On 15th February 2016, I joined CelebMix as a freelance journalist. Since then, I've written over 52 entertainment articles and interviewed over 14 celebrities for the website. You can view all of my work for CelebMix here on my official author page. New stories will be added to the page as and when they're published. Links to my articles can also be found below!
Were you crying on your bedroom floor when Stereo Kicks split up? If so, you’ll be happy to hear that the guys are still gigging around the country as solo artists. Last month, we chatted to former members Tom Mann and Barclay Beales before their concert with ViewMyGig in Manchester!
Stereo Kicks may have called it a day back in July but their individual music careers are far from over and they often play at the same shows. Tom recently released an amazing new EP titled ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’ and as a side project, he’s also formed a duo with Barclay called Crosstalk. You can view more details about their joint venture here.
After interviewing Tom and Barclay, we can tell you one thing – they’re incredibly down to Earth. They may joke about being ‘screwed’ but they’ve certainly achieved a lot in the past year. The music industry is a competitive world and the guys have lots to be proud of. Not many singers can say that they’ve played on stage at massive arenas across the country but the guys did just that with Stereo Kicks as part of The X Factor Tour earlier this year.
In our exclusive SuprTickets interview, Tom and Barclay spoke about: life on the road, Tom’s new EP ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’, Pokémon, their plans for the future and much more. They also gave some advice to the contestants on this year’s series of The X Factor. You can read some highlights and listen to the hilarious interview in full below!
Tom – you recently released your new EP ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’. For people who haven’t yet heard it, how would you describe the EP? Tom: “I think it’s quite honest. It was from a perspective of not having to write like ‘I’ve got to write this song at this tempo in this key.’ I just wrote it. There’s no real structure to it; I wrote it because it’s what I feel and what I did feel at the time. So expect some honesty and some heartfelt songs and lyrics.”
Where did inspiration for the title ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’ come from? Tom: “I really wanted to use that as a song and I actually thought, with Stereo Kicks, if we ended up ever recording an album then that would be a great album name because it was just in the blink of an eye; everything that happened for us was in like the click of a finger. Bam! It changed from being a soloist to going into 8 members of a boyband overnight and being touted the next One Direction. Then going to judges houses, live shows, doing a tour and doing a single. It was all in one breath. That sort of sums up my past year.”
You both did The X Factor in previous years too, didn’t you? Tom: “Yeah, yeah we did. (*laughs*) Why are you laughing Barclay?” Barclay: “Yeah, I was there.” (*laughs*) Tom: “We actually did, when we were at boot camp, we had a challenge one and a challenge two. In challenge one, you do like a sing-off. It’s like three guys and they’ll either put all three through or two through or one through or none. Me and Barclay were in that category together so we sang.” Barclay: “But they didn’t show it.” Tom: “They never showed challenge one for some reason but we sang ‘Treasure’ by Bruno Mars. It was me, you (Barclay) and another lad. It was like together but we were technically against each other. But we both got through.”
Did you keep in touch before Stereo Kicks got put together then? Tom: “A little, here and there. We saw each other at the audition but we were never as close as what we are now.” Barclay: “Tom was a bit too big man. (*laughs*) He’d kind of be like ‘You alright Barcs?’ before he’d swagger off and leave.” Tom: “You know when you’ve got that number in your phone and you’re just like ‘delete’. (*laughs*) If he’d have got to judges houses, I’d have kept his number just in case.”
We’re obsessed with ‘Always Love’, the first song on the EP, and it’s currently climbing the iTunes charts – can we expect more tracks like that from you in the future? Tom: “Thank you. Yeah, I think so, it depends if I go on to produce and record stuff for myself. My passion is songwriting but I like doing it as a job for other people. So I don’t really know what I’m doing as a solo artist at the moment but I really enjoyed writing that song and producing that song. Like you say, a lot of people seem to have taken to that more than the other two.”
‘+1’, the final track on the EP, is a love letter to your girlfriend Danielle. How did she feel when she first heard the song? Barclay: “Is that what it’s called?” Tom: “It’s called ‘+1’, yeah.” Barclay: “Oh, is it? You didn’t go for the original then.” Tom: “No, I didn’t go for the original.” SuprTickets: “What was the original?” Tom: “Danielle. (*laughs*)” Barclay: “When he first recorded it, he sent me a demo and it was just called ‘Danielle.’” Tom: “That was another track that we thought about using for Stereo Kicks. We were gonna do, mid-way through this year, a big launch celebration party for the single but we didn’t manage our time very well so we had to cancel it. That was going to be a song that we were going to include in our set. So that was more of a song that I’d written but I didn’t want to throw it away so I thought I’d use that. So yeah, it’s very wet and very soppy.”
