Category: New Music

Friday this week sees the release of MILK POOL, the candidly intimate new album from Merpire (Naarm / Melbourne-based Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt). Blending ‘sexy and safety’ together, the songs manage to be hypnotic and playful at the same time. Check out our chat below for a glimpse into how the album was formed, early musical exposure, and some clandestine plans for the future…

Hey, how are you and whereabouts in the world are you right now?

Hi, I am a little cold but content – sitting with my hot water bottle in my lap at my desk in the bay window of my room in Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia.

Your new album Milk Pool is due for release soon, how much of a departure is it from what you’ve done before?

I would say it’s not a drastic departure from my first record, Simulation Ride. More of a building up and out from that world. An expansion in every direction – sonically, lyrically, emotionally. From collecting experiences of joy and hardship since the first record, I’ve grown bolder and more confident in my production ideas. It’s probably just the gift of getting older too, giving less fucks what anyone thinks.

Making these choices is helped greatly by the strong, long-standing friendship I have with two of the producers on the record, James Seymour and Elizabeth M Drummond. I trust them and their truly genius, intuitive ideas. We have a language we use to find quirky sounds to allow for more vulnerability and more creativity to shine through the recordings. I’m very grateful for this, it’s rare.

With this record, I wanted to express more of the darker and sexier side of me. Many of the songs are my expression of reclaiming safety in feeling sexy. Safety and sexy are historically not two feelings that sit together for me. I know I’m not alone in this and I’m hoping these songs of reclamation can be helpful for listeners who can relate. Writing music that feels like a safe, controlled darkness is a space for me and the listeners to confess or share while connecting, without needing to say anything directly.

And how was the recording process, do you go into the studio knowing exactly how you want things to sound or does it evolve once you’re there?

I think one thing that makes this album so special is that I recorded it in 4 different places and over a year. I actually did that with the last record too. That was the luxury of being able to take my time and a really relaxed approach to recording. It takes the pressure off and allows me to zoom out and make this beautiful Frankenstein’s monster of an album.

While writing on guitar, I often get melodies or riffs for other instruments pop up in my head, as well as textures so I’ll make note of these for studio time. I also save songs in a playlist from other artists whose vocal sound, or production element I’m drawn to. Sometimes it’s a mixing reference like being drawn to where something sits in the mix. Once in the studio with these people I trust and have a similar brain to, I’m very open to others ideas that come up. It’s really about what the song is calling for rather than trying to control and apply any preconceived ideas that may not need to stay.

What’s the story of one of the tracks?

Rosanna, produced by Elizabeth M Drummond, is one of my many favourites on the record. It’s got this stalking, sinister feel. It’s tragic and sad and sexy yet light and playful in the verses. While the details in the story are made up, the feelings and the situations in the story have come up for me in my life. I’m leaving this one up to the listener to decide what it’s about. I think it’ll change depending on what you think of in your own life when you hear the chorus, ‘No matter how good we get, I think we’re in trouble, baby’. Is it a breakup? Is it two friends fighting against sexual chemistry? Is it both? I wrote it on a friends’ acoustic guitar in their room and sent it to Liz (Elizabeth M Drummond) straight away. We would always send each other song ideas. She literally had one go at producing it and she did a stunning job at deepening the heartache in the story. It’s like she grabbed the heart of the song and tightened her fist around it a little harder. I love it.

Can you fill us in on the Naarm/Melbourne music scene where you’ve been based – favourite local artists and venues?

The talent in Naarm is seriously unbelievable. The heartbreaking thing about that is what we continue to be up against – “cultural cringe”, cost of living, the government pulling funding from grants, the way we carry the state of the world in our hearts so heavily and the lack of respect from our wider society / economy. Despite all of this, we’re stronger together. We share tips, kitchens, stages, bands, music gear, couches, contacts. I have too many favourite artists but here’s a bunch who have been releasing some stunning stuff in the last couple of years – Elizabeth M. Drummond, Hannah McKittrick, Public Figures, Fan Girl, Planet:Pain, Garage Sale, Mallrat, World’s Best Neighbours, Juice Webster, Armlock, Mika James.

Favourite venues include Northcote Social Club, Corner Hotel, Merri Creek Tavern, Croxton Bandroom, The Old Bar, Howler, Forum.

What kind of music was playing in your house when you were growing up?

