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Now, this is a band you need to check out, not only because they have a brilliant album due out this summer, but because they are playing the next CMU Social on the 1 July at 229.
This Leeds based experimental rock band formed in 2005 in Leeds and having been picking up increased interest of late, and for good reason.
To get you in the mood ahead of their Social set, the band's Tom Evans gives us the lowdown with a little help from Martin Teff. |
Q1 How did you start out making music?
We've all been playing in bands since we were teenagers, but this band is fundamentally the result of when Lee and Tim met about eight years ago and started jamming together, with a shared love of American old-school emo (Texas Is The Reason, Appleseed Cast, Mineral, Juno. etc.) and post rock (Mogwai, Sigur Ros...). In 2005 the lineup solidified with Martin and Tom in the fold. The name Vessels stuck and we recorded a self-titled EP. Pete joined last summer to give us some extra fingers vocal chords.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
In terms of actually writing the album, Old Jamaican Ginger Beer and Oranjeboom lager beer had a reasonably hefty part to play, as well as the lovely and supportive Hyde Park music scene in Leeds. Also, Ben from Cuckundoo Records and our drummer, Tim, both with endless enthusiasm for sharing their new musical discoveries. In terms of recording the album, being in a snow-drenched Minnesota recording studio with one of our favourite producers, John Congleton was pretty inspiring as well.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
There are three main ways that we write. Lee has a constant avalanche of riffs and ideas pouring out of him, so sometimes he puts them together on his laptop and if we like it we'll learn the parts and reproduce it live. Most of the time, he'll present us with ideas in the rehearsal room and we'll put them together, adding our own parts and bickering about which bits work and which don't, until we come out the other side (usually a month or two later) with a finished pice of music. This also happens with people other than Lee instigating the process, but less often (the dude's a total riff-factory). The third way, which is always cool when it happens, is when we walk into our rehearsal space, don't say a word to each other, pick up our instruments and jam something totally new. From time to time, something completely magical emerges (if you'll excuse the cliche!). A lot of our songs are the result of recording everything we do and refining the best bits.
Q4 Which artists influence your work
Our inspirations are endless, as we are all musical impurists. The bands/labels which we've all been fairly deeply affected by in the last few years probably include Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think, Explosions In The Sky, The Appleseed Cast, Battles, Warp Records, Ninja Tune, The Leaf Label, Mogwai, Murcof, Isis, Blackalicious, Meshuggah, Sub-Pop, All Tomorrows Parties, The Album Leaf, Berg Sans Nipple... The list is endless, as it should be.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Close your eyes.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest single, and for the future?
We like all our music to have an emotional impact on the listener. I think if you can achieve that, then you've done your job as a musician. As for future plans, I'd like to continue our steady rise on the UK music scene and really establish ourselves in the UK. At the same time, I'd really like to see the band develop internationally, with the release of our debut album 'White Fields And Open Devices'. We'll be heading to Europe in the next six months or so, and we're planning head for Japan and America after that.
published june 2008
