Introducing: SPIN CLASS

Equal parts chaotic charm and razor-tight energy, Spin Class are serving up their most unfiltered work yet with Dinner at Derek’s — a five-track blast of live-wired indie that hits like a late-night feast in a sweaty rehearsal room. Recorded live for the first time, the EP ditches polish for punch, delivering crunchy riffs, wild lyricism, and a strange obsession with food that somehow makes perfect sense. From the pop-edged honesty of “Cake” to the raucous experimental chaos of “Soup,” this is a band chewing through intrusive thoughts, creative breakthroughs, and Bristol’s endlessly inspiring music scene — and burping it back out with grin-inducing flair.

1. ‘Dinner at Derek’s’ has been described as a “five-track feverishly moreish adventure.” What were some of the core themes or emotions you wanted to explore across the EP—and how did recording it live help you get there?

We write about personal experiences, it’s an outlet to help make sense of it all. Just so happens we love playing live too.

2. Louis described the EP as a “12 minute, 5 course meal.” How did the food imagery and concept shape the tone or narrative of the tracks? Was there ever an actual ‘Dinner at Derek’s’?

The menu pulls you in and the tracks keep you full bellied. To be honest we come up with our song names off the dome, all in the name of pure genius. There have been many dinners at Derek’s, he makes a cracking curry. 

3. The decision to record live was a first for Spin Class. Can you walk us through that process—what challenges or surprises came up, and how did it impact the final sound?

Simply put, when we’ve had our big breakthroughs with writing, it’s been at a show or a rehearsal studio where things really fall into place, we recorded our first EP to click track and layered the shit out of it and it just felt weird so we changed our approach and live recorded with Dinner at Derek’s and have found the tracks play exactly how we wanted them. Simplicity and some dirt (sonny’s guitar playing) works best for us.

4. ‘Cake’ takes a poppier, more direct approach while tackling intrusive thoughts from a unique perspective. What inspired that lyrical viewpoint, and how does it connect to your wider approach to mental health themes?

The brightness of the track was the right energy for the lyrics, we write our instrumentals first and Louis builds lyrics as he gets a feel for the track so it’s really down to how it hits him tbh

5. You’ve built strong ties with Bristol’s creative community. How has being immersed in that scene influenced your songwriting, visuals, or live shows—and what does it mean for you to launch the EP at Rough Trade Bristol?

Bristol is just untapped gold, we’ve met talent that’s both set the bar stupidly high and they’ve also supported us and each other every step of the way, it’s the golden ratio of unfathomable talent and people who want each other to succeed. Feels like everyone’s growing together and it gasses us to push it further every day. Rough Trade is the perfect stage to pop Derek's Cherry.