This is the real SHANGHAI TREASON

SNQLX: If someone walks into a Shanghai Treason show knowing absolutely nothing about you, what’s the first feeling you hope hits them before they even clock the lyrics?

ST: Ideally you’d feel energised, pumped up and half cut. Hopefully we’ll get ’em hopping about and fancying a pint or two or more likely three it’s just that kind of music

SNQLX: “Yorkshire flatcap banjo punk” feels equal parts serious and tongue-in-cheek. How did that description come about, and why does it still feel right?

ST: Hey we’re Yorkshiremen, we wear that proudly on our sleeves, we are stitched into our flatcaps at birth here in Yorkshire so that feels right for sure. The banjo punk part came about as our genre is typically pigeon-holed as ‘Celtic Punk’ and hey we are a Celtic Punk band but that brand can feel problematic if you’re not from the Celtic nations so it kinda evolved from necessity and respect but then stuck, it’s a bit of a laugh as well, we try not to take ourselves too seriously

SNQLX: Shanghai Treason is a name that made me do a double take. What’s the story behind it, and how early did you know it fit the band you were becoming?

ST: It hopefully gives a bit of a nod towards our politics, it being a play on the term ‘High Treason’. Our band stands against elitism/classism and celebrates working class stories and culture

SNQLX: Your songs feel made for movement. When you’re writing, are you picturing a crowd losing their minds, or does that energy only really come alive once you’re onstage?

ST: I think sometimes we are guilty of only having on gear, fucking fast! We’re all punk rock kids at heart I think so it’s just who we are so that comes naturally and it’s how we choose to perform (high intensity/high octane)

SNQLX: Folk-punk can lean heavy if it wants to. How important is humour to what you do, both in the songs and in the way you present yourselves live?

ST: Great question, we kind of juxtapose heavy hitting subject matter with light hearted presentation and onstage banter. We’re serious about what we’re singing about, be it politics or social issues but hey we want you to get drunk and have a good time, it’s about escapism and feeling like your not alone in this unjust world

SNQLX: What usually sparks a new song first: a riff, a rhythm, a lyric, or someone saying, “this will absolutely go off live”?

ST: Certainly any of the above can spark an idea, usually our banjo player will bring a song that is already somewhat structured to the table and i’ll try and marry it to some lyrics in my notebook, i’m forever writing lyrics down as I try to always have options for new song ideas, we’re quite lucky in that they usually do slot right in.

Images by Dave Gee for Rebellion Festival

SNQLX: With so many instruments in the mix, how do you decide when a song has enough going on and doesn’t need one more layer?

ST: We’re writing a new album at the moment and we really trying to adopt a less is more attitude. Yes we could add strings and layers of additional folk instrumentation but we want it to sound similar to how it would sound live so it’s a balancing act for sure!

SNQLX: Every band has that moment where a song becomes something bigger live than it ever was in rehearsal. Which track surprised you most once audiences got hold of it?

ST: We’ve got a tracked called Pallbearer which is a funeral wake song I wrote after my grandfather passed, the song’s very much resonated with other people who are going through grief or the loss of a family member, many of those ideas are universal, it’s been really moving to see that one in particular mean so much to people

SNQLX: You’ve played a lot of shows and shared stages with some big energy crowds. What’s one crowd moment that perfectly sums up a Shanghai Treason gig?

ST: There’s some videos circulating the net at the moment of our gutairist on the shoulders of a crowd member playing a song in the crowd, I think it’s badass because it breaks down that Audience and performer barrier and it becomes like everyone in this room is part of the performance and are just vibing together.

SNQLX: Sonder explores the idea of crossing paths with other people’s lives. Did touring and meeting people shape that record more than sitting down and planning it out?

Yeah Sonder was a concept I became aware of while writing the 3rd album, and it really struck a chord because it felt like hey here’s 5 guys who all have massive big things happening in their lives (some of which was quite dark at the time) and yet we’ve still managed to get together and make this album but that carries forward outside the band…

SNQLX: Touring can blur into one long memory. What’s one oddly specific moment from the road that’s stuck with you for no real reason?

ST: 90% of touring is being sat in a van killing time and yet it’s amazing how little of that time you remember, you tend to remember the live moments from on the stage and very little else, one odd memory that jumps to mind is we were on a ferry crossing in Scotland last year and there was a hillarious moment where our guitarist got out the car for a second to take a look and hit hat blew 50 yards down the boat and we we’re all pissing ourselves watching him chase after it alongside a boat full of other cars, it was absolutely brilliant.

SNQLX: When people leave your shows and talk about you later that night, what do you secretly hope they say first: “they were tight,” “they were fun,” or “we need to see them again”?

ST: I would hope they overall thought “they were fun” that’s what we do well I think is give people a good time, a lot of people wo come to see us regularly become like family and we’re blessed to have a small numer of fans who create a wild atmosphere at our shows, that’s what makes it so addictive, I like the idea that we are thinking “they were fun” about the audience right back at em, that’s when you know it’s been a good gig all round right?