Feature: Pharaohs - 'Photosynthesis' Track by Track
‘Drift Away’
This song is about how our body clocks are all screwed up these days and how it’s hard to get to sleep even when we really want to. It’s a song a lot of people who life lives similar to us can hopefully relate to. In particular when on tour it’s hard to have a normal body clock. Often we will sleep in the day in the van and then be up till the early hours after shows. It’s something you become used to but at times would prefer to have a normal routine.
‘Photosynthesis’
This was written during a power cut when all I could do was sit in the dark writing lyrics with a candle and eat food. In the modern day we are so used to having the internet, TV etc. and it is really strange being in a power cut when there is pretty much nothing to do. The song also tries to relate to the electricity in a relationship and how sometimes it is missing.
‘Momento’
One of my favorite films when I was younger was ‘Memento’ and I still find it fascinating how people can lose their memory so easily and quickly. This song is linking an old relationship and the memories of it with some of the ideas within the film. For as soon as one thing in life passes, as soon as you are busy with another, it seems the memory of the last thing is pushed to the back of your mind. We changed the name from ‘Memento’ to ‘Momento’ as we didn’t want to completely re-write a film into a song.
‘Glitter’
‘Glitter’ is about having no money. Two of us now go to University and there was a point when we were writing this song that the other two were unemployed and so collectively we were struggling to afford being in a band. Joe at one point broke a bass string and couldn’t even afford to fix it and had to borrow another bass for a few weeks. The song is also about how general living has become more expensive. Luckily everyone has a source of income now!
‘Tubes’
I now live in London and have to catch trains and buses everywhere. I wrote this song when I was frustrated because everywhere is so busy. It’s something as a band we all can’t stand; being squashed awkwardly next to people you don’t know with rubbish air. The song also comments on other transport. Buses in London can take ages due to the traffic and again it is something that when in a rush is very annoying. We originally were going to call this song ‘Crushed like Sardines’ but we stuck with 'Tubes'. No Soccer AM reference, although he is a legend.
‘Lift’
Last year as a band we had a few major changes in personnel, management, even instrument swapping within. ‘Lift’ is probably the simplest song on the record. It is simply about not wanting this band to get stuck in a rubbish position due to a bad manager or a member not 100% wanting it. The lyrics relate it to a lift going in the wrong direction. Since the changes last year Pharaohs has never been stronger and we feel happier now than ever doing this band. The second verse also touches on how a lot of bands don’t even have meanings to their songs and how we feel songs should be there for people to relate to or at least have some reasoning behind what it’s saying.
‘Daylight Robbery’
This was one of the first songs we had written for this record. Similarly to ‘Glitter’ it is a song about not having much money. ‘Daylight Robbery’ however is based around the fact that petrol stations charge far too much on the motorways for products and fuel that we can buy locally for a lot cheaper. In particular when on tour it really doesn’t help and often we’ll starve ourselves in the day, as we can’t afford to eat on the road. The trouble is this problem seems to be getting worse and the rise in the price of fuel I’m sure is something we’ll keep writing about as it is a bit of a joke!
‘See Sea’
This is certainly the softest song we’ve ever written as a band. Lyrically it’s about me having to wear glasses and how if I don’t wear them, or contact lenses, something as a big as the sea is a blur. I’m sure everyone who wears glasses can relate to this song! Similarly Jonny has a problem with one of his eyes that has given him terrible eyesight, so it’s something as a band that is an issue. This is planned to be the 3rd single from the record and we have just recorded a video for it down on Brighton beach. It was cold.
'Photosynthesis' by Pharaohs is available now.
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