A very talented (sleeping) giant

Made up of singer/songwriter Greg Matthews, producer/musician Neil Treppas, session drummer Lee Bradbury and guitar player Michael Reed from Mutineers, Manchester band Bauer have recently released their first album, Sleeping Giant. It is a delicate album full of tasty melodies and warm lyrics that are soaked with emotions. Bauer’s songs transport you to a peaceful state of mind and let the imagination soar. The following interview with Bauer’s guitarist Michael Reed reveals more about this unique band and the long gestation of their amazing debut album.

1. I ask this question in most of my interviews as I am always very curious about the origin of bands’ and albums’ names. Why Bauer and what are the connotations of your album’s name, Sleeping Giant?

We were originally called Barfly but had legal problems with the chain of music venues that had the same name so had to change the name fairly swiftly. More than anything "Bauer" is just a cool word and looks good in print... Also it's not a million miles away from "Barfly" in sound and look so it was a pretty easy changeover in terms of both fanbase and artwork. I think the sleeping giant thing comes from the fact that the album has taken such a long time to get out and probably should have been out there making hay quite a while ago. It's major label music made on an indie budget but musically, soundwise and melodically it's as good as, if not better, than anything out there.

2. I find your songs very cinematic. To me, Sleeping Giant could easily be part of an indie film’s soundtrack, and definitely is the kind of music I would listen to while contemplating the landscape on a train journey. What is most characteristic of any Bauer song is that they seem to be made of a contrast between the electronic and the melodic, and no matter how strong and powerful the sound may become in some of the tracks, the singer’s voice always remains calm and peaceful. Is that the kind of atmosphere you were pursuing when you created this album and what would you say are your musical, lyrical and vocal influences in that respect?

I think it's just the sound that we make when we get together and thrash it out in a room. There's a wide range of influences but the main thing is that there's always got to be a memorable riff or hook. Of course we love stuff like the Lost in Translation music that Kevin Shields did and more recently the film stuff that Trent Reznor did for The Social Network soundtrack and we've actually written quite a bit of unreleased film type music over the past couple of years. The next album is of course going to have a lot of melodic songs and poppy anthem stuff that so many people love about the band, but I think that soundtrack-ish sort of sound and feel is a direction that we're probably heading towards.

3. You have already recorded the music videos for “Feels like Heaven”, “Connected” and “Starting Again”, which is something that many indie music bands choose not to do or can’t afford to do. To what extent do you think music videos are a good way to engage a potential audience and create a fanbase?

It's just cool for people to have that option to see what the band is about in a visual sense, as to whether it gives us any more kudos in a commercial sense or even helps us sell more albums I'm so so sure.... We're into the stuff that Anton Corbijn has done for Depeche Mode and some of the Joy Division and Factory Records visuals, so it's just another side to things for us. In the future if we make more music videos I think they’ll be less of a band performance thing and more of a mood and visual thing, mainly because we're not all 21 and in our first flushes of youth... and also because the music lends itself to that sort of thing to a degree. 

4. Speaking of the videos, I was checking them out on your YouTube channel when I noticed they have been there for a good while already, so I assume that the making of Sleeping Giant has been a long road. What kind of constraints did you face in terms of song composition and the recording process?

Well, as we sort of touched on earlier, the album had a long gestation period so you'll notice that the videos and the early EP’s and singles came out a while ago. If anything, it gives it a little more interest for somebody new that gets into the band; if you work hard enough you'll find a whole wealth of material and cool stuff about the band to divulge.

5. It is still unbelievable to me that many great bands will never be in the limelight, even if that may not be the goal for some of you. The lack of financial support sometimes means the end of a band and, subsequently, the creation of more good music. Do you also feel any lack of support on the part of the audience, most of whom tend to follow the mainstream bands? And that leads me to the following question: Are people brainwashed by commercial music radio stations or are they just losing their taste in music?

A lot of it is obviously based around money and also there's still a ridiculous stigma attached to bands if they've been around a while and haven't had that hit record or bit of commercial exposure. I think if you look at the history of a lot of bands that are so-called “box fresh”, you'll find that the main players most of them had been around in previous incarnations or projects in the past. Certainly with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand. The good thing for us is that the internet and social networking has opened things up a little for us and put us on almost a level playing field like some of the major label or larger indie label bands. If you work hard and have excellent music, you'll find your audience even if it isn't on the scale of the likes of Coldplay.

