As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 9th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Voyager – Sophie Lancaster Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Hi, we’re Voyager from Perth, Western Australia. It’s a long way from any and everything.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Voyager has been playing in some form since 1999. The current lineup we have has been going strong since about 2012.
Where does the name of the band come from?
That’s a good question to which I don’t know the answer! Danny is the keeper of the secrets there, but to me the name represents the confluence of our very disparate musical influences and our tendency to do things our way.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Lately we’ve been calling ourselves epic progressive synth-pop metal, for want of a simpler term. I think we’re unique in the way that we write pretty heavy and dark music but in a weird way it’s quite poppy and uplifting at the same time. I’m not quite sure how that works…
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We can’t help but play like a bunch of energetic idiots! People should come to watch us because we’ll get you tapping your foot, nodding your head, and having a good time with us. Also, can you really afford to miss a keytar solo?
Have you played Bloodstock before? If so, when?
Never! This will be our first time (although, I did play a gig called Bloodstock at a dingy Aussie pub that no longer exists with a bunch of noisy punk bands… somehow I think this is a bit different!)
How/when did you find out that you’d be playing the SOPHIE stage?
I really should have known this as soon as it was announced, but it didn’t sink in for some reason. I’ve come to this gradual realisation that we’re playing the Sophie stage from talking to other bands and punters as we’ve been doing a few shows around the UK… and I’m really excited!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Given the nature of the fest we’re looking at playing our heavier, thrashier tunes for the most part – so it’s going to be 40 minutes of non-stop action!
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Quite a few! I’m very keen on seeing VOLA again after really enjoying their set at Tech-Fest, it’ll also be great to see bands that we’ve toured with before, just to hear the songs live again (looking at you, Evergrey and Orphaned Land). I’m also a bit of a Gojira virgin – I’ve only ever heard one song in full (which I really, really liked). That wasn’t too long before Bloodstock was announced, so since then I’ve purposefully been trying to avoid hearing any more so I can be properly blown away by them live!
What are you working on at the moment?
Voyager recently signed to Season of Mist records, and we’re well in the midst now of writing our seventh album. It’s shaping up to be a very interesting sounding beast… quite different to what we’ve done before, but also a natural progression from our sixth album, Ghost Mile.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I don’t do wild things, I’m a good boy. In of what I’ve seen, well, it would be remiss of me not to mention the lovely punter who got up on stage in his undies and a bald cap and started dancing around/worshipping a pot plant… and… well… the less explained the better.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Speaking for myself only, it’s gotta be a beery boy – gimme some of that Hobgoblin!
Voyager: official | facebook | instagram | youtube