You’re currently touring with ViewMyGig – what’s your favourite thing about playing live shows? Tom: “We don’t actually really know yet, as soloists, we haven’t done it for ages. I used to love being part of the band and travelling with all of our mates. When playing a show, I felt a lot less pressure than what I feel now because you’ve got seven other people to pick you up when you screw up. Now we’re on a stage where, if we’re gonna screw up, it’s just our fault and now I’m even more nervous for the show.” Barclay: “Here’s my other issue; I’ve got my tracks on WhatsApp. So if my phone rings, half way through my set, it’ll just stop. Then I don’t know what I’ll have to do.”
You released ‘Love Me So’ as your single with Stereo Kicks – how did it feel when that entered the top 40 of the charts? Barclay: “We were gutted.” (*laughs*) Tom: “All the promo was great, it was a good laugh. We always enjoy doing it. Like the CD signings, that was a first for us. The in-store stuff was really good. I just remember it went it at number 12 which was a great start.” Barclay: “We were obviously expecting it to do quite well. then we got the news that it was like 31.” Tom: “And we were like, ‘oh, we’re screwed’. It was a weird week but I guess, when you look at it, there was no label. We didn’t have a label, there was no major radio play so we can be proud of something I guess. It’s so hard.”
You both recently announced a project together as a duo – can you tell us more about Crosstalk? Tom: “It’s sort of an on-the-side project for now because Barclay’s got a couple of things going on. It’s with an agency down my way in Southampton and that was mainly because we’re still up for playing live but we enjoy each other’s company. Within the band, we were like better mates of the eight and we said then that we don’t actually enjoy performing alone as much. So we thought we’d just see how it goes. We’ve already taken some bookings so I think that’s mostly next year.” Barclay: “We just decided to create a kind of like an event band; so if people want to book us. We went down and recorded a few tunes to put on the website, we did a mini photoshoot and we’ve got a few gigs booked in the pipeline. We’ve got to rehearse for them. We’re going to learn two hours of stuff and then we can pick what stuff we should sing for what events. Depending on how Tom feels, we could start writing stuff together as well which I’m sure will happen soon.”
The X Factor is back on TV at the moment – what advice would you give to this year’s contestants? Barclay: “Just be confident. Even if you’re not confident, look it. Because if you look nervous then people see right through you and it kind of ruins the performance. I’m a fine one to talk because I look nervous all the time but that would be my one piece of advice. Oh and song choice as well – make sure you pick the right song.” Tom: “For the show in general, you’ve just got to enjoy it. Take it all in because out of hundreds of thousands of people that audition, only a certain amount of people get selected to be shown on TV and make that final 12 or wherever you want to make. It’s a massive opportunity so you should feel very grateful if you get in that position and just enjoy every moment of it because, I know for a fact that I didn’t. Especially the first year, I didn’t because I was so nervous and I was so worried about what people would think of me. Would I look alright on camera? Did I sing every note in tune? I was paranoid because it goes out to the nation so I’d say just relax your shoulders a bit, really enjoy the experience because it is once in a lifetime. If it goes well, great. Just be yourself.”
And if you could leave a message for everyone who’s supported you on your journey so far, what would you say? Tom: “I would just say thank you so much for sticking with me and obviously, there’s fans from The X Factor the previous year – before Stereo Kicks – so thank you if you followed me through that journey as well. I hope you can stick around for the next part and the next chapter of the journey. I always love stuff like this – seeing people come to it and doing the meets and greets, things like that. So thank you so much.” Barclay: “I’d say thank you to everyone that’s supported me so far. You’ve been amazing and I couldn’t dream of having support like we’ve had so thank you.”
At their concert in Manchester, Tom and Barclay played a mix of original tracks and well-known covers. It’s safe to say that they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. We’re glad Tom sang our personal favourite song ‘Always Love’ and Barclay smashed his cover of ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri. The pair performed alongside several other talented artists on the night and we’d definitely recommend that you buy tickets to one of their next ViewMyGig shows.
