Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Sunday (1994)
The scene opens in a dingy apartment in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Paige Turner and Leo Newell are riding out the pandemic together, two music makers bored and trying to figure out the next steps. After a chance meeting when Newell found himself exported from Slough to sunny California, they’ve been doing this dance for nearly a decade, tiptoing around their guitars, each other and the lingering feeling that one day, they’ll probably start a band. When they finally do, it’s like the opening credits roll with the title, Sunday (1994).
Sunday (1994) is born out of that scene but is the result of the years before it. Newell has a background in classic British indie bands, bringing rock power and the signature angst that comes with the UK’s gloomy weather. On the flip side, Turner was raised on a diet of the Americana classics. There’s also a third member, the mysteriously anonymous ‘X’ who doesn’t say anything and has origins unknown.
The coming together of all those parts, along with their mutual love for film, led to a project that’s wistful and cinematic. They make songs set to soundtrack big moments or tricky feelings, capturing the feeling of a Sofia Coppola car window scene or the high glamour drama of a Federico Fellini flick. Their self-titled debut EP feels more like a collection of stories than any typical project, with ‘Stained Glass’ telling the tale of forbidden love or ‘Tired Boy’ the splintered meltdown of a relationship. As they hold their love of film just as tight as their love for music, it’s a vital piece of the puzzle.
But as new kids on the musical block, who are Sunday (1994)? Sure, we could ask them grand questions about the chapters of their story that led to this very moment, but we decided to instead go for something more revealing, like their favourite foods, memoir titles and Sunday agendas; the pressing stuff.
Quick-fire Questions with Sunday (1994)
1. Why Sunday?
Lee: “The first song we wrote was on a Sunday. As a kid, I dreaded Sundays. Hearing the theme tune to Heartbeat at 7pm, knowing school loomed large, sent a shiver down the spine. We’ve reclaimed it as our own.”
Paige: “The songs sound like a Sunday. The day of rest, when you have time to lay in bed and recall that thing you said seven years ago, and it makes your stomach do a cartwheel.”
2. Why 1994?
Paige: “The year I was born. We also wanted to stylise it like a film.”
Lee: “Also the year of Jim Carrey’s astonishing run: Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura, and The Mask.”
3. If you could place yourselves inside any film, what would it be?
Lee: “Papillon (1973). I’d like to know what it feels like to escape. Plus, the uniforms are chic.”
Paige: “Casino (1995). I’m the sassy blonde mob wife in another life.”
4. What do you hate most about living in California?
Paige: “Not enough English pubs.”
Lee: “The distance it is from England. Also, when people talk on the phone here they hold it out in front of their face and shout at it, rather than holding it against their ear.”
5. If you could wipe one song off the face of the earth, what would it be?
Lee: “‘God Save The King’.”
Paige: “‘Love Shack’ (It woke us up at 6am every morning at camp when I was 11).”
6. If you were the most famous people in the world, with the capacity to ask for anything and have it granted, what would be on your rider?
Lee: “Hummus.”
7. But as it stands now, what would be on your rider?
Paige: “Hummus.”
8. Who do you make music for?
Lee: “Paige.”
Paige: “My dog.”
9. Describe Slough in three words…
Lee: “I’d rather not.”
10. What book do you think everyone should read?
Lee: “Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman.”
Paige: “You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.”
11. What album would you like to soundtrack your life?
Lee: “16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens.”
Paige: “Love Angel Music Baby by Gwen Stefani.”
12. Describe your dream Sunday.
Paige: “Wake up, Uber Eats some carbs, Aperol Spritz all day outside in the 80-degree heat (preferably while floating in a pool), tunes on, eggplant parm for dinner, two episodes of Friends and bed by nine.”
Lee: “I wake up, grab a brush and put a little make-up, hide the scars to fade away the shake up etc.”
13. What would the title of your memoir be?
Lee: “Prat On A Hot Tin Roof.”
Paige: “The Importance Of Being Blonde.”
14. Who are your five dream dinner party guests (dead or alive)?
Lee: “Spice Girls. Alive, ideally.”
Paige: “Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte and Azealia Banks.”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
Paige: “NO!”
Lee: “I’ll check them out!”