My dad would vacuum on the weekends and he’d blast, and I mean BLAST Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Beatles. I think my first introduction to rock music was being awoken to the sound of Robert Plant wailing – terrifying for a little kid, but the fear turned to curiosity, which turned to love and an obsession for music obviously.

You can choose three albums to keep on your playlist forever – what are you going for?

Jeez, that is so tricky. There’s not enough time and I don’t have a good enough memory to nail this question so I’m going to slightly cheat and firstly say a compilation of Debussy, Vivaldi, Mozart and Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Elizabeth M. Drummond – Congratulations EP and my own album, MILK POOL!? haha I don’t want to lose any memory of that!

Your socials describe your music as ‘living somewhere between the rom-com and horror movie sections’ in your mind. If you could soundtrack any film past or present, what would you choose?

Looove this question. The individual songs on my album would call for some specific scenes – ‘a second coming of age’ or ‘coming of sexiness’. A couple of dark, sinister/stalking scenes, definitely a montage where the whole song plays out the whole scene, a car chase. It’s a tie for me between Swimfan and Britney Spears’ Crossroads.

So what’s next – are there live dates on the horizon and what else does 2025 have in store for you?

There sure are. I’m about to take to the skies for a solo East Coast tour of Australia. After that, I have a couple of festivals with my band such as Town Folk Fest in Castlemaine, Victoria. I’ve got a few more shows planned for the year but alas, I cannot say any more than that. I’ve also got a few visual surprises underway, collaborating with other artists that I’m directing, but again, my lips are sealed I’m afraid!

MILK POOL is released on 4th July 2025 – pre-order here

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Interview by Siobhan
Header image by Rick Clifford

Published 1st July 2025

With an accomplished new album and amidst a host of glowing reviews of their recent live shows coming through, we caught up with Lucy from Pale Blue Eyes to chat about the making of the record, the tour and plans for the coming months…

Hey, how are you all – how has 2025 been for you so far?

Hello! All good thanks, a very busy and fun year so far!

What’s the most interesting object in the room you’re in right now?

Well we’re back home on a day off atm so probably the now slightly deflated helium birthday balloons in the corner, leftover from Matt’s recent birthday party! Closely followed by The Cure record that Matt got for a birthday present from Aubs.

Your latest album New Place was released last month and you’re currently out on the road – what’s the response been like to the new songs?

Yeah – so far it’s been really lovely thank you, we’re really enjoying playing some of the new ones in the live set. But we’ve also enjoyed revisiting a couple of tracks off our first album that feel very fun to play in the current set as well!

Talk us through the concept for the album – did you have a really clear vision of how it was going to end up or did that happen organically?

I think we definitely had the goal of trying to see if we could create some new flavours on this third album, we did the first two albums in two years and it felt like the second was almost an extension of the first, so with this one we definitely wanted to take a little bit more time and try out some new ways of working and some new instrumentation.

It is a record reflective of new beginnings, starting again, feeling a bit like a weight had lifted, being in a new place, and also was inspired by some of the experiences we’ve all been through together as a band (getting to tour loads the last few years and the places we’ve been lucky enough to visit together).

Can you give us the story behind one of the tracks?

I like the sentiment of The Dreamer – Matt wrote that about the feeling when you meet someone in a dream and it feels so vivid and real, and then you wake up and realise it wasn’t. Getting a fleeting moment with someone in a dream. The song captures that slightly dreamlike wonkiness… not really a story but that’s the sentiment and feeling of that song.

And who would you want to shout out for helping you complete the whole record?

A lot of people helped us make this record possible, our manager Dave helping us navigate a lot of big changes last year… The team who helped us put the album out on our own label, Broadcast Recordings, the folks at ROM who distributed the album and believed in what we were doing. Dean Honer who final mixed and mastered the record. Tom Sharkett and Lewis Johnson Kellett who play on some of the tracks on the album. Our very supportive families, who encourage us to keep at it.

Me, Matt and Aubrey have been working on PBE together for quite a few years now so it feels good that we’re still doing it and still loving it!

The album cover artwork (header image) uses one of a collection of old 35mm slides you uncovered in a house move – can you tell us more about that and how important that visual side of things is when you’re putting music out?

We really enjoyed the circular nature of being in a new place and starting fresh but then digging out the old 35mm slide projector that belonged to Matt’s dad and seeing all these old amazing pictures of Matt’s parents when they were our age and when they first moved into their own house together. It felt quite nice to have a reference to that as the artwork for the album, slightly archival. We liked the blue window shot being fairly abstract, but it meant a lot to us.