Make sure you follow: @TomMannMusic, @BarclayBeales and @ViewMyGig on Twitter to find out where they’ll be heading next. Current gigs (including one in Paris) are listed on their social media and more details will be posted as and when new gigs are announced. Tom will also be touring with his former Stereo Kicks bandmate Casey Johnson in January next year; you can see where they’ll be heading here. That’s one not to be missed.
Tom’s incredible new EP ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’ is available here on iTunes and you can, of course, also purchase a copy of ‘Love Me So’ by Stereo Kicks here. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Tom, Barclay and the rest of Stereo Kicks. Hopefully there’ll be new solo music and lots more gigs too.
Watch Tom and Barclay perform everything from Paramore to Maroon 5 in their first Crosstalk video below. Let us know your thoughts!
To celebrate the release of his catchy new single ‘Miss Understood’, Nathan Grisdale played two special intimate shows in the UK earlier this month. We chatted to the rising star backstage before his gig in Manchester!
With incredible vocals and inspirational lyrics, it’s no surprise that Nathan is making waves in the music industry. His track ‘Lone Soldier’ never fails to give us goosebumps; it’s extremely emotional. Nathan is signed to Boxx Records and he’s currently recording new songs in the recording studio. We literally can’t wait to hear them.
It’s fair to say that Nathan is a master when it comes to social media. In less than a year, he’s found himself with over 600,000 fans and that’s just on Facebook alone. In the past, YouTube helped launch the career of Justin Bieber and MySpace introduced Lily Allen to the world. Now, Facebook is helping Nathan spread the word about his music.
In our exclusive SuprTickets interview, Nathan discussed: his new single ‘Miss Understood’, the importance of social media and more. Check out his answers to our questions below!
Your new single ‘Miss Understood’ is now available. For people who haven’t heard it, how would you describe the song?
“It’s got quite a reggae feel to the song. It’s basically about a girl being misunderstood; people don’t get her. I can kind of relate to that in school and in things like that. So yeah, that’s the reason why I wrote it and that’s the thing behind it.”
And you filmed the official video in Blackpool – how did you find the video shoot?
“Yeah, it were really good. It was a long day but obviously you’ve got to expect that because it’s a video shoot. The weather were good and I love Blackpool because I love rides but I didn’t get to go on the rides that day.”
You’re playing live shows in Manchester and London this month – what do you enjoy most about touring?
“Meeting the fans, getting a great reaction and the buzz that you get on stage – you can’t describe it, it’s just unreal.”
Are there any funny stories that you can tell us from life on the road?
“Probably sharing a bunk with Jack Lavelle. He stayed in the bunk below me and, he’ll hate me for this, but he never like washed his clothes so it kind of stunk a little bit. Yeah, that were quite funny.”
Who would you say some of your biggest musical influences are?
“I like people that have come from the bottom like Ed Sheeran – he was busking and look at him now; he’s absolutely huge. He’s done it all on his own so that’s unreal.”
So if you could duet with anyone in the world – would it be Ed Sheeran?
“Probably yeah. Or Justin Bieber; a lot of people hate him but I think he’s awesome.”
You’re a fantastic songwriter. Are there any lyrics that you’re particularly proud of writing?
“Thank you. Good question. I’ve got a new song coming which I’ve wrote with some band members and I’m really proud of that one. I can’t say much more yet but I think that’s going to be a big one. You can expect to hear that in the next coming months.”
When making a song, do you start by writing the lyrics first or by producing the beat first?
“I’d usually start by putting my headphones on, listening to the beats and trying to get creative. I go into a sort of mind-set where I can relate to certain situations, then start writing and hope that it turns out good.”
Your song ‘Too Young To Die’ tackles the issue of cyberbullying – what advice would you give to anyone being bullied?
“I’d say don’t care what people think, stay close to the people that mean the most to you and be yourself because it’s pointless trying to fit in. Bullies in the long run aren’t going to get anywhere.”
Many soldiers have said that they’ve been touched by the lyrics of ‘Lone Soldier’. Are there any comments from fans that have stuck with you or warmed your heart in particular?
“Going to the ‘Lone Soldier’ thing – usually it’s young girls who like my music but it’s spread out a bit to guys that can relate to that who’ve served on the front line and in the army. Yeah, I’m glad that I could write that song to help them in their life and that they can relate to it as well.”
