Start Listening To: GANS

GANS talk electronic obsession, creative freedom and finding their mojo on ‘DO YOU GLOW?’.

GANS have changed considerably in a remarkably short space of time. Since emerging from the Black Country at the end of 2023, Thomas Rhodes and Euan Woodman have gone from a brutally simple bass-and-drums setup to more than 150 shows in a year, tours alongside Pixies, The Vaccines and Big Special, and an increasingly adventurous approach to making music.

Now, following debut album Good For The Soul, new single ‘DO YOU GLOW?’ pushes the duo further into the electronic music they’ve become obsessed with. We caught up with GANS to talk about working with YOUTH, the beginnings of album two, embracing chaos and why making music remains their way of finding some joy in the world.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

Hello planet Earth, we’re GANS, two best friends from the Black Country in the West Midlands, Thomas Rhodes and Euan Woodman. We make music that soothes our souls and tells our stories in the only way we know it, with honesty and love.

'DO YOU GLOW?' feels like a noticeable step into a more electronic world. Was that a direction you'd been building towards for a while, or did something click during these sessions?

Since the early days where we ran the GANS ship punk rock style with just bass and drums everything has changed so much. Our lives have changed, we have changed, our world and tastes have changed. Electronic music is something that has grabbed us and something that we (without choice) have become completely obsessed with. So really GFTS had flecks and we learnt so much from Ross Orton, but this new material sent us further into that world. There’s never really a brief or intent with what we write, it’s purely a timestamp of what we enjoy and vibe to in the birth of a work. For this new bulk of music, electronics lead the way and is something that really excited us, so we think it’s a natural development.

The song is about facing your demons and figuring out your mojo. Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked those ideas, or did the meaning emerge while you were writing?

I think both of us have had intense periods of sadness and discomfort across our lives. We were always the weirdos in our areas growing up, so naturally we ended up with our heads buried in old specials records and learning to play instruments. Nowadays as GANS the discomfort towards the world has evolved but we’re much more self aware that this is how we can digest life. I guess we can call that mojo. We want to spread that with the rest of the world. Not giving a fuck and doing the thing we love the most is the thing that set us free. That’s what DO YOU GLOW? Is about.

You worked with Ross Orton on Good For The Soul and now YOUTH on this new material. They have very different musical histories, how did each producer challenge or change the way GANS works?

Wow, great question. I mean we have been so fortunate to work with such amazing legends of the game. Ross Orton is a man that sees in technicolour, and taught us how to really dig into music, an idea, be disciplined like soldiers within our work and get the absolute best of ourselves. Youth brought an effervescent cosmic freedom to our creative process. The kind that has you gazing up at stars and thinking about what we would have been in the last carnation. This was a different kind of challenge, kind of like trying to send electricity to parts of our brain that would have yet to be ventured. It’s quite a thing to try and stretch your neck and dare to be bold enough to do something that you’re not comfortable with. He was hugely inspirational and really left a lasting stamp on us both.

You've described yourselves as taking inspiration from everything from techno and punk to big band jazz and country. When you're writing, do those influences arrive naturally, or are you deliberately trying to pull unlikely worlds together?

There’s a really great documentary where Jean-Michel Basquiat talks about your art essentially being a culmination of taste and working at speed to not overthink what’s being created. I think this is how the sonic influences bleed into our work. We’re quite aware there won’t be a load of kids at the age of 9 sat in front of the stereo listening to old Ska records, count Basie and Meshuggah but that’s what we were doing. With that in mind, the influences are buried amongst the dirt somewhere in our heads, it makes writing together an always exciting prospect.

You played more than 150 shows in 2025 and you're already well into another huge touring year. Has constantly being on stage changed the kind of songs you want to write?

One thing we’ve learnt and hold at the core of our whole ethos is the power of connection. In those minutes on stage be it 25 or 75, we invite a room full of what are essentially strangers to tune into the same frequency that we resonate on. When writing we really have it in mind at what point of the connective journey the song will serve purpose. Either the energy or the emotion. Playing so many shows has really informed the art we create for sure. It’s the church of music.

