce off of each other which gives us the energy to keep the band going and keep it exciting.

3. What is your process for preparing to perform live? Do you have any Diva demands? Who’s the Mariah Carey of the group?

We do always lose Ciara before we’re set to play a gig. No matter where we are, 10 minutes before we’re set to play, we won’t know where she is. BUT she always appears bang on time when we’re set to play.

4. Where do you feel you fit into the music landscape?

I think there’s an exciting new wave of indie music that’s dipping its toes into other genres like Pop and RnB, I think we would fit well among acts life easy life and Bakar.

5. What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?

We love a bit of everything. Surprisingly Ben and Ciara’s favourite genres are RnB and hip-hop, whereas Byrom and Jack are more traditional indie rock – I think the foundation of our sound is the combination of those influences.

6. What’s currently in the pipeline for 2024?

We’re currently releasing a batch of singles that are building up to the release of our sophomore EP which will be arriving this Spring/Summer. The next Single ‘Telephone Tuff Guy’ is releasing March 27^th.

7. What would you say is your greatest strength as an Artist?

We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and honestly that can be a super power when performing. Our main priority is to enjoy the songs that we are playing live. We’re firm believers that if you’re enjoying yourselves, that buzzing feeling is contagious and connects you to the audience.

8. What would you say is your greatest weakness as an Artist?

Our greatest strength may also be our greatest weakness with the fact we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re serious about the work we make and care for it dearly, but we’re not serious people and sometimes I think people looking at us from the outside may blur the lines.

9. What can fans expect from your new single ‘Telephone Tuff Guy’

Expect a lot of energy. This is easily our most traditional indie rock song to date and we wrote it specifically to capture that live band energy. You’re in for a treat!

10, What music artists would you say have influenced your work?

To name a few: The Cribs, Bakar, Peach Pit, Omar Apollo, Jamie T, Car Seat Headrest, the list goes on and on and on and on.

11. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?

(Ben) I’d personally love to work with Toro Y Moi. He’s a super cool DIY alt pop artist who dabbles in a plethora of genres and everything he makes is pure gold. Plus he’s a graphic designer, which is what I do for a living outside of the band, so I feel like we’d get along.

12. What was your worst performance?

We played a gig in Wigan last year where it felt like everything was stacked against us. Ben’s guitar strap broke mid song, Byrom’s guitar amp cut out during the same song, just before a solo. The guitars kept cutting out every two minutes, it was insanely difficult to play it off because the faults were just so frequent. We wanted the ground to swallow us up, it was honestly the worst but you just have to power through.

13. What was the most difficult obstacle you have ever faced and how did you overcome it?

When we played Isle of Wight Festival last year, Jack (our drummer) was in the sun all day and caught heat stroke, and thought it was a good idea to drink ale to hydrate himself. Not a good combination. A few hours before our set, we had him drinking gallons of water and eating burgers to soak the ale up and hydrate him. Thankfully we got through the gig in one piece and with nobody noticing!

14.What is your creative process when making music. Do you work with others or is there just you?

We tend to all write together in a room. Someone will come to practice with a loose idea and the rest of us help flesh the idea out until we’re happy. We have an unwritten rule that if a song is taking too long to piece together then it’s not worth it. Our best songs have all been written in roughly 30 minutes

15.Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?

As long as we’re together writing music and having fun in 10 years’ time then I’m happy with that. We don’t have expectations on making it huge or headlining Glastonbury because that’s not why we’re doing this. We’re doing this because we have a passion and deep love for music and each other, and we’ll keep doing this until we can’t.