We all love film photography and we are also lucky that Aubrey is a photographer and film-maker, so we do all care a lot about the visual side of things. We’d love to do more with pairing visuals with our music and exploring that in the live setting as well in the future…

Do you get to see much of the places you stop off at while you’re touring – any notable discoveries on this tour?

Not massively – we tend to be in the van and then in the venue, then in a motorway Travelodge type situation, but we try to make sure we have a quick wander around the venue if we get the time.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when you’re back home at the end of the tour run?

We’ve actually been lucky enough to stop off at home a few times during this tour, so it has felt very civilised, and we’ve been able to do normal home things and just having the familiarity of our own bed a few times which has been really nice.

I think we’ll definitely treat ourselves to a couple of majorly lazy days when we get home but then we have lots of work in the studio to crack on with so will be back to that next week!

Lastly, do you take a break after this or are there more plans in place for the rest of the year?

We’re always scheming and planning the next things with the band, we’re playing Wanderlust in Southampton next month, then we’re hoping to do another run of dates some time over the summer, then we’re away supporting a band called The Midnight all around Europe in September/October – so there’ll be lots of prep needed for that mega tour!

Get the latest news from Pale Blue Eyes and links to purchase New Place here, and why not dip into our review of last week’s Brighton show too…

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Interview by Siobhan

Published 16th April 2025

Following the release of their striking new EP Same Blood, we caught up with Amy & Lily from Sunflower Thieves to find out more about its making, the meaning behind the songs, and the flourishing Leeds music scene…

How are you doing? For anyone unfamiliar with Sunflower Thieves could you give us a quick intro?

Amy: Hey! Good thank you – tired from touring but feeling nice and warm inside, and taking a little rest before we head out across Europe! We are Sunflower Thieves – Amy and Lily. We’re an alt-indie band based in Leeds, for fans of Phoebe Bridgers, Boygenius, Flyte and Angie McMahon. We just released our second EP Same Blood on October 30th, you can listen to it everywhere!

You’ve stayed together longer than a lot of bands manage – what keeps it interesting for you?

Lily: We’ve never known any different and it keeps on getting more fun! We feel really lucky that things just keep progressing for us. We’ve worked so hard for a long time, so it’s really rewarding when things go well and we’re really enjoying this progression at the moment. We’ve grown up together, and we know each other so well, but also the more time goes on, the more people believe in us and support, so we’re slowly building a team around us of wonderful people. I think having always been so involved in the management and development of our own project means we always get to explore creativity and adapt in every element of it.

Your new EP Same Blood highlights the importance of long-term friendships, how autobiographical is it as a piece of work?

Lily: The most autobiographical we’ve ever been. We always write from lived experience and this EP is no different, but is definitely more lyrically direct and honest than we’ve been previously. Every writing session turns into a therapy session and brings us closer to each other and our shared vision.
Amy: We’ve realised that friendships aren’t as commonly written about, perhaps because they’re often much less dramatic and fluctuating than romantic relationships, but it’s something so integral to our project, and to our lives in general. Our friends, collaborators and wider creative community are so so important to us, that it feels like a natural subject for us to explore in our music. Same Blood in particular, as a song, wasn’t something we ever knew we needed to write until we did, and it feels like the Sunflower Thieves song.

And what do you feel has impacted on how your music has evolved to reach this point?

Amy: The growth of the alternative/indie genre has definitely impacted us and our music. As an artist, you get asked a lot in interviews and during distribution or applications, what genre[s] you are, and it can be such a hard question to answer when you blend elements from different sonic spaces. But that’s what makes the Sunflower Thieves sound what it is, and moving forward with that confidently has allowed us to create music we’re really proud of, rather than trying to stick to a lane and restricting our creative freedom. Lily’s production develops with each song we write and I think our growing confidence in being more honest and direct in our lyrics has allowed us to approach writing more freely.
Lily: It’s so easy to get inspired when there’s great music coming out. At the moment, we’re loving Katie Gavin’s album, Julia Jacklin, Jemima Coulter. We also now play live with three brilliant musicians, Nathan Apps, Chris Aitchison and Jo Meikle, and have been able to incorporate them into some of the new recording processes, including the vinyl-exclusive track on the record, Already Taken, which shaped how that song is now, both recorded and live. They’ve been wonderful in helping us to capture the recorded sound of the songs we’ve already released, in a live space, and we’re excited to do more of this with them going forwards!

