Spotlight On... Pleasure Trail

Glasgow-based electro-pop artist Pleasure Trail has a couple of debuts on the horizon. First up, their debut EP, Repeat It, arrives this Friday (10 Apr). Across its four tracks, queer relationships, modern sexuality, the Glasgow music scene and OCD are all explored across synthetic pop that gleefully fizzes and pulsates. That's sure to make for an excessively fun second debut, as Pleasure Trail play their first headline show at The Old Hairdresser’s on 25 April.

Ahead of a big month, we catch up to talk inspirations, influences and find out more about Pleasure Trail's debut release.

Firstly, I’d love to find out a bit more about you and what inspired you to start making your own music?
I have always been musical, playing in different groups with friends during my teenage years, but I slowly ventured more into electronic/pop music after moving to Glasgow in 2021. I ditched the traditional ‘band’ idea not long after seeing a DIY show and feeling incredibly isolated from the community following it. This was probably from struggling severely at the time with my then-undiagnosed OCD. I decided to start my own project that was fully electronic with live drum machines and synth players, then made the decision to go fully solo last year. Most of the artists I follow are solo, so the pressure of feeling like I needed a band wasn’t really there.

How did you settle on the name Pleasure Trail?
I had been looking for a name that had a subtle queer edge to it when beginning the project, and after a friend mentioned the phrase ‘pleasure trail’ when describing his body hair, I knew I had found the perfect name to work under!

Who are some of the artists that have influenced your sound as Pleasure Trail?
I loved punk rock music growing up, and had a bit of an indie phase too, so I feel that definitely plays into the way I write and produce. Jonny from The Drums has always been a prominent figure in my development as a gay person, I find his life story incredibly inspiring and I love the way he links self nurture and love to his musical journey.

More recently though, I’ve been taking inspiration from The Dare. Our live setup is very similar and although I don’t think we sound too alike, I’ve found it’s the best way to describe what I do when others ask. A lot of my peers in Glasgow are also a continuous influence to me; Possibly Jamie, Roller Disco Death Party, Simon spx and CUZINO have all played an important role in my artistic learning and development.

You’re gearing up to release your debut EP, so I’d love to dig a little deeper into the themes found across the record – are you able to talk us through each of the EP’s tracks?
Wasting Time tells the story of myself as a young person moving to Glasgow with high expectations of a ‘new life’ I had been selling myself, to then only realise it’s not as glamorous as I’d perhaps anticipated. This, mixed with OCD and lack of musical community, led to severe feelings of isolation around if I even wanted to continue pursuing music. I feel it’s kind of me being my own champion and accepting that I can do my own thing without the fear of needing to fit in.

Alone At Night and He’s Got It kind of come together as a couple. Alone At Night is the processing of a relationship that wasn’t right for me. It was my first long-term relationship and it wasn’t healthy for a long time. When I ended things I discovered that my partner wasn’t into men/AMAB non-binary people, which explained a lot, but also added a whole new perspective. I went from feeling like the ‘bad guy’ having to initiate the break-up to then wondering if I was the ‘victim’ in this situation?

He’s Got It links into navigating the new dynamics of that relationship moving into a friendship. Hearing stories from friends you had shared together while trying to be the better person in the moment because of life’s circumstances. It’s about how everybody grieves and moves on differently.

MASC4MASC is a bit of a silly one that I would never have been able to write during that relationship. I think the sense of freedom being single, then support from entering a healthier relationship really helped with this. As a masculine gay person, I never really felt well represented growing up. I would see stereotypical, flamboyant queer people in the media and assumed I had to behave or present myself that way to be valid in this new community. In reality, I’ve always been me, and this song is acceptance that I can be myself and not need to feed into toxic ideas of how a gay person should act. I want to give this song to a younger version of myself, telling them that everything is OK with them, hoping this offers an explanation to who they are.

The Grindr notif was a ‘bit’ that my boyfriend recommended. We left it in since it was funny.

I believe the title, Repeat It, takes its name from your experiences with OCD? How did you land on that and what was the process like of weaving this idea of repetition throughout the record?
The lyric ‘You think I’d like to repeat it? Well, baby, I know it!’ from He’s Got It really resonated with me, and I could almost instantly envision the EP artwork with myself holding the iPod classic with a big repeat logo. I thought aesthetically it fit the direction I wanted to move in with this rebrand as I really have been enjoying this resurgence of 2010s nostalgia. There’s an element of acceptance that what I liked growing up was cool, and I didn’t need to feel embarrassed about what I enjoy.

Diving deeper and linking in to my OCD, I find myself fixated on things, obsessing over them frequently. I think it’s just the way my brain works – for good or for bad. Repetitive actions are common within persons with OCD and I almost wanted to honour that trait about myself. I know these compulsions are unhealthy, but my brain tells me I have to do them and then momentarily, I feel better.

You’re celebrating the EP’s release with a party at The Old Hairdresser’s alongside CUZINO and a special collaborative performance with Possibly Jamie, who I believe was also an incredible support to you in the studio when you were piecing this record together. What can we expect on the night from yourself and Jamie?
Yes! Jamie has been a massive supporter of what I’ve been doing musically since we met a few years ago, and recently we started just hanging out in my studio to share ideas with each other, which really helped the development of this EP. Jamie’s taken the reins on a collaborative piece we’re going to perform together, and has created a killer remix of one of the EP tracks that we’re going to debut live as well.

And what does the rest of the year look like for Pleasure Trail?
I’d love to venture outside of Glasgow after this headline to play more of Scotland and perhaps a debut down south. I would also love to play some of Glasgow’s local festivals like Tenement Trail as I’ve never played a festival before! I have a few more releases lined up also, so keep an eye for that!

---

Repeat It is out on 10 Apr; Pleasure Trail plays The Old Hairdresser's, Glasgow, 25 Apr

Follow Pleasure Trail on Instagram @pleasure_trail