6. Almost any musician will agree that their favourite thing about being in a band is playing live. What are your expectations in terms of touring and future gigs? Is touring abroad a possibility?

We've already played in Denmark, where we had a bit of National Radio airplay a while back but that's certainly an aim. We'll probably concentrate on the UK in 2013 but if any opportunities present themselves then obviously we'll be up for it.

You can purchase Sleeping Giant on iTunes and listen to the album on Soundcloud. Check out Bauer’s YouTube channel to see their videos and follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

Good things come to those who wait

I have yet another really interesting music interview for all of you! Guess who’s back in the music scene? It’s a creative and talented mind that has been ‘hiding’ for a while, getting ready to come back and eat us alive.

Uppacut is a recognised and ridiculously good turntablist and producer who was also part of the critically-acclaimed hip-hop band Fleapit. He has successfully worked with a number of artists over the years and is currently preparing his debut solo album, as well as a joint EP with rapper Frid.

In this interview, Uppacut talks about his new project, his collaboration with Frid and Wenlock Music and his musical beginnings, and makes a strong statement about today’s hip-hop.

1. Your Twitter page reads "Producer, Turntablist, was in Fleapit, now reppin wenlockmusic to the nuts." Speaking of the first, you have an extensive career as a producer, and recently produced Frid’s Serving Time EP. Besides, your work as a turntablist was highly recognised in the past. What is the necessary experience you had to gain before getting to this point, musically speaking? Do you have an academic background or did you do your own research? And what sort of advice would you give to the young people who want to become turntablists and/or music producers?

Firstly thank you for this interview.

I have no musical academic background at all. In a way, I wish that I had paid more attention in my music lessons at school, but it all started as a huge love of HipHop in the late 1980's. The sound of a record being scratched just grabbed me, I heard the rappers rapping but I was always waiting for the chorus to hear the sounds that the DJ’s were scratching, and from there I was hooked. I knew that I wanted to play HipHop in pubs and clubs but my mind drifted into battle mode and I started to think that I could stand up against the best turntablists in the country, but with this came practice; a lot of practice. I hardly saw any of my friends for around 2 years, I became a bit of a hermit and I split up with my girlfriend at the time to concentrate on turntablism. Obviously it’s not just the scratches or juggles that make a DJ good, it's also the choice of records you use, so I spent a lot of time at record fairs and markets digging through records to get the sound that I wanted in my routines. I'm not saying that this is the way to learn, this is just the way I learned. If I was to give advice to any budding DJ’s/turntablists, it would be this: Firstly, buy the correct equipment. There are some fantastic deals on turntables and mixers nowadays, cheaper inferior products will only hinder you. Secondly, use other turntablists/DJ’s as inspiration, don’t hate them and see them as competition, build your skills by studying your influences closely, practice, practice and more practice, and when you learn the scratch patterns you can build them and adapt them into your own patterns using your own choice of records, putting in your own twists. Thirdly, don't get frustrated, persevere. These skills are not going to appear overnight, it takes time; it will come with practice. As for advice for anyone getting into producing beats, I guess it would be that in ways it’s the opposite of turntablism as it doesn’t matter what programmes or equipment you use, you could use all live instruments or use nothing but samples, but if you have the aptitude, capacity and creativity to make good music then it will shine through regardless of how it was done. 

2. Let’s go back to the beginnings. You were part of the critically acclaimed hip-hop band Fleapit. Your debut album Music from the Ditch even reached the No. 1 position in the French hip-hop charts and it is still considered as the 12th best British hip-hop album ever made. What have you learnt on the road since those years, particularly in musical and business terms?

I would say that the thing that I've learnt the most is that no matter how successful I thought I was, it can all be taken away so quickly, so work hard, have pride in my own work, enjoy myself, and if the haters hate, fuck it, let them hate. This is MY experience and I intend to do the best that I can and have a fantastic time while doing it. I mean, being part of Fleapit was a fantastic experience and I'm so happy to have lived it, along with the secondson&task force project, and doing the cuts for Goldie Lookin Chain's “Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do”, but that was then and this is now. I can't dwell on the past, I need to keep building and working towards new goals, and this is where Wenlock Music comes in. I personally see the future of this label being big, and it all starts for me with this next project. I just hope you all enjoy it!