Can you tell us a bit about a couple of the songs on the EP and the stories behind them?

Lily: The first verse of Driving Lessons came after my first therapy session, sparked by the ‘how was your childhood?’ question, which became a lot to process. Together with Ev [Pet Snake/Clean Cut Kid], we chatted through the experience and the panic mode it incited, and realised that had stemmed from current anxiety. I was having driving lessons at the time, and having a hard time with the instructor, and this felt like an interesting representation of becoming an adult, still learning and wanting to avoid confronting hard things.
Amy: So Far So Good came from a couple of notes I had on my phone, one about a church near my parents’ house in lockdown, which encouraged people to email them their prayers whilst they couldn’t physically attend services. The other was about a friend who had told me she thought she was going to die young, because her mum had, and I spent a lot of time thinking about this. The song became a commentary on the human need for connection, and feelings of insignificance and loneliness in the wider world.
Amy: West Park Drive is super special to me. It was the first song I had written in quite a while, and came falling out on a writing trip with friends in Sweden. It was the first time in a long time that I’d felt entirely calm and relaxed, and able to create. It’s a song about falling in love with someone day-to-day, and realising that although you know them so intimately within your little bubble at home, there is so much more to learn about the bigger picture of them as a person.‘Half way house, feels like home, half way house, are you with me?’ is me leaning into feeling entirely comfortable with that person, without us having acknowledged yet where it’s leading.

You’ve just completed a string of live dates around the UK – any stand out moments?

Amy: We did our own short run of UK dates in early September with the band and it was so much fun – we did our first Brudenell headline show to finish it off, which felt like a real milestone. Brude and the team there have been integral to our live development, and it’s our favourite Leeds haunt. This month we’ve supported Dan Croll around the UK, just the two of us. It was really lovely getting to spend proper quality time together, both in the car driving up and down the country, and in all the different cities. We played too and met some lovely audiences, and it was a really nice opportunity to get the new record out to new listeners pre-release.
Lily: Our favourite shows were probably Nottingham – the Bodega was a huge part of us first starting out playing live shows, and we always feel like we’re coming home there – and Edinburgh, because we love the city and the crowd were so supportive and engaged.

Did you get to see much of any of the places you were playing?

Lily: More than we thought we would actually! We had a lovely sunshiney wander through Winchester the morning after the Southampton show, and a fun morning in Sheffield exploring the charity shops and cafes. We stayed with friends and family across the tour, so we got some extra quality time with some of them throughout, which really made a difference.

The music scene in Leeds seems really strong at the moment, are there any particular venues, other artists or people working behind the scenes you’d like to give a shout out to?

Amy: Yeah there’s loads of exciting stuff coming out of Leeds right now. We’re loving The Howl & The Hum’s new album of course, and Marnie Glum, who supported us on our headline tour, has just released three incredible songs. Our friend Sam, who we wrote some of the first EP songs with, is launching a new project, The Luca, and we’ve recently sung some backing vocals for a couple of his tunes. Otherwise, I co-run a newly relaunched venue, The Attic, near the city centre, and we’re putting on a really exciting range of events: gigs, workshops, film screenings, recitals, supper clubs, life drawing, you name it!
Lily: I’d also love to shout out the programme I’m running at Come Play With Me called ‘Come Platform Me: Introduction to Sound’! It’s a programme for people from marginalised backgrounds who want to get into live or studio sound engineering. The third round is about to start in collaboration with the wonderful Hyde Park Book Club and Eiger Studios and I’m buzzing for it!

What was either the last book you read or last film you watched (or both!)?

Amy: We listened to a great audiobook in the car together on our drive back to Leeds after the Hollow Coves support shows we did at the end of September. It’s called Strong Female Character and it’s by Fern Brady. She voices the audiobook – she’s absolutely amazing, and it’s hilarious and heartfelt and sad in all the best ways.
Lily: The last film we watched together was Kinds of Kindness… I think it’s exploring controland sacrifice, with a lot of dark humour. We were both very overwhelmed when we left the cinema haha – we’d love to hear other people’s takes on it!

And lastly, after your European dates, what’s the plan for 2025?

