Signed to producer Steve Levine’s Hubris Records, this Bristol band have been championed by Tom Robinson at 6 Music. We caught up with the band while they were jamming in the studio.
You only formed the band at Bristol University two years ago, where was your first gig?
Actually Ed our drummer was the only band member to be at Bristol, Ali was at Manchester, George was at Leeds and Will has registered for the University of Life. The band met and formed in London, although our debut gig was at Bristol.
There were a series of coincidences that brought you together with Steve Levine who signed you, can you explain how it came about? Steve’s daughter Rosie was at our first gig and as a result recommended the band to him. Ed then gave Steve a CD. Unbeknown to Steve, BBC 6 Music DJ Tom Robinson had discovered Patch William via his songwriting master classes and when they bumped into each other Tom mentioned the band and Steve was literally listening to our song.
Band member Ali Digby was asked to join after she sang backing vocals on the album, what have been the benefits of having dual vocals and a cellist in the band?
During the initial recording sessions, Ali’s harmony convinced us that she should join the band full time. Now, when we play live, the flexibility of Ali’s additional vocals, bass and cello give us a fantastic live sound, which will enable us to develop further in the studio.
You have a new eponymously titled album can you give an insight into the writing and recording process?
Will normally writes the basis of our songs acoustically and then does a basic recording in the basement of our house. At this point the other members of the band will listen, work out and discuss their own parts to transform the song into a full band sound.
What song are you most proud of on the album?
Probably Last Bus as we developed it to its full potential and represents just how we wanted it to sound.
Who are your musical heroes?
We’re all into blues legends and songwriting from the likes of Robert Johnson, Hendrix and Dylan to Kings of Leon and Jeff Buckley.
Stephen Fry is a fan calling you “rather wonderful”, have you met him?
The band hasn’t met him but Stephen enquired about the band while recording the voiceover for Steve’s radio show, Third Reich and Roll. He’s been fantastic for the band and has really boosted our profile and fanbase. We really hope to meet him soon, he has expressed interest in coming to our gigs more then once but as you can imagine him schedule is rather busy.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
We’ve just released our album which is available exclusively on iTunes, so promoting that will be our main agenda.