3. You have recently signed with Frid’s label Wenlock Music. In your own words, “this label is what the UK scene is in dire need of.” In what aspects does Wenlock Music differ from other music labels?

Wenlock Music is a label that smashes down doors that are leading to things other than just UK HipHop. I can’t think of another UK HipHop label that is trying to appeal to more fans of music in general than just HipHop heads. Most UK HipHop labels are created in the underground and they stagnate there because there is zero drive. I mean, if I'm being honest, the majority of people listening to UK rap at the moment are HipHop artists themselves, so why should we limit ourselves and try to sell material to other artists only? We need to sell to fans of music in general who are into a bit of boom bap - it's the only way the scene can expand and create more interest in what we're doing. The population of this country is ever expanding so why can’t the interest in our music expand with it? If nobody has the courage to poke their head above the ground, nobody will ever know we're down here. There is a false image that portrays UK rap and it's so bogus it's unreal! If the surface is scratched by Wenlock Music and fans of good music can see what REAL UK HipHop is about, then it will make the massive effort that myself and Frid in particular have put in all worthwhile.

4. Your collaboration with Frid has even gone further and you two are currently working on the joint EP Not Tonight Lads. Besides, you are also preparing your debut solo album. As far as I know, the joint EP will be released first though. What can we find in this album?

Not Tonight Lads is a mild-mannered and often humourous attack on the image that Frid and myself don’t fit into. In the UK, if we want to go for a few casual beers in a commercial city centre, but we want to go dressed as we usually dress (jeans, trainers, t-shirt), the doormen/security will stop us from getting into the pub and usually say: “Not tonight lads.” So this is a bit of a 'FUCK YOU' to the rules that have encompassed our genre/style. Apart from that, we've got a fair amount of tracks recorded for this project, and a few still in the pipeline. Frid is writing the best material he has ever written and my beats are off the hook! The irony of this project is that we do think these pubs that won’t let us in for a beer will be playing some of our tracks to their clientele, and they'll love it too!

5. To what extent do you think that hip-hop has an impact on young people? And have you noticed a decrease in the hip-hop audience in the last decade? If so, what do you think are the reasons for this?

I think HipHop has a massive influence on today’s young people. The way people talk, dress, the whole way of life, and especially now that the people that grew up with HipHop as kids have children themselves, this is officially the second generation of world wide rap. But I do indeed feel like the audience has changed, mainly because music has changed so much. I don't want to say HipHop has changed because I feel that REAL HipHop has remained true to itself. I personally think that a new sub-genre has emerged and adopted the name of HipHop. So, nowadays, when the young heads say they're into HipHop, they mean Chipmunk, N-Dubz and Drake. If you ask someone of the first generation of HipHop: “What is HipHop?,” they will give you a hundred names of true HipHop acts that today seem no longer credible to the youngsters. It's almost gone full circle. Way back in the early 1990's you would get a HipHop crew who would put out a track with an R&B singer on the chorus to edge towards the mainstream; nowadays it's the R&B artist who has a token rapped verse on a track to make it more 'underground'. So to answer your question in brief, I think the audience has GROWN but in sub-genres collectively labelled - rightly or wrongly - as 'HipHop'.

6. How does the comeback feel? Is there an old Uppacut sound and a new Uppacut sound? Any big changes in style and/or inspirational motifs? I am sure that all Fleapit fans will be looking forward to listening to your new material – is there anything that you would like to tell them about the new Uppacut?

Awww it feels fantastic to be out there again! I don’t really have an old sound or a new sound, but my way of producing has progressed through the last 10 years having learned to play a few instruments, using new programmes and m-audio midi keys, but the biggest thing is, having been digging for years for records, I have discovered a whole world of music that has influenced me to keep my production fresh. My scratches and live performances are technical but simple enough for people to relate to. In a way I feel that a lot of juggling and scratching has lost its soul so I'm remaining old school enough to relate to the music I produce, so there is no contrast between what you hear on our records and what you see and hear when you come to see our show. I do feel that working with Frid has found a new drive in my production though; I've never been so busy on different tracks all at once. This EP is so much of a fun project and I'm so happy to be involved in it.