Amy: We have a couple of new songs ready to go which feel SO exciting off the back of the EP, and a headline show announced for London in April, tickets on sale here. More to be announced soon x

You can catch up with Sunflower Thieves and find the Same Blood EP link here

Header shot by Nick Porter
Interview by Siobhan

Published 19th November 2024

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

You can follow Vacant weekend here: Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify

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

Published 5th July 2024

In conversation with Johnny Hunter
Interview by Kieran Tibbert

Johnny Hunter are a post-punk five-piece who have just relocated to the UK from Australia to continue their rise in the music industry. I spoke with them about their latest offering, where they began down under, and what the band have coming up in the near future…

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

JH: All over the shop mate! We decided to turn our lives quite literally upside down and move to your neck of the woods from Sydney, Australia to the Northern Hemisphere, England. It’s got its ups and downs but the world is our oyster as it sits upon our doorstep.

Your latest track Frustration was released on the 10th of May, how has the reaction to this track been so far?

Our fans love it, the radio back home has been supporting it nicely, so we’re happy with the response.

Tell us a bit more about the track, is there any particular meaning behind the title or lyrics?

The idea comes from a deep aggravation as to how things are going, for those with their head in the sand things may seem dandy but looking at the state of the world that’s pretty much not the case, right? From mass lockdowns, genocide to looming nuclear war. Our control over our own destiny has never seemed so far from our own reach. No one trusts anything anyone says anymore through fear of fabrication under the pantomime of AI and media. Frustration is our way of taking it in our stride and not letting the threat of impending dread consume us.

You’ve recently relocated to the UK from Australia, what were the reasons behind moving, and how have you found being in the UK so far?

Yes, we love our homeland, but to put it bluntly there are only a handful of cities to tour and they mostly cost an arm and a leg to get to. Also we want to explore the world, that’s the whole point of being a touring artist, no? The UK is such an anomaly, Peep Show and The Boosh have never made more sense to us.

Where did it all start for you back in Australia? Was there anything in particular that helped the band get going?

Sydney, we played in other bands and the nucleus of Johnny Hunter was developed through mutual music appreciation and a yearning for fiercer live shows, no Isaac Newton apple on the head moment, it just happened.

Since being back in the UK, you’ve performed at The Great Escape festival. How was your experience – how did it feel to be back on the stage?

The Great Escape was always the ‘be all and end all’ for us so it was quite a special experience, particularly since it was our first time in the UK and we played to packed rooms. The stage is home so it felt good to be home.

What is one thing which helps the band stand out from others?

My voice is the watermark!

What renowned music artists or bands do Johnny Hunter revere?

Bowie, Lorde, Muse, Depeche Mode, Roxy Music, LCD, Springsteen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Cure, Fontaines DC, Shame, The Last Dinner Party (more recently, the harmonies that band sing are heavenly), and Justice.

Are there any upcoming tracks that you’re looking forward to releasing – what does the rest of 2024 have in store for you?

Our next single is our most left field from the original Johnny Hunter sound. Its bloody audacious. There’ll be tours of the UK, tours of the EU, new songs and even more new songs!

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You can find Johnny Hunter here:
Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube

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

Published 27th June 2024

In conversation with Spielmann…
Interview by Kieran Tibbert

Spielmann (AKA Ben Lewis) is a music recording artist, producer and promoter active in the Leeds music scene, a city producing a diverse range of impressive material at the moment. Ben has been a central part of this scene for years, from guitarist in local indie group Menace Beach to being a prominent producer and live promoter. Spielmann is Ben finally stepping into his own spotlight as an artist, delivering fist-pumping, feel good sonics with bitingly witty lyrics. I was lucky enough to chat with Ben about his upcoming EP and what the rest of the year has to offer for him.

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

Ben: I’m very well, thanks. I am currently on a flight from New York to Seattle, using Wi-Fi, in the air, which is blowing my primitive mind. Off on a big, amazing honeymoon trip, dragging my wife around various ageing indie boy pilgrimages to places like KEXP and Ameoba, which excites me a lot.

To start off with, where does your stage persona/name of Spielmann come from? Is it a standout or cover-up?

It’s a family name, my mum is German and Spielmann was her mum’s maiden name, literally translates to the man who plays or something similar which felt pretty apt, as well as properly translating as ‘jester’ or something similar which is event more apt! It keeps a family name alive as well which is a nice addition. Remember to pronounce it right though, SHPEEL NOT SPEEL! Persona wise, it’s quite a lot of me in there, just a bit more of an obnoxious version, Spielmann’s telling you straighter than Ben is, they’re both good guys though.

