PVT Calls Out Journos On Band Comparisons

Richard Pike, guitarist and singer in the Sydney and London based electronic rockers PVT, has criticised journalists for their “cultish following” of their former label, Warp Records – home to artists like Aphex Twin, Battles and Grizzly Bear.

“You know, we'd do interviews and people would always ask us about Aphex Twin or Battles,” the guitarist laughs. “Your ego eventually kicks in and you just want to talk about your band. I mean, when we first got signed, all we got was 'Oh, hey, it's Battles Mk II' and I was just like '...what the fuck?' I mean, Battles are a fantastic band. I just think we're coming from two very different places. All we have in common is that we have a guitar.”

Pike is not bitter, but the endless comparison seemed to have been part of the reason PVT parted ways with the influential UK imprint.

“There was nothing really bad”, he says. “I had a great time being on Warp and it was very exciting for us in a lot of ways. The flipside of Warp is that they have this really cultish following that goes way back and it got kind of tiresome living in the shadow of that.”

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