An Interview with Whitelands’ Jagun Meseorisa

Earlier this year, English shoegaze band Whitelands released their sophomore LP Sunlight Echoes (2026) to positive reviews from both critics and audiences. The band’s drummer, Jagun Meseorisa, agreed to partake in an interview. I asked him about his inspirations, artistic evolution, venues he is excited to play at, and the band’s political side.

“My favourite song to record… I really enjoyed ‘I Am No God, An Effigy’, ‘Glance’ was a cool one to record as well.” He attributed his fondness of these tracks to the more complex drumming, describing the drums as “a bit more out there.” Jagun said he believes ‘Glance’ to be one of his best drum performances, 

When asked why Whitelands decided to release ‘Glance’ as a single, Jagun described it as “a big sound”, saying that it felt similar to the popular music the band were listening to while recording Sunlight Echoes (2026). He claimed Etienne Quartey-Papafio (Whitelands’ vocalist and frontman) was inspired by Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Rachel Chinouriri. “We don’t normally listen to commercial music, but we were for some reason.”

Jagun also said that his drumming on Sunlight Echoes (2026) was inspired by Geordie Greep’s The New Sound (2024), specifically the album’s opening track, ‘Blues’. “For a drummer, there’s just a lot of intricate things that people might not realise, and I wanted to add that. I think for me, my drumming has always been just loud and big.” Recording Sunlight Echoes (2026) and listening to popular music also helped Jagun hone his skills as a musician. “I think listening to those kinds of songs, as well as working on this album, I have developed a bit, which is all I really want. I’m always trying to get better.”

When asked about the future of the band after Sunlight Echoes (2026) (mainly regarding new material), both Jagun and the band wanted time to ponder and jam rather than immediately working on new music. “We were actually speaking about this as a band the other day… I’d rather actually give ourselves way more time to actually develop these songs and become used to them rather than trying to learn ten songs in the space of two weeks.”

With the current political climate, it felt natural to ask whether or not any political events had inspired any of the songs on Sunlight Echoes (2026), given Whitelands’ many progressive stances in the past. The opening track, “Heat of the Summer”, was based on the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing. “By doing the right thing, it means more like voting that man [Donald Trump] out of power and… how America itself affects the rest of the world.” The song, to them, encourages listeners to “open your eyes, don’t look away, step into the light. Look at what is happening right in front of our faces.” Jagun emphasised the band’s commitment to engaging in politics, encouraging people to speak up. ‘I Am No God, An Effigy’ was also mentioned, though Jagun described it as a mix of political and psychological elements, with the intention being to humble those with god complexes. “That applies to a lot of people in politics… reminding yourself that you’re not a god.”

The conversation soon moved to dates and venues of the tour. When asked, Jagun named Leeds’ Hyde Park Book Club, London’s Moth Club, Manchester’s Yes Basement and Newcastle’s Zerox as his most anticipated venues. Above all, he is excited to play in Birmingham’s Hare & Hounds. “Birmingham’s the first one, which is great, because Birmingham is one of my favourite cities.” He also mentioned his mother’s admiration of Leeds, “My mum, she Loves Leeds, she’s always talking about it.”Jagun has played in some of these locations before, while some will be his first outing. “I don’t really know what the vibe is because I either haven’t been for a tour or I’ve only been there a couple of times.”

When asked if he enjoys exploring unknown territory in his creative work as he does his travel, he confirmed, though he said this only applied to himself and not the rest of Whitelands. “Etienne will come with a song he wrote himself. We’ll then bring it together as a group, adding our own bits.””I think that’s one of my strengths, just being able to come up with something on a whim… But as a group, I think we like a bit more structure, especially for the other guys.”

To finish the interview, Jagun was asked about his shoegaze peers and whether or not Whitelands takes inspiration from them, also if they ever desired to tour with any of them. “We don’t actively take inspiration from any other shoegaze band, but we always somehow end up sounding a bit like them.” Jagun then stated that his drumming was heavily inspired by Paramore, also saying that touring with them would be a “dream come true”. Local fans of Whitelands will be able to see them perform live at the Hyde Park Book Club on Friday the 20th of February.

Words By Fred Wood