You can follow Uppacut on Twitter. Also check out www.wenlockmusic.com and www.youtube.com/wenlockTV for more news about his upcoming album.

Serving time, serving music, serving life...

Frid makes a strong statement in every single line he writes. He is an artist that uses his songs as weapons that need to explode before conveying their message. His words shoot to kill. His lyrics are straightforward and sentimental in equal parts. The musical style of his tracks is meaningful and eclectic. In one word, when you listen to Frid’s creations you are shocked that this Manchester-based rapper is not more widely known in the UK hip-hop scene yet.

It is not only his tracks, but this hard-working hip-hop artist has already shown his multi-talented personality by establishing his own record label. The road has been hard and long but now he can proudly claim that every little piece of success has been achieved with his own sweat and blood, and very little help indeed.

Thankfully, all his efforts eventually paid off last November with the release of his first EP Serving Time, a concept album that evolves around previous key episodes in his life and that will just not disappoint any true hip-hop fans. It just cannot.

1. When did you start writing and what was it that made you do it? Was it more a question of fun and love for music or maybe it was some sort of creative therapy?

It was a question of both to be honest. It started around the end of high school around 1998 or 1999. I was heavy into writing poetry because the only subject at school I was any good at was English. Then, as I got older and deeper into Hip Hop they naturally started becoming raps. I didn't even realise it was happening in many ways! My music has always been quite introverted up to this point, so naturally I talk about troubles and issues that are quite emotive to me, so certainly it's a form of therapy. You only have to listen to my last release and that becomes very evident very quickly.

2. In one of your past interviews you revealed that the tracks on your EP Serving Time are in reverse-chronological order of your life, which I guess transforms the EP into some ‘time capsule’ containing your life experiences so far. Can you elaborate more on that? Can you relate each of the tracks to a period/moment in your life?

Each track represents a period of my life. I wanted to go backwards because I knew that the start of my journey is the most difficult demon that I deal with and I'm one of those artists that can't help but let the problem into the real world when writing about it, which is why I also wrote the whole story backwards. I literally wrote track one first, track two second and so on. I just knew what I wanted to say about each life period. For example, I know that “Set it Off” was how I felt when I first started working on the EP. “Inside Rhymes” would be around the same time I had that more jokey, rebellious attitude in life around 16 or 17 years old. “Dear Daddy” is the point it all started around 2 years old. I know that instantly, and the hope was that, although it depicts my personal journey, that the listener would be able to pick one or two tracks and be like “yeah, I've been through that same thing!”. It was also going to get intense in terms of feeling, I knew that, and I know that a lot of people can be put off by that, and I didn't want to bombard them and let them in to everything straight away. If they stick around to the end of the EP, they deserve to hear the whole story!

3. How has your writing style evolved since you penned your first lyrics? Have you noticed any major changes in relation to that and, if so, do you think they may have been influenced by what you were going through at the time?

I'm not sure that they were influenced at the time of what I was going through, but certainly now the moments in the past feed into what I write, I know that for sure. It's only natural that you learn from your past; we all do. My writing style and ability have changed dramatically since I started this. I was just a kid, so there was an uneducated, immature element to it all. I didn't know how to structure a track, didn't know how to stick to a beat properly, didn't know how to vary a flow. I also didn't even have any recording experience so I didn't know that writing something one way wouldn't sound right or wasn't really possible to follow another thing, if you know what I mean? It's been pushing 15 years since it was poetry in its rawest form, and anyone who might have heard my music then and now would think it was a different person. Mind you, in many respects I guess it is. Life experiences change people whether for the good or the bad and that definitely reflects with me. Just the other day Leon said to me "you've improved a million times and changed so much since then" about something we were talking about from a couple of years ago, which says it all I guess.

4. There is this cliché that some very obsessive songwriters have a love-hate relationship with their songs and can even suffer from insomnia until the lyrics are finished. This idea may be of great relevance in hip-hop, where the message plays the most important part of the song. Can you relate to this?

