The four-piece talk us through their new EP, life on the road with Maggie Lindemann, and the chaos of hanging your clothes on a fence outside a Berlin venue is just one of the challenges you face on tour…

Words by Felix Bartlett, photos by Aaron Heather (@aaronheather_photo) | 15 May, 2026

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AFTERDRIVE have just come off the road supporting Maggie Lindemann across the UK and Europe, with a new EP locked and loaded. Four years in, the band have grown from pub gigs to playing some of the biggest stages across the continent, and they’re not letting the foot off the pedal. The single ‘Fashion’ is already out, and the band describe their sound as that nostalgic feeling you get on the drive home after a big moment, equal parts stadium rock and modern pop production. We caught up with Ben Watts, Joe Watts and Edward Ruff (with Luke Ellis dipping in and out of signal) to talk about the EP, life on the road, and what comes next.

Take us behind the scenes of AFTERDRIVE. What’s the journey been into setting this project up, and what does the band mean to each of you?

Ben: We’ve been a band for around four years now, and we’ve developed such a close relationship through it. We started off hitting the bars and pubs and slowly worked our way up to playing massive venues, including the tour with Maggie Lindemann and Ed Sheeran around Europe and the UK. Through all of that, we’ve been releasing consistently and songwriting all the time, working on the areas we think matter most. We’ve always been focused on the music side of things. We want our songs to sound the best they can, and when the listener hears them, we want them to feel that AFTERDRIVE experience, which is nostalgic. Have you ever had a big moment in your life and it’s the drive after that moment? That’s where our music sits. You don’t know if it’s happy or sad, but it’s a connection through the music. We’ve recently recorded an EP with five tracks on it, and there’s some really strong songs on there covering different sides of our writing.

You’ve just dropped ‘Fashion’ and the EP is on the way. Talk us through the writing and lyrics of the single, and is the rest of the EP heading in a similar direction?

Ben: Fashion was actually one of them songs that came together on the fly. We sat in a songwriting session, I had the computer out, and we were trying to come up with ideas. Luke came around and we were all just messing about, trying to write without too much pressure. Luke played the riff and instantly we came up with the lyrics. We thought it was one of those songs that could come out after Necklace, a good step in that direction. But the EP itself has a really varied track list.

Joe: Fashion has its place on the EP, but I wouldn’t say the EP’s overall sound and tone is based off that one song. It’s got such a diverse track list, but they all have the AFTERDRIVE sonic layers. We honestly can’t wait to get it out. Even from the love we already get on the songs available, this is going to show an even bigger side of AFTERDRIVE than anyone has seen yet.

What are some of the things you’ve learned through previous releases that you’ve done differently this time around?

Edward: Writing and recording songs is a lot more of a learning process than you’d probably imagine. There’s how we write, how we come together, how we put the songs together. The studio is constantly changing, and we’re constantly improving. Going into this EP, we’d learned from all the previous releases to build this project, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity. We’ve built the AFTERDRIVE sound now, so each song has that sonically, but they’re also varied and add to the storyline of the EP.

How do you all come together specifically on the EP? What part does each of you play when it comes to recording?

Ben: A lot of the songwriting comes from me with lyrics, melodies and basic ideas, then we come together as a band and build on them. It’s not always like that, though. If you have a set process, you’re always going to be missing out. Some songs we write on the fly like Fashion, and some songs are more in-house where I’m sat in my room thinking of ideas, and others we just send to each other. It’s not a set piece, but over the years we’ve got a structure that works for us, and it’s been really consistent for getting catchy songs out on the fly. The music has to talk too. You can have social media, but you’ve got to have music people want to listen to. We think of ourselves as more of a stadium rock band with a pop direction and modern production, and we think there’s a big gap in the market for that.

The tour you’ve just come off was incredible. How was it, and what have you taken from it as you move into more live shows and the EP release?

Joe: Absolutely incredible. It’s been a long time coming, so it was great to go out and smash it. It made our live set tighter than it had ever been. Meeting new fans, doing meet-and-greets after the show, just seeing the reactions. The UK has supported us for as long as we’ve been together, but then we went to Europe and got an amazing reaction, sometimes even better. The crowds are different out there and it’s just one of the best feelings ever.

Is there anything you’d do again from the tour, or anything you’d take and do differently next time?

