THE BEDROOM HOUR: ‘PUTTING THE MUSIC FIRST’
Before the gig, I was able to interview the guys and find out the advantages of being a bit older and wiser in relation to band life and approaching song writing, why they prefer playing up north rather than London, and what they thought of the recent Mercury Award winner.
NIGE: You played Night n Day back in August and I believe you PR’d it all yourself from London, and it was very successful gig. Could you tell us about that?
STUART: We used Twitter to tell people we’ll be coming to Manchester and built from there really.
MARK: We spoke to other bands and their fans that are into the same sort of music so got word of mouth going really. We tried to keep it personal and talk to people rather than just spamming.
NIGE: You’re first EP, ‘Themes’ was released back in May 2013, how’s it been received?
ROB: Really well. We’re quite surprised and we had little bets on how many we’d sell.
MARK: We knew it would be a slow burner because we’re not selling out Brixton or anything like that, but we knew by doing gigs we’d sell more, either at the venue or online. It’s a steady process but it’s still selling.
NIGE: The EP changes from energetic to very emotive after the track, ‘Themes’. Was that a conscious decision trying to tell a story, or just coincidence?
ROB: It is the theme! I always wanted to do a vinyl and have a night side and a day side, so the energetic ones are for going out and the slower ones for chill out.
DAN: We condensed it down to six tracks in the end, and that’s why we put ‘Themes’ in the middle because that changes the vibe. At the time just before recording the songs we were writing seemed to be more emotional than the ones that came before. It’s not really the usual thing to do mixing energy and emotion, but maybe that’s the beauty of it, the fact we’ve done something a bit different than what a lot of bands won’t dare to do.
NIGE: What was the inspiration for the lyrics and sound on the album?
STUART: I don’t really like to talk about what songs are about because I don’t want to ruin it for someone who has a different idea. I want them to relate to a song and connect in a way that they feel they can connect. However, I’ve made no secret about ‘Slow Motion Cinema’, it’s about my mum who passed away, but for every other song it’s important to let the listener decide.
MARK: One song can mean five different things to five different people, it’s just the way they interpret it. It’s like art I suppose.
STUART: I saw Stereophonics twice a few years ago and he said about one song, “this is a song about sandwiches.” I mean, where’s the mystery? It sounded like it had been scripted which shouldn’t be what music’s about. It should be impulsive and making your own connection.
NIGE: Do you find writing and playing music easier now than when you were younger? How has your approach changed?
ROB: Mark and I were in a band together and we had no control apart from our own parts until Dan and Stuart joined.
DAN: That’s strange because you said you had no control, but in my first band everyone looked at me to do stuff, but that’s not the way to do it. When I joined this band I noticed the difference in that we cut out a lot of the crap when it comes to song writing. We seem to get to the core of a song more quickly.
MARK: We’re more chilled out about it now. We’ve had the big fights in the studio when we were younger, and we don’t want to do that anymore. We only want to concentrate on the music. If we don’t like a part we’ll tell that person and it’s no big deal and we get on with it.
DAN: I think it goes back to what we were saying before and not being afraid of playing a slow, emotional song. If that’s what you’re coming up with and it sounds good then go with it.
STUART: I think we let a song take you rather than you take the song. If it feels like it should be six or seven minutes long then allow it to be, rather than thinking it’s a bit too long. As long as it’s interesting, the melodies are strong, and there’s a good beat to it then go with it.
ROB: It’s all about dynamics. We don’t have to go crashing in with guitars full pelt. What’s good is that we’ve never thought we need to write a really upbeat song because the crowd will love it.
NIGE: What challenges do you face as musicians and a band nowadays?
STUART: Life!
MARK: I reckon a lot of bands breakup because of women.
STUART: We’re lucky that we have women behind us who allow us to do what we’re doing, but it is hard finding that balance.
MARK: When you’re eighteen you can bunk off work to do a gig, but now you’ve got to be a bit more responsible and you can’t afford to lose your job over it.
NIGE: Any plans for a further EP or album?
STUART: We’re working on a batch of songs, but we’re a work in progress in terms of what would go on an album.
ROB: We’re playing some of the songs tonight, but we need to get a picture of what we’ve got and then get an album or an EP out of it. They’ll definitely be something coming out next year.
NIGE: Has anything changed on the new material regards song writing compared to the ‘Themes’ EP or will it be an extension of that release?
MARK: I think it’ll be like the night and day theme, but we’ll have longer.
ROB: ‘Themes’ has links to other songs that aren’t on there so we should tie it altogether. The EP is like an advert really.
NIGE: You expressed that Manchester and Scotland were great gigs, but where would you prefer to be playing, up north or London?
DAN: Up north and anywhere out of London!
ROB: In London you get judged by your shoes and what guitar case you’ve got. Once you get past the M25 everyone seems to like the fact you’ve made the effort to come out and play.
DAN: I think there’s a massive gap in London between the wicked venues and the dives. There are too many places to go and people stick to what they know.
MARK: If you’re not the ‘in thing’ that week you can do a gig and no one will come, but the next week if you’re all over twitter then it’ll be packed, then the week after you’ll play and it’ll be empty again.
STUART: People are more up for it up north. I think people in London are too busy with life and want someone off Radio One or NME to say this band’s amazing and then they’ll jump on it. They’re not prepared to go and hunt it out.
ROB: We found that people up north sing our lyrics back to us, which was amazing!
DAN: People ask us to come back when we play up north too.
NIGE: Finally, as musicians, what do you make of the Mercury Awards nominees and winner?
ROB: I like James Blake, I think he’s decent.
MARK: Bowie should’ve won it.
STUART: I couldn’t tell you who was on it!
DAN: James Blake sold 29,000 albums and Bowie sold half a million.
ROB: That’s the beauty of Mercury though.
DAN: James Blake won’t be heard of again. It’s a kiss of death that award.
You can purchase the EP Themes from iTunes, eBay and all other online retail outlets
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@Thebedroomhour
www.thebedroomhour.com
Interview by Nigel Cartner
Photos by Nidge (Trust A Fox Photography)
About the Author
Nigel Cartner Nigel's immense passion for music, broadcasting and writing is what drives him along through this strange and surreal world!
