Hello. In your own words, how would you describe your sound and style?
It took a while for us to nail down our sound. In the beginning it was all very much leaning towards your classic “indie-rock” type of stuff. There’s nothing we inherently dislike about that sound, there’s just plenty of excellent indie-rock bands in the north east already so we wanted to make sure we sounded a bit different.
In short, our sound is clean, modulated 7th chords used as a backdrop for morose subject matters.
You’ve just released your latest single: “White Marquee”. What is the story behind the song and its lyrics? Furthermore, what themes and ideas influence your music and writing?
White Marquee tells the story of Matty’s dad playing guitar publicly for the first time at a talent show. The song takes place at the caravan park in Slaley that Matty’s family frequented during the summer. There are references to classic singer/songwriters that not only act as the band’s inspiration, but as the setlist that was performed. The song mentions the likes of Paul Weller, The Mavericks, Elvis Costello and (most notably) Paul Simon.
When it comes to how we go about songwriting, we like to start off with a mondane moment and flesh it out. Courtney Barnett’s “Avant Gardener” is a great example of this.
Do you have any plans for the year ahead that you would like to share with us? Also, what would you like to achieve in the upcoming year?
We have two more singles from the upcoming album that are ready to go, we’re really excited to see how people react to them. We’ve also got a couple of gigs coming up which we’ll be announcing in the near future. As for the rest of the album, it’s just about finding the time to get the rest of it done. It’s all well and good having the full album finished in your brain, but in the end we still need to learn it, practice it, record it and release it. We won’t be giving a set date for the album release as we know that something will definitely come along and push it back anyway. Just keep an ear out in early 2023.
What advice do you have specifically for other north east artists? And what advice do you have for artists in general?
My advice would be to email/follow/contact as many bands/promoters/venues as you can. Send them your music and you’re plans/availability. Then once you’ve done that and built a rapport…delete your social media. Just for a bit. It’s not healthy to be constantly comparing yourself to someone else who has that radio play or scored that festival slot. This is supposed to be fun. Use social media only as a tool to get your foot in the door. Also, Spotify statistics are NOT indicative of how well you are doing. Spotify is a brilliant tool to get your music out there, but don’t worry if your numbers are low. It’s far better to fill out a room of 50 people for a gig than it is to have 100 listeners that will listen once and you’ll never meet.
Lastly, what artists are on your radar that you would recommend others listen to & see live?
Reservoirs are a wonderfully unique band that bring the 50s into the modern day. Don’t expect a cheap gimmick though, these songs are intricate, expertly performed and, most importantly, earworms.
Amateur Ornithologist has an absolute knack for realeasing exactly what I want to hear. His vocals are so distinct and every song is mastercrafted to stay in your head for weeks on end.
As one of our own side projects, we also recommend you keep an eye out for singer/songwriter Simon York West, who is set to record and release his debut single in the coming months. Simon is a Baritone guitar player inspired by modern folk.
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