Mit wuchtigen Riffs, großen Hooks und ehrlichen Texten haben sich unpeople in kurzer Zeit einen Namen in der britischen Alternative-Szene gemacht. Am 9. Oktober 2026 erscheint mit „we are unpeople“ nun das Debütalbum des Quartetts. Im Interview mit uns dem Frontstage Magazine spricht Gitarrist Luke Caley über die Entstehung des Albums, musikalische Freiheit und den Umgang mit äußerem Druck. Außerdem geht es um die Bedeutung hinter dem Bandnamen, die rasante Entwicklung der vergangenen Jahre – und die Frage, welcher unpeople-Song möglicherweise die Menschheit retten könnte.
Frontstage Magazine: Your debut album “we are unpeople” will be released in October. Looking back at the writing and recording process, what was most important to you in making sure this album truly represents who unpeople are as a band?
Luke: honestly, the main goal for us during the whole album process, from writing to recording, was just to take our time and make an album we could all feel proud of. it’s so easy to let the occasion of a debut record get to you or let external pressures mess with your head, so we just wanted to really keep focus on the stuff we can control. whether people love it or hate it is out of our hands. but making an album we’ll still love on release day is something we can realistically strive for 🙂
Frontstage Magazine: The album combines huge choruses, four-part vocal harmonies and some seriously heavy riffs. How do you manage to bring all these different sides together in your songwriting without limiting yourselves musically?
Luke: richie always say it best when he says “unpeople is much more about which doors we close than the ones we try to open”, just meaning we go into everything creative with no limitations and endless options .we write with no preconceptions in what it should or shouldn’t be and just have a completely open mind. the fusion of sounds in this band happens very naturally and just feels like an organic accumulation of all our influences. it’s an amazing project to be part of and i feel lucky every day that i am.
Frontstage Magazine: The name unpeople is about reclaiming a term that was originally used in a negative way and turning it into something that represents connection and belonging. How strongly is that philosophy reflected in the lyrics and themes of the album?
Luke: i feel jake (who writes the majority of the lyrics in unpeople) has such a great way of writing about stuff that can be very specific and personal whilst equally being open enough to connect on a much bigger scale and feel relatable. they’re not just about him or us, they’re about emotions all humans have felt at some point.
Frontstage Magazine: Since forming in 2023, an incredible amount has happened – from major festivals to sharing the stage with Metallica. Has this rapid rise influenced the way you approached “we are unpeople”, or were you able to completely block out any outside pressure while writing the album?
Luke: yeah, like i said earlier, we’ve just been playing long enough now in previous bands and projects that i feel we’re getting better at focussing our energy in the right places. worrying about the outside pressure doesn’t help in what we’re trying to do, which is just create music we love and perform the best we can. that’s also not to say that we’re not incredibly grateful for some of the opportunities we’ve already had in this band. we’ve already ticked off some stuff i could only dream of before.
Frontstage Magazine: Aliens land on Earth and announce that humanity will only be allowed to continue existing if you play them one unpeople song that explains what human beings are all about. Which song do you choose – and why should that particular song save humanity?
Luke: haha i think i’d potentially pick clouds for this, it kinda shows all the sides of the band in one 3ish minute demonstration. it’s simple and complex, just like humans.
Wir vom Frontstage Magazine präsentieren euch die Tour in Deutschland in Zusammenarbeit mit FKP Scorpio.
03.02.2027 – Köln – Helios37
05.02.2027 – Hamburg – Molotow
06.02.2027 – Berlin – Urban Spree
09.02.2027 – München – Strom
Fotocredit: Bridie Cummings