Yes. This is kind of the same as we talked about just then, because, when you dig up feelings, sometimes you can't help but let the demon back in, otherwise you miss bits of the story. You almost need that element of fear to operate. I have more than a small touch of OCD with my work though, and couple the two together and sometimes I'm up writing through the night on one line, just because I know it's got to be nailed. Music is very in the moment too, so sometimes to walk away from writing a song is not even a possibility or you lose that moment and you might never get it back. There is certainly a love hate relationship between every artist and their music in my opinion. Even on a small scale, I mean, I released Serving Time EP and had fans saying "ooh, such and such is awesome, it's the best thing Frid's done". I hear that and I'm like "yeah, but I could have said that word a little better". That's the problem, music is subjective, so the first listener will love and relate to what the second can't stand and wishes I'd never made, but an artist will never be fully happy with their lot, because if they are, there's no point and they're probably doing it wrong.

5. Musically speaking, do you compose or in any way contribute to the music composition of your tracks? What importance do you give to the music compared to the lyrics?

 

I don't produce yet, that's something I'm still learning, though I do work closely with Uppacut, my main producer, to make sure beats are correct. I can go to him and be like "this one needs to say this through the track and I think that would better if x did y and a and b were altered"... I have a much heavier hand in the arrangement of the instrumental, though. Thing is, Uppacut is an absolute genius and clearly the real talent behind our operation. Feels sometimes like someone has put Dr Dre with Vanilla Ice [laughs]... But seriously he's an unreal talent so I know he'll nail anything that needs nailing, which allows me to focus more on making the song speak which really works for us at this point. But I never, ever underestimate the importance of Uppacut and the instrumental. Without him, my message can't happen.

6. It seems to me that nowadays there is not a great deal of hip-hop in the charts, or at least hip-hop as it was originally conceived. What I see mostly is just catchy tunes and no deep lyrics. Do you think there will ever come the time when ‘real’ hip-hop like yours will stop being called alternative and become more commercial?

No, I don't think it ever will sadly. The problem with this country is we have a 'celebrate failure' mentality, especially in the Hip Hop scene. I look around and see artists that are incredible, but they'll never break through because the people in and around the scene won’t allow it. No one helps anyone. You can ask a studio engineer in the UK the simplest of questions about the most simplistic thing and they're instantly like "I'm not telling you" because they worry you’re going to run away with their ideas. Same with producers, "hi such and such, those drums are really good"... Before you even finish that thought the response is "yeah, and they’re mine... Nothing to do with you". Couple that with the fact that a lot of our rappers and DJs and producers in the UK are just plain lazy, and it's a problem. If this scene stopped being backstabbing, lazy and stubborn, maybe our messages could go further and the charts wouldn't be saturated with this watered down version of the genre guided by people like Tinie Tempah and Dappy. I spoke about this on “Learning the Trade” on the EP, “Rap used to be a conquest, now it's just a contest, on whose dick's the longest, bragging about your conquests” and I genuinely believe that this thing has become, in a small way, the exact opposite of what it was conceived to be. All it takes is a little help and to help others and we could all benefit together, but we never will, because we never will.

7. Serving Time takes us to an emotional journey that feeds from different crucial experiences in your life. I bet that, at present, new positive experiences like having a child or growing as an artist and as a person will constitute an invaluable source of inspiration for writing new lyrics...

No, I'm still a miserable motherlover [laughs]. It does but not in the way I think you're getting at. My daughter is my whole world, so I can't help but be inspired by her. Every time I step into a studio I know she's going to eventually hear what comes out of it, so she keeps me focused, definitely.

 

8. Not only are you a rapper and a lyricist, but you have also established your own label Wenlock Music and are in the process of launching Wenlock TV. We want to know more about all that!

It's early days. I was never trying to secure a record deal with a major label like other rappers, I started out doing this because I love the music, and still do. The main aim is to 'do it' but on my terms. I started building this up properly in 2009 and we've started to snowball that little bit more. Originally, Wenlock Music was just me, but now we have signed Uppacut as well as a few behind the scenes staff who are there to help keep things moving. I also have my eye on a couple of other artists, one in particular, and I work as hard with them and their own projects as I do with mine. WenlockTV was a natural progression and offshoot of the label to be honest. I realised that we now have people on board who can contribute to making good things visually as well as within the music, so we will soon have our own presence and projects on the official channel. Wenlockmusic.com will be the place to be for it all!

