How would you describe your music for people who don’t know you?
I would describe our music as Anthemic Indie Pop Rock – I think that just about covers everything we do. We try not to pigeon hole our sound though, as we like to take individual songs in the direction that best suits the song with no genre specific limitations.
You’ve just released your new album Horizons – are you proud of it?
Yeah, we’re really proud of the new record – it was two years in the making using three different studios and three different external producers, but we got there in the end and feel we have made a quality second album.
Was it easy to write and record?
The writing was very easy – myself and Benny are always writing new material, and the album started off as eighteen tracks that we cut down to eleven. However, the recording process was very different to anything we had done before, as we produced our debut self- titled album ourselves back in 2010 and the album had a great response from reviewers such as yourself, so the pressure was on to get this album right! We decided to use an external producer for this album, but we all found it very difficult letting creative control go to an outsider and this resulted in quite a few late night ‘stand off’s’ in the studio. This was ultimately the reason we got through three different external producers during the recording of the album! My god don’t we sound like divas now!
What’s your favourite track on the album?
That’s so difficult to answer; it’s like picking a favourite pet or one of your kids…. If you had a gun to my head and I had to single a track out I would say the next single ‘This Is…’ is definitely up there with my favourites. I’m very proud of the orchestral arrangement in that track, as I feel it gives the song a rich underlying emotional texture. Thinking about it, I actually spent about six months writing and recording string, brass, wind and choir parts for this track and even found room for a tympani! You can imagine how devastated I was when I showed the symphony to Benny and he said it sounded like the theme tune from Emmerdale Farm!
You’ve just finished your tour – how was it?
Amazing, it’s so good to get out of the studio and start playing the new songs to people.
What’s your favourite track to play live?
It has to be the lead single from our new album ‘High Lights’ for me; it seems to have taken over from our first ever single ‘Three Words’ as the track the crowd go mental for.
Which song do you wish you had written?
Wow, another big question! There are so many… OK… I think it would have to be This Charming Man by The Smiths, as Johnny Marr’s tone and playing style has always been a massive influence for me and the guitar riff in the track is just immense. I certainly wish I had written that.
Who’s your ultimate icon and how have they influenced you?
Touching back to the last question, I’m massively influenced in my playing style and guitar tones by Johnny Marr. However, both myself and Benny’s songwriting is very influenced by nineties music, such as classic Britpop and the legend that is Noel Gallagher.
What made you get into music?
For me it was that magical moment I picked up a crappy acoustic guitar and realised I could play (albeit not very well) the songs that I loved listening to.
What do you hope to do before the end of 2013?
We have the third single ‘This Is…’ from our new album ‘Horizons’ due for release with an exclusive unreleased B-side in September – we start shooting the video for that in a few weeks and we’ll also be releasing another track before the end of the year, along with another music video. Dare I say this year will also see the start of album number three! Let’s hope this one doesn’t take us two years to finish though! We’re also booked to play a few festivals this summer, including Y Not Festival in August.
What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to the band – it could be on tour, in the studio, anything!
This has to be whilst in residency at one of the studios we recorded our new album at – I woke up in the middle of the night to find Benny huddled in a cupboard naked saying he was talking to his face! Sleepwalking? Drunk? Mental? You decide….
Describe yourself in three words?
Epic – Anthemic – Melodic.