Two people can either make a band feel incredibly disciplined or completely chaotic. Where does GANS sit on that spectrum when you're in the rehearsal room or the studio?

I mean objectively the word chaos always seems to get thrown around us, which we actually quite enjoy. It’s kind of like a being a boxer. In training you have to be so disciplined, practice your skills, be meticulous. It’s important to think of every detail because it’s the man that throws 1,000 of the same punch, not knows 1,000 punches. This is the studio. Then once someone’s coming at you throwing punches in your face, generally all plans go out the window and it’s time to ride the wave. That’s GANS live. So maybe it’s a 50/50 balance, who knows.

A lot of artists talk about the "difficult second album." Did you feel any pressure following the response to Good For The Soul, or did having so many shows under your belt give you confidence going into these sessions?

To be honest we put out our first track out in December 2023. It’s now summer 2026. Not for a second, no thanks to Keith McColl our manager and best friends in the world, have we had a chance to really catch a breath or be scared. We’re definitely anxious for album 2, because we love our jobs so much, but at the same time, we’re so grateful to get to do what we do that this overrides any real fear we have. As said with GFTS, if this all ends tomorrow and the people reject us, we had a fucking blast while it lasted and hope that keeps going on for many more years.

Touring with artists like Pixies, The Vaccines, Big Special and GOAT means seeing very different approaches to live performance every night. Have you picked up anything from those bands that's quietly made its way into GANS

Kindness. The best are so kind. As we learnt from such legendary artists and obviously touring with Pixies is completely surreal, they are kind to everyone from the security, to their crew, to catering and every single person in between. At the end of the day there are people saving lives out there, musicians travel around to tell stories and lead parties, it’s not life and death. So being human is the thing that seeing these bands has taught really is the best way, not that we know any other path really. Also the power of wearing good clothes, although we haven’t quite got there yet.

The new single feels bigger sonically without losing the raw energy that's always been part of GANS. Was there ever a point where you worried polishing the sound might take away some of the band's identity?

It’s such a strange thing being an artist because you essentially pour your soul and time into something you really believe in, then push it out into the world looking for reassurance that someone out there agrees with you. But the short answer is yes, we know we started out as a pissed jeans cover band and now we sound like ABBA. It’s what we like. The songs were written mostly stoned in an air BnB in Overloon, NL. We had a good time, that’s our identity, not a peavey bandit teal strip 1982 model.

You've hinted that this is just the first glimpse of album two. Without giving too much away, what parts of GANS do you think people haven't heard yet?

For this next bulk of music we really dove into detail, a lot of sampling, essentially had dreams of it being our DJ Shadow Endtroducing. We’re still at the foot of the mountain of how this baby fabricates so we’re not totally sure what people do expect of us, but it definitely feels like we found a new layer to our capabilities as producers on these tracks. I guess time will tell.

What do you love right now?

Motis Dover carnet office full English breakfasts with a side of chips and vinegar.

What do you hate right now?

Racist pricks spewing nonsense and lies on the internet. Especially in the West Midlands. We have a beautiful multicultural home, something we’re proud of. That makes us really sad.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

We got lost in Roy Orbison ‘black and white night’ album with Tom Waits, Springsteen, Bonnie Rait, Elvis Costello, T Bone Walker and the big O looking one million over writing this record. It’s just the coolest collection of greats ever. Mix is killer too. That is one of my Grandads favourites and definitely one of ours.

When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?

I hope that the spirit of the rock and roll gods backed by our West Midlands forefathers sticks with them for at least the rest of that day. I joke, I’ve got no idea. I hope that they go away and at least remember that there’s birds in the sky, they’re alive and that every day is a blessing. That’s what drives us. We try and sprinkle a bit of that in our sounds.