9. You have recently shot the videoclip for your first single “Serving Time”. What is the storyline in the video and how is it related to the message behind this track? When will it be released?

The video will be ready for release - hopefully - in the next month and will be the starter project for the channel. The story is basically the story of the feelings behind the track and follows my storyboard for it quite tightly. It was a challenge that I've not had before because there are a host of locations and extras involved and coordinating that was a challenge, plus I've never been in front of a camera, so it was a new challenge for me personally.

10. Are you already involved in preparing a new album? If so, can you tell us a little about it and when it is planned to be released? Also, will we see you live anytime soon?

I started work on a joint release with Uppacut last month and that's coming along quite nicely. It's still in a very early stage at this point but it's hopefully going to be ready towards the middle of the summer or early autumn. Obviously with the video will come the single package and we have a few treats lined up for that too. At the moment though a lot of effort is going into getting Uppacut's debut project in the bag, and hopefully we can have that in a position for release soon, but the main aim is to bring quality and not rush things, so we are taking our time where needed, but we have lots to come so people need to stay tuned!

You can follow Frid on Twitter and Facebook. Go to www.wenlockmusic.com to listen to and download Serving Time – be prepared to enjoy a five-star hip-hop album!

Essays on Mutineers

It was only a couple of months ago that I learnt of the existence of this distinctive Manchester band, but thank God I have discovered them!

Mutineers released their critically acclaimed first album Friends, Lovers, Rivals in November 2010, when the musical scene saw the birth of a little jewel.

Relaxing yet energetic, melodic yet powerful, words are superfluous when it comes to describing the sound in this album. Lyrically and musically beautiful, it could easily make up the soundtrack of many people’s lives.

I feel utterly privileged and honoured to have interviewed Nicholas James Mallins, vocalist and guitarist of Mutineers, and the author of every single verse of the 11 golden teardrops that flood the album.

Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats and read to the end, because what you are going to witness is a true piece of art.

1. The first question is quite a typical one in this type of interviews. Actually, I must confess that I have already read the answer somewhere else and found it very curious indeed, but it would be even better if my readers could have the answer first hand! So why Mutineers? Why that name?

The name felt quite apt at the time as we were all moving on from other projects and we were eager to remove the shackles. We were taking over the ship. The paradox being I had never considered myself anything other than the captain.

It was about 4 people with the same motives and desires. We had a great sense of urgency, ambition and togetherness. I can speak for myself when I say previous endeavours didn’t quite feel like that.

Mostly to our advantage, we were all good friends, interested in the same inconsequential nonsense that unites wandering minds.

The name has regressed and sounds immature to me now, but most do. I would only steal a sentence to express a truly beautiful moniker. But that’s for emo bands and they waste that opportunity, without doubt.

How about your debut album's name, Friends, Lovers, Rivals?

During the writing of the album I would obsess about my then friends and perceived rivals. As a rule, I went out more than I stayed in and sampled all the city had to offer, good and bad. I still had my shit together, it was more an observation on the social environment I found myself in at the time.

2. The band is made up by you (Nicholas James Mallins) (vocals/guitar), Michael Reed (guitar), Iwan Gronow (bass) and Jack Mitchell (drums). As far as I know, you are the main songwriter in the band, but what is the song composition process usually? Do all of you contribute to the instrumental part and the melody of the songs?

Generally I write the song first, mostly on piano as I don’t have the stomach to pick up a guitar these days. Since a certain age I’ve sensed that guitars are for kids, a mid-life crisis or the truly famous. I’m wrong, of course.

I might have the odd motif rattling around my head but usually we play about it for a while until something would formulate. Sometimes we will sit round the home studio and play out various ideas. Waiting for that almost homoerotic moment when someone would play a sequence of notes in tune. We’d gasp as if we’d discovered the pyramids and commit it to memory.

The key for me is not to distract from the song. If you’ve got the groove but not the melody then there’s very little point. The song gets 99% of my attention.

On a side note, Jack is no longer with mutineers, he’s kind of in indie semi-retirement and doesn’t feel he has the energy or sheer will to be with a current band working on new material. We’ve drafted in some youth in Chaz Salt, who’s maybe not quite so jaded and keeps things fresh for the new album.  