You’ve got a huge presence online and many of your videos have gone viral – how important is social media to you?
“Well, without social media, I wouldn’t be here. I hope they don’t delete Facebook. *laughs* Yeah, it’s very powerful. I never thought I’d be doing gigs. Not even supporting people – doing my own gigs in Manchester with a lot of people watching which is crazy. So yeah, it’s very powerful.”
A lot of singers now take the talent show route to break into the industry – is that something you’ve ever considered?
“No, I don’t have anything against people that take the talent show route but I can’t really say because I’ve done it through Facebook and have a fanbase. If I didn’t have a fanbase, I’d probably go on a talent show. I’ve got nothing against that.” What does the future have in store for Nathan Grisdale?
“Hopefully, I want to be getting top 40s. I want to be playing in front of more and more people. Hopefully that can happen and people keep supporting me.”
And if you could leave a message for everyone who’s supported you on your journey so far, what would you say?
“I would say thank you very much and I hope they keep supporting me. Hopefully I can keep writing bigger and better songs that they can relate to and yeah, hopefully they can carry on this journey with me.”
2015 has certainly been a massive year for Nathan Grisdale so we can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for him. The Blackburn born singer-songwriter received a fantastic reaction from an adoring audience in Manchester and his concert is one that we’ll never forget. Nathan’s legion of fans is growing day by day.
‘Miss Understood’ is currently available here on iTunes and you can also purchase physical copies here on Nathan’s official online store. The single follows Nathan’s previous tracks: ‘Lost‘, ‘Lone Soldier‘, ‘Smile‘ and ‘Only One‘. There’s also tons more original tracks and covers here on Nathan’s Facebook page.
What do you think of ‘Miss Understood’ by Nathan Grisdale? Make sure you watch the single’s video and let us know your thoughts below!
Having broken records with their brilliant debut album 'Brave', The Shires are currently on the road for their very first headline UK tour. We caught up with the talented country duo before their very own concert in Manchester!
The Shires is a collaboration between Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle. Since forming in 2013, the pair have been making headlines for all the right reasons and their outstanding harmonies have helped them receive backing from BBC Radio 2.
Ben and Crissie finally released their eagerly-anticipated album 'Brave' earlier this year and it impressively made chart history. The Shires became the first British country act to score a top 10 album here in the UK and we couldn't be happier for them.
In our exclusive interview, The Shires spoke about: their very first headline UK tour, their brand new single 'State Lines', which drink they'd choose if they wanted to 'get a little drunk on a Friday night' and much more.
Check out their answers to our questions below!
For people who haven't yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound? Crissie: "Ooh well we're a mix between country and pop music so the sound's influenced by what we were brought up with in the 90's. It's just kind of well-rounded songs, right?" Ben: "Yeah totally, we both love country music. That's our thing and we've been listening for different amounts of time. Crissie has been listening all her life really whereas I got into country quite late - sort of three years ago. I heard Lady Antebellum, their song 'Need You Now', and that just started it off for me. That song is pretty much responsible for us two getting together really. I put a thing out on Facebook saying I'd love for a singer to sing these songs with me that I'd written after Lady A had written that song and yeah, we got together after that basically."
You’re currently on your very first headline UK tour - how are you finding it? Crissie: "It's a whole lot of fun. We've had great shows so far and we're looking forward to many more as well. The crowds have been amazing. We were in Glasgow last and they were all singing still even when we'd gone off stage. We said this is the end and they were just singing and chanting at us the 'Tonight' song." Ben: "I've never experienced that before. It was absolutely crazy." Crissie: "We got a little video and put it on our Instagram straight away because we were just blown away by that. It was like a football crowd or something. We're really proud and it was really good."
Would you say 'Tonight' is one of your favourite songs to perform live at shows then? Ben: "That's always good because it ends the set and it's a big song. We're playing pretty much the whole album on this tour. There's songs like 'Jekkyl & Hyde', for example, that we couldn't play really well by ourselves but with our band we get all of that energy. When it's just us acoustically, an uptempo song like 'Jekkyl & Hyde' doesn't really work but with the band it's just been great. There's people dancing, people having a great time singing and also people singing back the lyrics to us for pretty much every song - all the album tracks as well. I think the uptempo ones we're really enjoying this time: 'Nashville Grey Skies', 'Friday Night', 'Tonight' and 'Jekkyl & Hyde'."