Ben: It went perfectly. I wouldn’t change anything. The one personal thing I’d say to myself is just live in the moment more. The first few shows I was kind of nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. I’d tell myself, you’ve got this, it’s just another day of performing. Tour is so busy on the road, so when we go again, and I know we will, I just want to take a breath and take it all in.

Any funny stories or memorable moments from the tour?

Edward: At one point me and Luke did a clothes wash in a bathtub. That’s another bit of advice for anyone going on tour, in your Airbnbs or wherever you’re staying, make sure you’ve got a washing machine, because we had to use the bath. We didn’t realise we had to be out of the Airbnb at 9 a.m. the next morning, and nothing was dry. We got to the venue in Berlin and we had our clothes hanging up on a fence outside the venue. Proper rock and roll lifestyle.

Ben: There were a couple of launderettes around, but we looked at the reviews and half of them were saying they’d shrunk people’s clothes. Our stage attire is pretty important to us, we spend a bit of money on it, so we were worried. We just had to live with it. We might have pulled up to a couple of venues smelling a bit, but we just blamed it on the energy on stage.

Going back to the music side, what’s been inspiring you sonically, particularly looking forward to where AFTERDRIVE goes next?

Joe: The mix of all different genres and styles inspires us, because we don’t really hear anything else quite like us. We’re inspired to make something different that really stands out, something that appeals to fans of loads of different bands and artists. Some of our fans love indie bands, some love pop singers, and we just appeal to a widespread audience.

Ben: I’m constantly listening to music, we all are. It’s quite cliché when people say they love every genre, but I do go one spectrum to the other. One day I’ll be listening to hip hop, the next I’ll be listening to more rock, older stuff like Pearl Jam and Guns N’ Roses, then more modern rock like The 1975. It’s a blend of all of that we’re really trying to look into, especially on our further releases. At the start, we were just trying to get songs out. Now we’ve got the time and effort to put into making the sound complete.

Ben: It does still fit under the same bracket. We’re not going to go and do a 90s boom bap rap track. We’re still a core band, all our instruments live, but we add aspects like different production styles and samples to spice up the sound. You can’t be releasing music that you don’t like, or you’re never going to push it. That’s where we are with our writing. We all love it, we think everyone loves it, so we’re going to keep doing that.

Edward: You can almost restrict yourself if you commit to just one genre. We’ve got so much variation of influences across all four of us, and when they all come together making the AFTERDRIVE sound, sonically we’ve built our own thing, but in terms of where the genre fits, it can be a bit varied. I think that’s a good thing.

Four years in, you’ve already done a lot. What advice would you give to people just starting out, or anyone already grafting in the scene?

Ben: If I could talk to myself a few years ago, I’d say just keep doing what you think is right. There’s so much information out there and so much “you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that”. I don’t think there’s a single way of getting to where you want to be. You’ve got to make mistakes. You’ve got to put yourself out there, because it is an industry saturated with uploads and people online. But you’ve also got to stay true to yourself. So when you are pushing it, you’re putting the effort in. Stay true to who you are with your writing, your image, and how you portray yourself online, and you’ll soon find there’s always an audience out there that likes your music.

Joe: Keep at it. It’s a saturated industry and it can feel like you’re trying to push something that’s your own. You’ve got to believe in it and back yourself up as much as possible. Just don’t give up.

Edward: You want to enjoy what you’re doing and what you’re making. It’s a part of any sort of art, especially music, the fundamentals are creating something you connect to and enjoy, and sharing that with people. The start can be slow or tough, and you feel like you’re doing everything wrong because there’s almost too much information out there. You’ll make mistakes, we still question things we’re doing. But if you’re really passionate about it, surround yourself with good people, and it will pay off eventually.

Finally, what’s next for AFTERDRIVE after the EP? What’s in the pipeline?

Joe: More music and loads more touring.

Ben: We loved the touring. By the final dates it felt like second nature. When you’re not touring, you have inconsistencies with gigs, sometimes a week or two between shows. We had so many back to back that we hit that stage where we were so confident on stage, and it showed. We’ll be releasing singles really consistently after the EP, and hopefully by the end of next year we want to have an album out. Then we’ll be pushing that, doing more press like this, really trying to focus on getting our name out there. That’s the main thing.

AFTERDRIVE’s new single ‘Fashion’ is out now