Exclusive - Boycode ready to take the UK by storm

Last week, I caught up with Boycode ahead of the launch of their first single to be released in the United Kingdom called After Juliet. Timmy, Matt, Greg and Lennert have already taken Europe and Asia by storm and having heard the boys perform I believe they have what it takes to be the next big boyband globally. After Juliet will be available on iTunes from May 1st.

How did you come up with the name Boycode for the band?

We came up with the name together along with our manager and creative manager.

Were there many other options?

We were brainstorming at the beginning and tried to think what name we were going to pick and we thought about it for a long time.  When the name Boycode was mentioned we were like yeah. We really love the name now.

How did you come together as a group?

We attended auditions as there had been advertisements in the newspapers. We had to send in an introduction video in which we sang a little bit and we had to show that we could play an instrument.  Out of four hundred guys we were the ones selected.

Was it always planned the group would have four members?

Originally there was Timmy, Matt, Lenert and another guy. The band had already been selected and at the last minute I sent in my audition which I mailed to Filip. Apparently he liked my music and he called me and he was like ‘If you want a chance to be in the band you have to come over right now’ and I was thinking whether I should go or not. I ended up going to Filip’s place and the four guys were there. When we came back the following weekend the other guy wasn’t there anymore because his parents wanted him to concentrate on his studies first.

You are about to release your first single in the UK called After Juliet, can you tell us a bit more about that?

We got a request about that song to sing it and we were listening to it and the song gave us a very good vibe. The song already existed and it was from the same producer as Runaway, our previous single.  We thought the song was amazing and wondered what it would sound like with our vocals on it. We performed it at the studio and we really loved it.

You got to shoot the video in America, was that fun to do?

It was amazing, we went to Venice Beach in California. Just being there was fun and shooting a video there with Josh Forbes, he is the guy behind Shut Up and Dance For Me, was just crazy.

Is America another country you would like to try and crack as well in the future?

We would like to do that someday, that is a big dream.

Do you always perform in English?

When we are in Belgium we sing the songs in English, but we talk to the audience in Dutch and English. 

You also have an EP coming out later in the year can you tell me a little bit more about that?

It will feature a whole new sound. It is the first time we have wrote songs together with producers and songwriters so it is actually a piece of us.  It’s about our experience and what we have been through, our stories, our emotions, our everything. They are all really powerful songs each in their own way.

Why have you decided to try and crack the UK market now?

Our manager got to know a very cool guy called Danny Stephenson, who is a CEO, and he arranged everything for us here in the UK. That was a big step for us.

With One Direction currently on a break, do you think there is a gap in the market for a new boyband to fill?

Yeah, definitely.

Obviously you are going to be compared to One Direction, how do you feel about that?

We have already been named the Belgium One Direction. What we try to do is just and bring our own brand outside and make our name because of who we are. We are different from what they do and that is what makes us a different boyband. We are unique for what we are.

Union J and The Vamps are currently the biggest UK Boybands, are you fans of their work?

We love Union J and The Vamps, who just played in Brussels and Antwerp.  We are very big fans as we did some covers of the Vamps, they are very cool.

Who are you inspirations from the music world?

At this moment Justin Bieber.

You are really popular in China, how did that happen?

That came about from nowhere, it was a huge surprise for us. Sony Music our record label was a big part of that. We went to China and got some Chinese fans there, all of a sudden it was very crazy. When you visit a big city like Shanghai and you see yourselves on the posters, it was just so crazy.

How do the fans vary in different countries?

In Holland they are very shouty, energetic and even sexual. In China they are even more crazy. You can be performing on stage and the Chinese girls come to the front of the stage with papers to wipe the sweat from your forehead and they then take the paper and runaway with it. 

Which one of you gets the most fan mail?

That would be Timmy.

What is the weirdest gift anyone has received from a fan?

A bra with I push you up when you are down!

British female fans can be quite fanatical when they follow a band, do you think you will be able to deal with them?

I think so yeah, we can deal with the British girls!

Who is the best dancer in the group?

I think nobody is but if we had to pick one it would have to be Greg. None of us though are very good dancers, it is not that we don’t like to dance, but we just are not very good at it.

Do you think it is harder for artists from outside the UK and America to break through on an international scale?

I think if you work hard enough for it and you really believe that you are going to make it then you will make it. You have to keep going and don’t lose faith in it, work hard and be respectful to everyone.  You have to keep your feet on the ground, be kind to everyone from the guys who do the lights and the cables and say hello to everyone because they are making your show.

What promotion do you have planned ahead of the single’s release?

We are performing at Westfield shopping centre with Sapphire. We recordered a cover with her, We Know What You Did Last Summer. We also have a photo shoot with GG magazine and we will be on two radio stations.

Has being part of the band changed you at all?

I don’t think you have to change but it has changed us in a lot of way in terms of confidence. You don’t have to become arrogant just because you have become a little bit more famous than what you were before. Your work is maybe different but you’re still the same person.

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