You previously played as a guitarist for Menace Beach – how did this help kick-start what has so far been a successful career for you?

Yeah, MB are one of a long list of various bands and projects I’ve been involved in in various capacities, guitarist, songwriter, producer, driver, tour dad, friend, confidant. I guess all of it has contributed to where I’m at now with my music in its own various ways, varying from music taste all the way through to how I want to present the project in a live and on record context, gaining confidence to do what I’m doing and do it on my own. I can also mention it in press releases, that seem to help too. Career feels like a generous term for what I’m doing though!

You’ve appeared at various festivals and shows in the past, including The Great Escape among others. Do you have a particular favourite or a standout memory from one?

Green Man last summer was a pretty big moment; I was playing at 11.45am and it was hammering it down so was stood behind the stage expecting it to empty, got out there and it was super full, with people singing along to songs, people that I didn’t know as well, so that was a pretty affirming moment that what I’m doing was connecting with people, which meant a lot. At Deer Shed I got heckled by 2 seven-year-olds who were doing cartwheels in front of the stage throughout the whole set, that was a great experience too, really helped me develop the crowd work section of the set.

Before we get onto your new EP, you’ve recently released a new lead single, 10,000 hours, which was lucky enough to be premiered on BBC 6 Music. How would you describe this single, and how has the overall reaction been to the track so far?

It’s great, that’s description number one. It started life as me and my friend Harry (who plays in the very good band Adult DVD) talking about wanting to just write some out and out indie bangers, so I made the initial instrumental to send him which was super guitar-y. After a while it kept sticking in my head, so I decided to go back to it with more of a Spielmann hat on, whacked some synths and stuff on it. So yeah, I was trying to write a bit of a banger and think I’ve achieved that, in my opinion anyway. Lyrically I’m always trying to write something that might be a bit off the beaten track, shoehorn some humour into it, doesn’t always need to be so serious, I’m not a particularly serious person a lot of the time so it’s nice to reflect that. Reaction is a funny one, my mum said she liked it, I’ve got a group of friends who all play in bands and we send each other demos and ideas of songs and stuff like that, and they’ve all said it’s all the best thing I’ve done so far, so that’s enough validation for me to put it on the internet.

Your new EP is set for release at the end of May, called Fifteen Minutes with Spielmann. What can you tell us about this release?

It’s 4 tracks, it’s fifteen minutes long, it’s being released via EMI north and Launchpad in Leeds. I’ve decided to release it on a bag of coffee, I do these things that feel like good ideas at the time then end up being long winded (see the Spielmann-on-Spielmann videos on my Instagram). My thinking is that people like memorabilia, something a bit different, it’s fifteen mins long, pop on the kettle and have a cup of coffee whilst enjoying it, plus pressing vinyl when you have about 4 fans is pretty pricey. Other than that, it’s just really good, I put loads of effort in and think it’s the best thing I’ve done so far musically and lyrically.

Do any of the tracks on your EP stand out or hold a particular meaning to you? (And why?)

I think 10,000 Hours was the first immediate ‘oh that’s a single’ moment I’ve had. It’s a Lifetime is a nice mid/slower, just demonstrating my impressive range you know. They all mean something, the way I write as Spielmann is through the lens of how he sees the world, he sees it in a similar way to the way I do but maybe just tells it straighter, so there’s a good dose of me distilling stuff going on around me and talking about it through stories Spielmann is telling. Pretentious, eh?! But it’s a fun vehicle. Just Like Everybody Else has the most autobiographical flashes to it and is one where I’ve gone ‘this is what I want it sound like’ and actually achieved it, rather than an approximation.

The Leeds music scene is a euphoric factory for upcoming artists to produce and perform their music – What benefit, if any, have you gained from being so active in this diverse music scene?

Friends, that’s a big one, people around you doing or trying to do the same things as you who get it. A strong base level of where to start with things too, good people who want to put on shows or record you or play in your band or whatever. I’ve just been knocking around for so long that people are equally fed up with and intrigued with what I’m doing, which I guess isn’t the worst place to be. ‘Is this guy still doing it? Oh, but it’s actually not that bad.’ Maybe I’m projecting?

What are your thoughts on the direction the Leeds music scene is heading?