How did you come up with your name The Shires? Crissie: "Ben turned to me and said 'right, we need a name and I need it now' and I was like oh gosh ok. I think it was the first one, if not one of the first ones, that we came up with. It's basically because we lived in different shires so I know that when I went to uni, I would always say to my friends that 'I'm going back to the shire' so it's British and it's easy to remember as well which is always good for finding us on the internet and stuff." Ben: "It really represents what we think of us as English country. We really want to retain our Britishness and be British and English and what sums up that for us. I spent my time in Somerset growing up, you (Crissie) grew up in the shires so it really just sums it up."
You just recently filmed a music video for 'State Lines' in Los Angeles - what made you choose that as the next single? Ben: "It was one of our favourite songs and we started out just really doing loads of ballads. We were all ballads." Crissie: "It was really refreshing actually to meet someone who loved ballads as much as I did. I was a massive fan of ballads and then meeting Ben and knowing that he'd written songs like 'Black and White' and 'Brave' - that was exciting to be able to sing those songs. We've had three singles so far that have been really uptempo: 'Nashville Grey Skies', 'Tonight' and 'Friday Night'. We just wanted to strip it back to where we started and 'State Lines' seemed like the one to go for."
We love your single 'Friday Night’. If you were to get a little drunk on Friday night - what would your drink of choice be? Ben: "We've been on a lot of whiskey this tour so far, haven't we?" Crissie: "You have, I haven't." (*laughs*) Ben: "We got given a really amazing bottle of I think it was 12 year old scotch." Crissie: "What happened? Did it get drunk?" Ben: "It's on the bus now; for a bit. We got given a 12 year old bottle of scotch for selling out Òran Mór and I've never really liked whiskey that much but trying this... it just tasted so nice. So I think whiskey at the moment for me." Crissie: "Whiskey for you and I've just taken up red wine. I'm kind of enjoying that at the moment, it's a different kind of drunk state on a red wine so I quite like it. It's being a merry state really."
Have you got any pre-show rituals then? Ben: "Yes, they're all secret." (*laughs*)
And, of course, you just recently made chart history with your debut album. Congratulations. How does it feel to be the first British country act to score a top 10 album here in the UK? Both: "Thank you very much." Crissie: "It's pretty surreal. It was a little bit crazy and I don't think it's really sunk in for the two of us. It was an amazing moment when we found out on the stage at Country 2 Country in front of all the country fans - well, all what 20,000 or so of the country fans here in the UK and there was so much support in that room that day. Our label Decca had said to us that there might be a chance that you could get into the top 10 and we thought 'oh no, that's not going to happen at all but we'll go with it and let's try'. We just couldn't believe that it actually happened. There was so much support from everyone in the UK to help us to get there so we're very, very grateful for sure."
Obviously you were 'Made in England' - but do you feel like you've now built your own Nashville here in the UK? Ben: "I think it's happening. I mean we can't say it's all us by any means but it's great that in the short space of time that I've been in country, I've seen this huge rise. Especially with Country 2 Country." Crissie: "So quickly as well." Ben: "The year before we met, Crissie went and said that the difference in terms of ages but also the scale of it - from that year to the first year we went together and also we went obviously this year. It was huge." Crissie: "And people were wearing their stetsons and cowboy boots whereas the fans that are turning up to our gigs aren't. They aren't wearing that kind of stereotype which is so refreshing. I mean I absolutely love seeing it, it's fun but it's almost like it doesn't need to be a stereotype genre of music anymore which is really refreshing here in the UK for sure."
There's lots of heartfelt emotions on the album - are there any lyrics that you're particularly proud of? Ben: "I think in terms of what we're proud of, and what I'm proud of most, are the lyrics in 'State Lines'. Just the concept I thought was really clever (*laughs*) can I say that about my own songwriting? It's one of those sessions where we just sat down and it just worked. It was fully formed straight away whereas some ideas you go and change and they morph and they become worse or better. I think my favourite lyric would be 'Made In England' - the 'fish and chips' one." Crissie: "Yes, getting 'fish and chips' in there and 'milk and tea' somehow."
What made you choose 'Brave' as the title track for your album? Ben: "That again was actually Crissie mainly." (*laughs*) Crissie: "It's been there from the very beginning really. Before we met, Ben had written that song and it seems to relate with a lot of other fans as well as us so it just seemed like a way of tying the whole album together."
