INTERVIEW:
Stalagmites
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I have just got back from Manchester…
so I was very excited to speak with the Manchester-based band Stalagmites. The guys talk about the scene there and give me the skinny regarding their latest track, Projectile Dysfunction. I ask how the band got together and whether they share tastes in music – they recommend some upcoming acts to investigate.
The chaps reveal whether more music is coming; what their favourite memory from music has been; whether they have any gigs booked in the diary – they provide some useful advice for fellow artists.
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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?
Great, thank you very much. The week has been glorious as the weather has been cracking and lots of people have been saying nice things about the single - including Steve Lamacq and Robin Murray to name a few!
For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?
Bradley Lynch on the bass guitar and the vocals; Daniel Jones on the drums and Alex Hardman on the guitar.
How did Stalagmites get together? When did you start jamming?
It was the year 2010 or '11. Brad started off songwriting and Alex thought he'd like to get involved with that and so we set off writing tunes in the style of our favourite bands. One Gumtree post and a quick practice later and Dan joins the band.
The end.
Projectile Dysfunction is your latest work. Is there a background to the song?
It's about the journey that you go on being in a band in the modern age: trying to keep a band together amidst an ever-changing landscape and navigating the treacherous music industry.
It sounds like the song gelled naturally in the studio. Was it an interesting track to write?
The bare bones of the track came together fairly quickly and relatively pain-free but then the real magic happened in VIBE Recording Studio (as it usually does!).
Will there be more material later in the year?
Yes. We have another single ready to go and potentially an E.P. If the E.P. isn't this year, then it's early-2019!
Is Manchester a great city to make music in? Are you inspired by the history and current quality coming through?
It is a great city to make music in as there is always something going on. You can walk down the street and find inspiration. It's great.
What sort of music did you all grow up around? Do you share tastes?
I'd say that we don’t all share the same taste in music but we're all open-minded enough to listen to what we are each playing that week - from Echo and the Bunnymen to Kanye West; from Aphex Twin to The Carpenters. All tastes!
Where are you heading on tour? Where can we catch you?
We're sticking to the studio for now with the odd show in and around Manchester to test out some new material. Keep an eye out on socials.
What do you hope to achieve in 2018?
We’re quite simple in our goals. We just love making music so, if we can continue to get the same feeling after writing each song that we have gotten for the last two singles (Binary and Projectile Dysfunction), then we are winning.
Even better if all these wonderful blogs keep writing about us.
Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?
I think, for all of us, it would have to be being played on BBC Radio 6 Music by Steve Lamacq, and then, Tom Robinson. We're all big fans of Radio 6, so to be picked up was a real high for us all.
If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?
To support, it would have to be Radiohead…
The rider would be simple: a few beers; a load of tasty bread like what you get when you go to a market in a village in the South of France or something (and a packet of dry-roasted).
What advice would you give to new artists coming through?
Just enjoy the whole process - whether you’re lugging your gear across the country to play a show or you’re just chilling in the practice room. Also; try to be different. If somebody says you sound exactly like another band then change it up…unless that's what you’re going for then it’s all good!
IN THIS PHOTO: Cavana/PHOTO CREDIT: Trust A Fox Photography
Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?
TYPES, Cavana and Dirty Freud. They are all next level!
IN THIS PHOTO: Dirty Freud
Do you get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?
Bit of gardening; the odd bike ride and a few pints every now and then. Manchester isn't short of great microbreweries, so we get out to these when we can!
Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).
Brad: Gruff Rhys - Shark Ridden Waters
Dan: Purity Ring - Lofticries
Al: Gaz Coombes - Walk the Walk
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