Punk Rock Factory Talk New Album, Recording Sessions And More
Pop-punk cover band Punk Rock Factory are no strangers to us at JLTT. They will release their new album ‘All Hands On Deck’ on Friday 14th February 2025 and they kindly chatted to us about the new record:
You have released your single which is your take on B*Witched’s ‘C’est La Vie’. When did you first hear the song and what was the reason for choosing that track?
Who hasn’t heard the song? It’s imprinted in our brains from our childhood so when we were choosing songs from the 90s, C’est La Vie was an absolute given. It’s such a fun track.
The track is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?
We wanted to get that “Tony Hawk Pro Skater” vibe with the video. Something in keeping with the era the song was from. We invited a bunch of amateur and pro skaters down to Cardiff to film the video and we think we got the desired effect. Everyone had a blast and it was cool to include everyone in it.
Your new album ‘All Hands On Deck’ is released on 14th February 2025. How did you want to approach the making of the album?
We did things differently this time. Up until now we have recorded everything ourselves in house at our own studio ‘The Sausage Factory’. However, we wanted to try something different this time. We recorded demos of all the songs and then got to work looking for a producer and a studio.
Where did you record the album and who produced it?
We did some research on producers and decided to go with Phil Gornell (Busted, All Time Low, Bring Me The Horizon). He was based in Steel City Studio in Sheffield so we booked a few weeks there and got to work. Phil really helped us think outside the box and approach the songs in ways we wouldn’t normally, and we think the combination of our ideas and his worked really well. We then sent the album to Sam Guaiana to mix, because we love what he’s done with bands like Neck Deep and Bayside.
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
Probably more of a “you had to be there” kind of thing. But any time someone had a cool idea or something, we would play a short clip of Shania Twain saying “cool”. Totally random but you had to be there, haha!
Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?
We pretty much used everything we use live. We did use a bunch of synths and acoustic guitars which is pretty new for us. We did toy with the idea of using real guitar amps instead of the digital stuff we normally use, but ultimately we were happy with our tones overall. We tried to keep it consistent but with tweaks and slight changes depending on what we were doing at the time.
Was it difficult selecting which songs to include on the album? Did you have a specific criteria or process?
It was pretty difficult. We tried some that didn’t work or didn’t come out as well as we’d hoped. We were choosing songs we thought would be great and then realised they came out in the early 2000s. There was no specific criteria apart from “can we make a pretty banging version of this?”. Being able to demo them made this process easier, because we could tell pretty much straight away if we were onto a winner or not.
Do you have any UK/European live dates planned for 2024/2025?
We have German and Dutch dates in March. Nothing set in stone for the UK but watch this space!
Feature Image Photo Credit: Diego Edu
Punk Rock Factory’s new album ‘All Hands On Deck’ will be released on Friday 14th February 2025 and is available to pre-order HERE with an array of dazzling vinyl designs and signed items available from their official store.
For more information visit their official website here: https://punkrockfactory.com/
