Latitude 2015 Alt-J: “I think it’ll be a really memorable gig”

Three years ago, Alt-J played their first Latitude festival. Back then they were working their way up on the live scene, opening for the likes of Wild Beasts, Ghostpoet, and Toro Y Moi. Tonight the picture is a little different from The Lake Stage. The band’s Gus Unger-Hamilton is sat in the middle of the penned off headliner garden, and Alt-J are about to headline.

Far from a heap of nerves, Gus seems, for the most part, unruffled. “It’s lovely here!” he says, gesturing around Alt-J’s little backstage compound. “There’s some nice ferne over there.. or is it bracken?” he ponders. “Heather? Anyway.” he pauses. “Latitude always treats us well. I expect no less. We’ve got four showers!” he adds, proudly.

“When we played the 6Music stage a few years ago, it was one of the most memorable gigs we’ve ever done.” Gus says, looking back to 2013’s edition of Latitude. “It felt like there was no distinction between the band and the crowd, we were all singing the same songs together. That’s very rare that that ever happens.”

“I think we just feel really at home here,” he continues. “It’s that kind of festival where you slip into it immediately and just feel really comfortable. We’re so excited to be headlining, and it’s a huge privilege to be asked, but it also feels really right for us. It feels like, of course we’re doing this gig, maybe it was always going to happen. We’ve been lucky in that we’ve made big steps quite quickly, but there’s a nice progression. We started out in really small venues and worked our way up - so its very satisfying to be here now.”

Latitude is something of an Alt-J tour reunion, notes Gus. Gengahr and Wolf Alice - who both supported them at their massive 02 arena date - are playing the festival too. “We love both those bands, as friends and as bands,” he nods. “Its fantastic to see how well both of those bands are doing.”

After the show, Gus and the rest of the band are planning to have a celebratory tipple with friends and family. “We’ll look back on what I think will be a really memorable gig,” he says. Something tells us it will be.

Alt-J play the Obelisk at 9.30pm at Latitude Festival, where DIY is an official media partner. Head to diymag.com/presents for more details.