Goose - vrijdag 17 augustus '12

Biografie

The way Goose see it, there’s no point repeating yourself. They’d already done the noisy
dance-music-with-rock-attitude thing on their 2006 debut, Bring It On. Upon its release,
the barking synths, shouty vocals and red-line energy levels chimed with the Justice/Ed
Banger scene. In Benelux - that’s Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - it
established them as a major name. In the wake of Bring It On they released a string of
killer remixes, including I Know Kung Fu by Shitdisco and She’s My Man by Scissor
Sisters. At the same time a series of incendiary gigs established them as a serious live
proposition. In 2008, they headlined the dance tent at the Pukkelpop festival, a slot
occupied by Pendulum this year. “It was really special to feel so welcome,” says frontman
Mickael Karkousse talking about the latter. “The energy level a big crowd can give you is
mindblowing. It feels like you could go on and on without sleeping. I can imagine it
becomes an addiction.”
But not so addictive that Goose were prepared to do it all over again on Synrise. “Making
the first album we wanted to get out of our hometown, travel, see the world and party
for most of the week,” says guitarist Dave Martijn. “That’s what Bring It On reflects: an
uptempo, happy, hands-in-the-air experience. The thing is, everyone is doing that now. I
think people expected us to make an even harder record this time round, but we tried a
few songs like that and it just didn’t do anything for us.” Karkousse adds: “It was like
buying the same car, but a better one. And we wanted to try something different.” Very
different, it turns out.