A CONVERSATION WITH... South arcade
Missed Reading and Leeds 2025? We got your back with our 13 artists to watch. Next up is South Arcade, an Oxford-based experimental-rock band that’s giving us a very welcome flashback to 2005!
Ollie
This is Cody Jones: a blue-haired wild man who plays the drums in the band South Arcade.
Cody
And this is Ollie Green: the man, the myth, the legend. The bass player, the axe man, in South Arcade.
Ollie
And this is not Harmony, the singer, who yesterday at rehearsals showed up in Heelys. I think she gets children's shoes because she's got small feet. But she also flooded the O2. By mistake. She flooded the room we were in because she left the tap on and the sink was blocked by confetti from the previous gig. So we’re on stage, looking around, and seeing it slowly get flooded.
Ollie
And Harry, who also isn't here. He has a lovely blonde streak in his hair and he plays guitar. He's played guitar since he was about eight. And he's not grown that much since that age, to be honest. Okay, he’s grown. The guitar used to look massive on him now it looks normal size.
When people listen to South Arcade, what do you want people to understand about the music or about you?
Ollie
We're not that serious, if you can’t tell. We're just setting out to make songs that we enjoy. Songs that we have fun making and we have fun playing. Songs that I hope people in the audience have fun listening to. Like if you’re at a gig, we want you to have fun with us.
Cody
I hate going to see a band and theyjust stand there, mewing the whole time. Jawline on display. Like loosen up a little! I'm trying to have a laugh here. Whereas when everything's going a bit mental, it’s brilliant.
Ollie
Like the rehearsal video set a good tone for that. We can't physically take ourselves seriously. We tried before it and it did not go well. We can't do it. The world is serious, so we try to have a little bit of fun together with our audience.
Another fun question, similar to one we did at Slam Dunk, which is ‘Smash, Marry, Retire/Kill’ for your own songs.
Cody
Fuck ‘unaware’.
Ollie
It doesn’t mean kill here. It means a very lovely night together.
Cody
So rebrand: boink, retire, marry. Boink ‘2005’. I will marry ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’. I will kill ‘unaware’. Ah, I hate ‘unaware’. ‘2005’ is very similar to the music that I grew up with. I love to play it live. It feels like I'm like a dog chasing a tennis ball. That one gets me the most excited. I think because it's the start of the set, it’s the tone setter for the night. When you're walking out and you hear the intro, it sort of makes you a bit nervous. But that type of nervous excitement is bubbling like, “We're about to go hard and play.” I used to scream a lot when I played. I got really excited and that one is the one that always tends to get me the most excited. I'd marry ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’ because again, I love heavier music. I love the breakdown. That's always a nice part. And then I kill ‘unaware’ because God, get it in the bin, mate. That's what I say. That's yesterday's recycling.
Ollie
He doesn't like that song because in his in-ears you get this really loud synth. It's trauma for him, and it's for the whole song.
Ollie
What would I boink? There's a question. I’d boink ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’. I don’t like saying the other word, so I’m glad we’ve replaced it with boink. I would marry ‘stone cold summer’ and I would probably kill ‘MOTH KIDS’ to be honest. No offence if you are a moth kid out there. ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’ is good fun. It always goes off. The breakdown is nice and it’s an exciting song. I like playing it. Then ‘stone cold summer’, I always feel positive after it. We end on it, too. So, you come off stage, you had a great time, singing and jumping around. My legs are about to give out but I don’t care! I’d kill ‘MOTH KIDS’ because it's a bit slower than lots of others. It’s very different. I do still like it, but I've been forced into a corner. I don't feel strongly enough to kill it. Let's say retire.
Cody
I still feel like killing ‘unaware’.
Ollie
Cody's quite passionate about it. Sounds like he’s about to storm off in anger, but he’s not.
What makes a South Arcade song a South Arcade song? You guys jump around with tones and styles, so what’s that connecting theme?
Cody
It's a cocktail of all of our tastes from the 2000s. We'll just get the mixer, give it a bit of a shake, get the ice in, and something comes out.
Ollie
It's got a bit of nu-metal. It's got a bit of 2000s girl rap in there. It's got a bit of indie sleaze, a bit of rock, and then somehow it just seems to work out. Sometimes they've got two shots of nu-metal and everything else is a shot, so it's a bit heavy like ‘DANGER’. Sometimes, it's like a dance break, like ‘Supermodels.’
Cody
We don't measure with any shot glasses, we just freehand it. Hopefully something will hit.
What's a part or lyric you guys are most proud of in all your cocktails of songs?
Ollie
Of our lyrics, he's just going boom, boom.
Cody
Bing bang bong. Yeah, Bing bang. Bong.
Ollie
That's going on the next round of T-shirts.
Ollie
I try my best. I always like in ‘stone cold summer’ when it ends with ‘then we might be alright.’ It always sums up the vibe. It’s a hopeful song. Whatever's going on, it might be alright. I always leave stage going ‘maybe, just maybe, things will be alright.’ Maybe we move to the start of the set, so I’m not that terrified at the start of it.
There's a question that got left for you guys by another band, which is asking how are you doing?
Cody
The famous saying: I’m living the Vida Loca.
Ollie
Cody's living the Vida Loca, living that crazy life.
What’s the question you’d leave for the next artist?
Ollie
What's your favourite Pringle? Mine’s probably Texas BBQ. Can’t wait to have real Texas BBQ, especially because we’re going to Texas. Playing ACL, in Dallas, and in Houston.
Cody
But since you’re interviewing Mudi Sama, we’d love to know where his name comes from or what the origins are for it. It’s amazing.