Vigo Thieves aiming to go global

Stevie and Alan Jukes played in the Wishaw band for several years, releasing their debut album earlier this year.

But now the Vigos are taking a back seat to Saint Phnx, who place more emphasis on dance floor filling beats and pop tunes.

The likes of early releases King and Reload have shown the siblings haven’t lost their knack for creating rousing anthems, though, and Stevie believes the sky is the limit.

“We’re going to try and be the biggest band that we can be, that’s the aim,” says Stevie, ahead of a King Tut’s gig next Tuesday.

“That’s not arrogance, but a lot of confidence and we have that in the music. The end goal is to be one of the biggest and best bands in the world because although we’re very proud and passionate to be from Scotland and near Glasgow, there’s a massive world out there, and we feel our sound is universal.

“We want to emulate Biffy Clyro or Calvin Harris and take our music globally.”

Already they’ve taken steps towards that, with their songs popping up on BT Sport’s European football coverage and getting an early buzz online. Although Vigo Thieves aren’t finished, it’s clear that Saint Phnx is currently the top priority for Stevie and Alan.

“We’ve done a lot with Vigo Thieves,” explains Stevie.

“But when you’re in a band with five guys you can feel a bit constrained about what to write about. Every song had to have two guitars and keyboards in it, and after a while I wanted to do something that was a bit different, more commercial and even more anthemic.

“That was the whole idea behind Saint Phnx, so I started demoing some songs on the laptop and played them to Alan. He thought he could put some hip hop style drums on it, which was something we’d never done before, and that was when it clicked and we knew we were onto something.”

The new band sees Stevie switch from just being a vocalist to also playing guitar, bass and keyboards at various points. Although it was only the start of 2016 when Stevie and Alan started to write fresh songs, the rise has been rapid, and the frontman feels the group’s live gigs are really starting to come together as well.

“We didn’t want this to feel like another version of Vigo Thieves,” he says.

“This had to feel different, it had to look different and have songs that were totally different… . It’s a challenging thing that works both ways because you’ve not got five guys, you’ve got two guys trying to make a massive sound, and doing that live is quite difficult at first. We’ve played some shows now though, and we’re starting to get a sense of how we should be perceived live.”

Their other band has provided inspiration for the group’s songwriting, too, with King written about life as a band and trying to ignore the doubters.

“King is really about striving and struggling to make something of yourself in an environment where it’s dog eat dog and it’s hard, where there are a lot of people doubting you,” says Stevie.

“However it can be for anyone, in any walk of life, to relate to – it’s about how when you have that perseverance and focus that you can strive for greatness.”

The next stop on their live calendar is King Tut’s, a venue the Vigos were the first unsigned act to sell out.

“King Tut’s has a special place in our hearts,” adds Stevie.

“We just can’t wait, because if there’s one place you want to play as a band in Scotland then it’s King Tut’s. We can’t wait to finish the year in such an amazing way.”

Saint Phnx, King Tut’s, Tuesday, £8, 8.30pm

JONATHAN GEDDES