In conversation with Vacant Weekend
Interview by Kieran Tibbert

Vacant Weekend are a Manchester-based indie trio that are continuing to build solid momentum in the music industry through their expertly crafted funk-inspired and groove-focused sonic. Ahead of the release of their EP ‘Something to Fill the Silence’ on July 26th , the trio have just released their latest single titled ‘The Windowsill’. They spoke to me about the track, the upcoming EP, as well as the importance of Kendal Calling festival for the band’s growth.

How are you guys doing and where in the world are you right now?

VW: Hey! I’m good thanks. Think we’re all spread out at the moment – I’m in Manchester, (Connor – guitar), Alex our singer is back home in Kendal and Dobo our bassist is in Tuscany, I think?

The band started out in 2018, but how did it all come about? Where did the journey begin?

We met in year 7 and grew up playing music together. We would jam and just play whatever we liked, busked every weekend and developed the intuition we have when playing together now. We went through a couple of stages of being involved in different bands with different sounds but landed on Vacant as it is in around 2017/18 and haven’t stopped since. We feel very lucky to have been friends for nearly 10 years and still be in the band we started in school.

Your latest offering The Windowsill was released late last month, how has the reaction been to the track so far?

Really positive, actually. This EP is a huge development of our sound, it’s the full realisation of what we started with our single Manchester. More driven, more chaotic, more ourselves. Fans who have been around for a long time have said it’s their favourite song – they could be biased but it’s good reassurance that people will like the rest of what we have coming up.

Tell us a bit more about the single, is there any meaning behind the lyrics or was there any specific thought behind its creation?

It was the first song we wrote after a long hiatus, so it’s really special to us. The song talks about our anxieties about getting older and how unprepared we feel for the rest of our lives. Our adolescence was obviously very formative as it is for everyone, so much was happening emotionally that we couldn’t really see beyond it. This year Alex and Dobo have both turned 20 and I’ve turned 21, which really felt like it came out of nowhere. Now we have the gift of hindsight we’re able to look at our issues from adolescence much more fairly and empathetically, while at the same time feeling unprepared to be adults. But, at its simplest, it asks what the point of life is when faced with the certainty of death.

What are some of the musical influences behind your own unique sonic? Are there any artists or bands you guys look up to?

I think sonically it’s a hard one to pin down – as individual writers/players we don’t sound too close to anyone else. Something that’s important is vibe and energy, so bands like Nirvana, Babyshambles, The Wombats, Bombay Bicycle Club are big inspirations for how the music should feel, though not necessarily how it should sound. Each of us have a very distinct, individual musical sound, so to try and be succinct – Alex grew up listening to The Beatles and Led Zeppelin which a lot of their song writing comes from, but began listening to bands like Pavement and Deftones which let them embrace their own voice and worry less about it being technically perfect. Isaac (Dobo) grew up with electric disco and soul and really found his sound
listening to Level 42, Jamiroquai and Steely Dan, which is responsible for his unique way of playing bass. And I grew up as a huge fan of The Smiths, The 1975 and later bands like Peach Pit and Mom Jeans, which listening to my guitar part writing I feel makes sense.

The single is just a flavour of what to expect on your upcoming EP Something to Fill with Silence. What can you tell us about the upcoming EP? 

The EP is a definitive collection of what we are right now. We’re so excited that these songs are still very fresh with the oldest being just over a year old. It feels new and exciting, and we can confidently say it represents us. The EP gets heavier than anything we’ve done so far; the final track is something really special. We tried not to hold back, this is as chaotic and messy as we are, the EP is effectively a night with Vacant Weekend, Alex yapping away over the top of some noise. We’re keen not to give too much away though – trust us you’ll like it, or you won’t, but you have to listen to it.

The EP is comprised of six tracks, do you have one which stands out more than most?

I feel like we each might have a different answer. Proud of You has been a lot of fun to gig on tour, it’s how we opened our set, and it was huge, really felt like we hit the ground running every night. I can confidently say that French Inhale, the closing track on the EP, is firmly a standout track for us though, it’s full of grit and energy. Cathartic is a word we throw around a lot in trying to describe our music, but this track is serious catharsis start to finish.

Kendal Calling is a huge festival you’ve been lucky enough to play previously. Of course, being in your home county, do you feel that Kendal Calling is a special place for the band?

Kendal Calling is an incredible place. It champions loads of new talent on the BBC Introducing stage at the Yam Riot tent, where we first played in 2022. Last year we were lucky enough to play Calling Out, one of the bigger stages at the festival and we’re so excited to go back and see everyone on the same stage this year. Home gigs are always a special one for us, not only do we have loads of fans there but family and friends too. The site of the festival is about 20 minutes from the village where Dobo grew up and where we all spent lots of time as teenagers, so everything about the festival holds a really special place in our hearts.

In addition to the EP release on the 26th of July, you’ve got plenty going on. What can fans look forward to later this year, and what does the distant future hold for such a promising trio?

Playing Kendal Calling is probably what we’re looking forward to most. There’s been discussions about possibly another Kendal headline at the very end of summer before we go back to uni, and there are some support gigs around the country in the works that have come from the tour dates in areas we’re a lot less known like in Newcastle/Liverpool. But ultimately the band has always been our way of staying connected as friends, doing what we love and that’s the long-term plan – to just keep having fun together. We’re very grateful for all the big opportunities that come our way, but our plan for the distant future has never changed and it doesn’t matter if we’re playing to 10 people or 1000, we’re keeping on as we are.

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Next live date: 2nd August, Kendal Calling Festival, Cumbria

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Interview: Kieran Tibbert – Portfolio | Instagram | Twitter
Photo via Bark PR

Published 5th July 2024