Who would you say some of your musical influences are? Crissie: "Growing up, for me, my nan would teach me the old songs so: Patsy Cline, Charley Pride and a bit of Dolly Parton. Then, as I grew a little older, I'd listen to: LeAnn Rimes, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, Martina McBride... all of the big ballad/country singers. And then, more recently, The Civil Wars and Lady Antebellum." Ben: "Yeah, mine was a lot more songwritery in terms of 70's and 80's so I listened to a lot of: James Taylor, Carole King, and Stevie Wonder. More recently, like Crissie said, sort of: The Civil Wars and Lady Antebellum." Both: "Brad Paisley. (*laughs*) Jinx."
What does the rest of 2015 have in store for The Shires? Crissie: "Probably minimal days off. (*laughs*) We love doing what we do so we have lots of festivals coming up which we'll be announcing on Facebook and Twitter. We're heading back to Nashville again; we haven't been there for nearly a year now so it'll be good to head back there. We have just got our debut Grand Ole Opry performance scheduled in so we're absolutely buzzing for that right now. Hopefully another tour later in the year and then the second album probably - we'll start writing."
And if you could leave a message for everyone who's supported you on your journey so far, what would you say? Ben: "Just thank you, firstly, so much. We really are so grateful and it's just a really exciting time for country in general. I think people who've got an idea of what they think country is maybe should try and listen to it and I think they'll be surprised. It surprised me and we have a lot of people coming to our gigs who bring their friends along and it surprises them. It's not what you think it is and I think, you know, let's just keep going with this country thing."
The Shires will next be performing in Chatham on the 25th April and they have several dates left of their current tour so make sure you put your country boots on and grab tickets while you still can. Following that, they'll be performing at several festivals this summer and returning for another UK tour this October.
'Brave' is currently available on CD and you can also purchase it here on iTunes. With catchy upbeat numbers such as 'Jekyll and Hyde' and beautiful ballads such as 'I Just Wanna Love You', there really is something for everyone and it's easily one of our favourite albums this year. Country music has never been so cool.
What do you think of 'State Lines' by The Shires? Make sure you watch the single's official video and let us know your thoughts below!
In support of their incredible new EP 'You Want Me', In Hindsight hit the road last week for a special UK tour. They played shows in five different cities and we spoke with the boys backstage before their concert in Manchester!
In Hindsight is made up of three talented guys and it's clear that there's a great chemistry in the band. Michael Newcombe plays bass and is the lead singer, Daniel Newcombe works his magic on the drums and Isaac Anderson is responsible for rocking out on the guitar.
With a name inspired by The Inbetweeners and musical influences ranging from Chris Brown to Busted, In Hindsight are definitely a band with a difference. Their unique sound and handsome good looks has gained the boys a legion of fans who have a limitless amount of love for them. Michael, Isaac and Dan certainly know how to entertain a crowd.
In our exclusive interview, In Hindsight spoke about: recording their new EP, their dream collaborations and much more. Check out their answers to our questions below!
For people who haven't yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound? Michael: “I would describe it as pop/R&B songs influenced by a little bit of hip-hop in places but played in a rock band.” Dan: “It's a lot of genres but yeah, we hopefully pull it off.” Isaac: “I think it covers a lot bases personally.”
You’ve just released your new EP 'You Want Me' - how does it feel to finally put the songs out to your fans? Michael: “Obviously it's been a long time coming for us. We wrote the songs ages ago and then demoed them, recorded them and then we mixed them so it's kind of relieving to finally get them out I'd say because now the fans can finally hear them in full and get to know the words. It's just in time for the tour. I guess tonight’s crowd will have had not very long to learn it all.” Dan: “They've responded to it really well though. A lot of people have been tweeting their favourite song and learning the lyrics so hopefully they'll all be singing tonight. I'll be impressed if they know all of the words.” Isaac: “I think it's really good. I think, personally, it's our best collection of songs we've ever done. It's really good to have that out in the open for people to just enjoy really.” Michael: “Yeah, to get a taste of what we're about. If they've never heard us, it's an up to date representation of our sound.”
How would you say it's different to your previous releases? Isaac: “I'd say it's probably more poppy.” Dan: “More mature as well, it's sort of more defined.” Michael: “We've learnt a lot more about how to write a song and a lot more about melodies. It’s a bit more poppy in terms of genre I'd say.” Isaac: “I think it covers more bases as well. It's a bit more experimental in some places. We weren't scared to push the boat out a bit and use more keys.” Michael: “Yeah, we rap in places which we haven't done before.”