3. I am truly in love with your lyrics. A bit shocking sometimes though! You can go from singing deep, beautiful verses like “In death, love and squalor the sordid details were removed, straight from the heart of a suicide girl” to witty, funny lines such as “Well if you’d paid more attention during sex education, you would not have stretch marks the length of Piccadilly Station”! I know this is a tricky question but what can you say about your writing style?

I don't think there is a considered style. It's probably influenced a lot by whatever I'm reading at the time, which could be at any end of the literary spectrum.

A lot of the more comedic, social observations were left off the album as I felt all together they cheapened it. Although I relish a good insult, I prefer to tell a story that doesn't give it all away.

I love that writers create worlds and characters that we all interpret in unique ways. The listener's imagination is powerful, there should always be an extra layer to find if they so wish. I suppose this is all considered. 

4. I have been analysing each of your songs, which I would define as 'tell-tale poems', and it seems to me that your writing is full of rage and nostalgia, obviously reminiscent of past relationships of any kind. That reminds me of the saying "Happiness writes white". What are your thoughts about this in relation to songwriting?

I admire that description. I do feel writers struggle to express positive emotions. I think it's the human condition to concentrate on the less ecstatic moments of our lives. It's surely the purest self-improvement. Every pleasant existence is punctuated with specks of misery. It sometimes appears that the only things that can seduce us into euphoria are sex and money. Most are getting little of either. Those who claim this to be false are getting little of either or have an insatiable appetite for more. I'd of course love to sing about it but I'm not a misogynistic hip hop artist, yet. I'm possibly a stereotypist.

It's easy to write about love. I'm reading the latest De Botton title in which he suggests we all put our love into one person so that we don't need anyone else. I feel that to be potent. We're always alone with our thoughts and is it possible for anyone to ever completely and utterly understand us? Do we understand ourselves? Writing is generally therapeutic unless you're a tragic self loather. And despite our solitary minds, it's also most importantly, universal. Like life, writing about how great things are, is only setting yourself up for a fall. No one really calls me up tell me how wonderful it all is. I re-iterate without grace, it's either about sex or money or to assassinate a gent's character. Maybe that's a reflection on the company I keep. I have a few close friends who are writers and despite their eloquence, these are by far the universal frameworks. Filling in the blanks will create the beauty. Writers create the foundations, the audience should be part of the architecture.

I don't consider myself full of rage, though I'm never happier hiding behind a barbed line. I confess to doses of nostalgia but I don't look back and think my life was any better. Looking back on how ugly I was yesterday makes me pretty as roses today. I'll think better of it next time, therefore it's a positive experience. I do look forward to being old more than you'll ever know. The new material is more hopeful I would say, though I've never advised anything other than rising above it. It's just that we're all the centre of our own universe.

I can assure you that the lyrics on FLR were unquestionably a little lazy in places. The words are now my primary concern. It's a wasted opportunity for most songwriters. I have a real love of language. Not so much the stuffy rules of grammar but interpretations of the form. I'm convinced a lot of artists are just spewing it up when they get pushed into the vocal booth by some producer who cannot stand to look at them. I was watching an interview with Lightbody from Snow Patrol last night. He was actually trying to convince me that he spends hours and hours editing his lyrics. Dear God, imagine he hadn't have bothered? How low can we take the vivid English language? He has a co-writer too. It took two of them to come up with that tripe. I can out tripe them on my own.

5. There is no doubt that you have an elegant and characteristic singing voice. If I had to describe it, I would say it is Will Young meets Morrissey meets The Verve's Richard Ashcroft meets Journey’s Steve Perry! All that with a polished singing technique that most pop/rock bands these days do not possess. Do you think that this may be one of the reasons why your music sounds so appealing in a first listen?

That’s quite a comparison. To be honest I’ve always considered my voice to be an eye opener. I remember one label guy literally throwing the album sampler out of the window as he loathed my warble that much. He then tried to sign us. He’s been fired now I’m guessing. It was too late to get all over the crunk scene, or whatever.

I did naively think that if I was going to be a singer it would be prudent to actually learn to sing. I had a few lessons back in the day. It’s a woeful industry in which you don’t have to be remotely competent at your trade to succeed. If the songs are good and the lads think you can drink as much Stella as them, there’s every chance you’ll be huge despite sounding like you’ve swallowed a bag of razor blades.