I think it’s super strong and diverse and that’s the same as ever, it’s just that now maybe the industry is looking at it more because of the success of some of the bands coming out who have done amazing things (Yard Act/English Teacher). There’s always about 30 shows on a night and loads of good stuff out there. Go listen to Braithe, Carpet, Adult DVD, Drum Wife, Fuzz Lightyear, Hang Linton, Sunflower Thieves, Slip Martin…loads of good stuff.

You have a big year lined up for your solo songwriting career; in addition to the new EP, what upcoming shows can we expect to see you at this year? Is there one you’re looking forward to the most?

Yeah, I’ve got a few festivals in, really looking forward to doing Get Together in Sheffield as that’s where I grew up so always means a lot to play there, and Future Now in Birkenhead is another I’m looking forward to, never been to the Future Yard venue there and it’s meant to be great. I’m also opening a few 5,000 cap shows for the Kaiser Chiefs in June which will be fun, see how the big boys do it. Plotting some headline shows too that I’ll be announcing at some point soon!

Spielmann has a lot to look forward to and we can hope to see him on the big stage very soon. You can find him on Instagram and pre-order your limited edition Fifteen Minutes with Spielmann coffee bag here – expected release date 31st March.

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Interview by Kieran Tibbert – Portfolio | Instagram | Twitter

Published 21st March 2024

Shining bright amongst the current wave of noteworthy new music coming out of Leeds, Adult DVD have come a long way since their lockdown inception. Multiple synths, dance-inducing tunes and a wry sense of humour make for an impressive live performance and, after catching a recent gig, we were keen to find out more about what the band have coming up on the horizon…

Hey, how are you all – can you give us a quick intro to Adult DVD and who’s involved?

Harry: Heya, all good thanks. There are 6 of us in DVD; myself, Harry – lead vocals, Greg – synth/vocals, Danny – Guitar/synth, Jake – synth, Jonny – Drums, and George – Bass/vocals. We’ve been going for around 3 years.

We caught your recent gig in Brighton which went down an absolute storm with the crowd, how was it for you?

H: Brighton was great, we had so much fun, definitely the highlight. Also, everyone was so nice to us, a beautiful place. We can’t wait to come back, it’s already confirmed, but more on that soon.

And how did the rest of the tour dates go, what kind of reaction are you getting generally?

H: Overall, a great run! It felt like things have grown since the last headline run for sure. Two sell-out shows, we were chuffed!

Tell us about the current Leeds scene, what makes the city such a catalyst for new music? 

Greg: Leeds is home to multiple iconic venues and the music scene is pretty eclectic! Because Leeds is small you can find yourself at multiple shows throughout the week, discovering new music and new artists on your doorstep.

There’s a whole lot of synth on stage when you play, who would you count as having made great synth music across the decades?

G: For me, it would be the French artist Dombrance and his previous band DBFC. I have yet to see him live and annoyingly he is playing the day after us at the Pelpass Festival in Strasbourg.
H: CSS! They are back touring this year, can’t wait.

Do you have a favourite track that you’ve written so far – what’s the story behind it?

H: Yacht Money. Lyrically it’s actually quite morbid, it’s about growing up, the good life, financial troubles (selling the yacht) and getting old, all within 4 minutes 28 seconds. It’s everything we could want in a song.

If all of you had to take part in a reality TV show which one would you choose and who would win?

H: Come Dine With Me. We are always discussing what everyone had for their tea, whenever we see each other. Jonny would win by a mile, his curries are great.
G: I’m a celeb’, I just want to meet Ant and Dec.

As a follow up, you get invited to appear on Mastermind – what’s your specialist subject?

H: Knowing what everyone had for their tea. The rest of the band I mean, not everyone in the world.
G: Oh easy! the names of all the minions.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

H: We are currently working on some new stuff that will be out this year. We are touring in Europe too over May.

G: We have some more UK gigs later in the year, which will be announced soon.

And if there’s one thing you could tick off your 2024 bucket list, what would it be?   

H: Play the Vegas Sphere.
G: Maybe some pyrotechnics next time we play Brighton and crowd surfing.
H: Not near the pyrotechnics though, please.

Check out more from Adult DVD here, and don’t pass up on the chance to see them live when those new dates are announced. Maybe take some kind of fire blanket with you, but definitely go along.

Interview and photos from The Prince Albert, Brighton © Siobhan – 16 Beasley St Photography

Published 27th February 2024