Like you said, you rap on 'Limitless Love'. Can we expect to hear more rap from you in the future? Michael: “I hope so, I'm a big fan of rap. Rick Ross is playing at Manchester Academy 1 tonight.” Isaac: “Yeah, we're not going to be on stage tonight. We're just going to be watching Rick Ross.” (*laughs*) Michael: “I'm influenced by quite a lot of hip-hop so when we were writing songs for this, it kind of came naturally for me to put some raps in. I mean there's a chance our next batch of songs, our next release, will have more rap but who knows?” Dan: “There's a chance that we'll be rapping tonight on stage as well.”
What's the process behind making an In Hindsight song? Do you usually write lyrics first or start with the beat? Michael: “I think it kind of depends how we sit down to do the song. There’s times where it'll be just the piano and vocals and we just kind of think of some cool chords and go from there. There'll be times where we'll be travelling a lot, which we've been doing a lot of this year, and I'll be on my notebook writing down lyrics. Mostly, it'll come from an idea a lot of the time or a vision of how we want a song to sound and then we'll kind of start trying to put that into melody and put that into chords.” Dan: “The time it takes from initial idea to completion varies quite a lot. There's been tracks that we've come up with in a day or something like that and others that we'll have to battle with for quite a while to get what we want out of it.” Isaac: “Yeah, we're really happy with the EP. Some songs I think go through a lot of different stages. I think there's a couple of songs on the EP that started out very different from how they are at the moment.” Michael: “It's cool to think that some of our songs we will have just literally written in Dan's bedroom or in a car or something but now they’re being heard by people in these huge venues. We get to see the crowd singing along to them which is amazing. We love that.”
We love the title track 'You Want Me' and would say that it's got a very unique sound - where did the idea to feature sirens come from? Michael: “I've got to give credit to the producer Kieran Marshall on those sirens. We knew we wanted the track to sound quite bad boy with a kind of hip-hop vibe. That’s how it started out, with a 90's hip-hop beat, which we then kind of turned into a more rocky sound. Yeah, he just sent us some mixes back of the song. He put the sirens in with this big sub-bass and we were feeling it. I’ve got to give him credit for that one.” Isaac: “That song kind of started as a little bit of a joke. I’ve actually got a recording on my phone of the very first time that we jammed it through and it was just sort of a bit of a laugh shouting the lyrics and stuff. But then it actually turned into the lead-single off the EP.” Michael: “We’re a bunch of jokers a lot of the time, behind the scenes, so I’m glad that’s come through.”
Can you tell us any funny stories from on the road? All: *laughs* Michael: “There’s been a lot, I don’t know if they’re appropriate.” Dan: “We spend sort of all our lives with each other so in order to prevent each other from going crazy we kind of have to make up these new characters. We put on different voices and sort of different hats.” Isaac: “I’m usually stuck with the performing monkey. An event will happen and that will transpire to this whole scenario and a character with a back-story.” Dan: “Our imaginations kind of take it a bit too far.” Michael: “We’ll probably make a cartoon or something some day.” Isaac: “Or seek a therapist” (*laughs*) Michael: "We had this really serious day where we were talking and saying 'Isaac, you should do this sketch show.'” Isaac: “It hasn’t happened yet but it might do one day.” Michael: “We reckon Isaac’s got a future in cartoons.” Dan: “Or a future in comedy.” Isaac: “Well when the band has run it’s course, maybe. Who knows?”
And 'Black & White' is all about the feelings of a relationship in relation to colour - do you write most of your songs from personal experiences? Michael: “Yeah. With ‘Black & White’, funnily enough, the idea behind the lyrics is that being away from somebody it’s not the same. There was a time where we were doing a tour for a long time. Last year, we were visiting a lot of schools but it was just me and Isaac. Daniel wasn’t there so I was missing Dan and the lyrics first started out coming from that kind of thought of me missing Daniel. It started out being about friendship and we twisted the lyrics a bit to make it about a girl. I think some of the songs do come from personal emotion or a lot of the time it could just be something that sounds cool as well, maybe a cool title idea or a cool concept. I think it’s easier when it comes from the heart.” Isaac: “I know with ‘Limitless Love’ - I think the title came first, the lyrics were built around it.”