Technical ability aside, I’ve always liked singers with an individual character in their voice. Tones and emotions that ring true. Bowie, Young (Neil as opposed to Will).

6. Nowadays the internet is the best place for a new band to promote their songs. Still, it is funny that there are hundreds and hundreds of new talented bands that are making themselves known on the web and are followed by thousands of people, but only four of them will reach the music charts! What do you think is the missing link for an extremely good new band to go up the ladder?

The internet has been a revelation for Mutineers. It’s reassuring that people are genuinely interested in new music and don’t need it shoved down their ear lobes from commercial radio. It’s really cool that we’ve connected to so many people and we are actually quite touched about it. We never foresaw the reaction or album sales. Radio has yet to fully come on board but that might change with the next album.

I certainly think you need the songs, that’s the currency really. But what every successful band has is a brilliant manager. It can’t be underestimated what doors the right guy can open for you. Unfortunately I’ve never worked with that right guy, or maybe I don’t have the currency. It’s all so trend-driven.

I observed a local act on Letterman recently. They were just chanting nonsense over a marching drum, I did grit my teeth. Of course some people digged it, they were passionate, most were as perplexed as me. 

There are some bands that are just so goddamn unlistenable that you wonder if someone somewhere is actually pissing their pants. I mean there’s no limit to how stupid a handful of these labels actually are and at times they are capable of signing literally anything. The press, like lap dogs jump head first into a pool of cat piss, they swear to us its nectar. 

Ultimately there’s no point in your megabucks deal if you’re not going to sell any records. I’m all for cool bands, yet any cool band who has managed to scrape together their rent have always knocked out some pop songs – The Strokes for instance. If you’re a cool band without songs, welcome to the end-of-year lists of sociopathic nerds across the county. 

There is also the notion that music is just expression. So maybe just go express yourself and see where that gets you.

7. I have heard that you are planning to play a gig in June this year to celebrate the end of the Friends, Lovers, Rivals album and the start of the next chapter. Are there any other upcoming gigs? I cannot wait to see you play live!

Yeah, there will be a show in June. Tickets are to be announced soon, although the number of names on the priority list is actually double the capacity so it should be a sweaty one. We may venture out of the studio should the right festival come along. I’m sure we’ll do something unique as a thank you to the fans but past that we’ll be building anything around the new album.

I do love playing live but we’re being a bit more selective, I think we all got a little tired of sleeping in the back of a transit. It gets harder to hide the wrinkles.

8. It is great news that you are already working on your second album, for which, according to one of your tweets, you have 30 tracks to choose from! It seems you have been fully inspired lately… When is your second album to be released and do you have a title yet?

We probably have a lot more than 30 songs. We’ve got recordings left over from the FLR sessions that we didn’t have the budget or motivation to finish at the time. We also demo’d a lot of strong tracks last year.

I then got a little stale and took a year out of it all. I took a real job, even got out of Manchester for a bit. Hung out with people who didn’t care where I bought my brogues.

I think removing the foolish pressure of trying to succeed was the most creative thing I could have done. It allowed me just to write without expectation or agenda. The new album will be mostly based around these songs.

Narrowing it down will be quite haphazard again I’d imagine. I always think my last song is the best so it’s difficult to say it’s definitely finished.

I do have a couple of titles that I’m hot on, which I’m obviously keeping to myself for now. We’re looking at a late summer release with the possibility of a single in the summer. Of course there’s the inevitable industry nonsense that we will have to navigate or ignore to get it out on time.

I’m also working on a solo album which I want to get out this year, finding the time is the real issue and the cost of a full orchestra. It’s a bit of a departure from Mutineers, a sound I’ve always wanted to try; Rufus Wainwright minus the Camp Cabaret. I’ve written the songs and dipped my toe in a little but will attack it with vigour at some point.

We’re really excited about the new album and hope we can please the fans. In some ways it feels like a reprieve and we’re all fresh and focused to release something we’re proud of. I think we’ve come to accept that we’ll never be rich men but we’ll always make music in one guise or other, and that keeps us sane.

You can follow Mutineers on Facebook and Twitter. Have a listen to Friends, Lovers, Rivals on their MySpace and then go purchase the album on iTunes – you will not regret it!