As you said, you’ve recently been going into schools to help talk tackle bullying - can you tell us more about that? Michael: “We did a presentation on anti-bullying online because it is a big problem and it happens a lot - especially on things like Twitter and Instagram. People will take digs at each other.” Dan: “We see it a lot and we got a chance to team up with this really great charity that helped us out and put us in those schools which was fun for us. Then we sort of educated them a little bit and told them to be nice to each other online.” Isaac: “It’s not hard really, is it? With the schools thing, we did a bit of it and it really helped build our fanbase which was cool.”
You're doing some more Secret Sessions around the country in July - how would you compare those to the tour that you're on now? Michael: “They’re more relaxed. When we do our big tours, we put a lot of effort into rehearsal and the planning of the stage show. We take it very seriously. When it’s Secret Sessions, it’s more kind of: laid-back, chilling out with the fans and having a laugh with them. We still take the music seriously obviously but it’s a lot more of a relaxed chilled out atmosphere.” Dan: “It’s a meet and greet session rather than a ‘we’re here, watch us play’ kind of thing.” Isaac: “It’s interactive. It’s not like ‘the band is here, the audience is here’. It’s more like the two intertwined.” Dan: “We get to know the fans a bit better and they get to know us. It’s cool.” Isaac: “It’s often less than 100 people at each one which is cool because you have time to know everyone in the venue instead of just being like a sea of faces.”
Who would you say some of your biggest musical influences are? Michael: “I’d say for me, I like a lot of R&B singers. Chris Brown is an all-time favourite. Michael Jackson - I love his new album ‘Escape’ and think it’s really cool how he actually made it when he was dead. It’s a bit impressive. I like a lot of different stuff.” Isaac: “For me, I was sort of raised on rock really. The first band I properly got into was Busted and the fact that they played guitars sort of made me want to learn guitar. Then I discovered Nirvana, Green Day and the Foo Fighters. I’m still into that kind of stuff but I’m into a lot of pop stuff as well like Taylor Swift - I’m really into her. She’s a great songwriter and I love the new album. ‘1989’ is fantastic.” Dan: “Mine’s always changing. Today, I’m really into a soul singer called D’Angelo. He’s basically this cool singer, I don’t know if he’s still around actually. He took this big hiatus, I think he’s doing a comeback tour at the moment but he’s made some great music and the musicians that work with him are really talented. It’s good to listen to that and learn from it.”
Who would some of your dream collaborations be then? Would it be Chris Brown, Taylor Swift and D’Angelo? Michael: “Yeah, I think so. One of my dream collaborations is Dappy who used to be in N-Dubz. I’ve heard some of his solo songs and they’re bangers. He doesn’t mess about, they’re just these big tunes and I think he’d be a good person to work with. He raps as well.” Isaac: “With a rapper would be quite interesting. I think Pharrell would be really cool because he’s sort of behind the scenes very sneakily helped build pop music over the last 10 years. Most great songs have got Pharrell somewhere in the credits, he’s got something special.”
What does the rest of 2015 have for In Hindsight? Michael: “We honestly don’t know yet. We need to smash this tour and move onto it after that. We’re writing more songs so we’re definitely going to be coming out with some more music.” Isaac: “Maybe another tour before the end of the year, who knows? It’s up in the air at the moment so we’ll see how it goes.”
And if you could leave a message for everyone who's supported you on your journey so far, what would you say? Michael: “I’d say thank you for sticking with us. From when we first started to now, it’s been a journey for us and thanks to everyone. No matter when you came along to see us, we appreciate everybody.” Isaac: “Without people in the venues, it wouldn’t be fun at all so thank you.” Dan: “We’re really grateful for sure.”
You can purchase In Hindsight's brand new EP 'You Want Me' here on iTunes alongside the band's previous releases. We're particularly loving 'Black & White' at the moment and 'Dangerous' is still a personal favourite here at SuprTickets. The group's discography definitely features a great variety of different sounds.
Don't worry if you missed seeing In Hindsight on tour last week - the boys will also be heading out for some intimate shows in July so make sure you grab tickets while you can. The future is certainly looking bright for In Hindsight so keep them on your radar. We can't wait to hear more new music from the band but until then, we're over and out.
What do you think of In Hindsight's new EP 'You Want Me'? Check out the title track's official video and let us know your thoughts below!
