FEATURE: Spotlight: easy life — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

easy life

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JUST before wrapping up…

for this year, I want to spotlight a couple of great newer acts. Even though easy life have been around for a little bit, the past couple of years has seen their stock rise considerably. The group formed in Leicester in 2017. They came second in the 2020 edition of the BBC's Sound Of. Their debut studio album, life's a beach, was released on 28th May. I shall end with a review of that album. The band - Murray Matravers, Oliver Cassidy, Sam Hewitt, Lewis Berry, Jordan Birtles – are a crew that you need to know about. To give you a better impression of easy life, I am going to bring in a few interviews. The first, from DORK of April last year, found the band still trying to find what their sound was:

“Increasingly, the impact of Easy Life can’t be denied. If ever any band had their finger firmly on the pulse of the playlist generation, they’d be it. It’s something that Murray and Lewis are firmly aware of too, as they continue to pull in fresh, interesting new directions.

“We’re still working out who we are,” explains Lewis. “That’s why we’ve released so much music and not done like an album yet because we don’t fully…” He pauses. “Actually, to be honest, I think we realise that there isn’t going to be a point where we go ‘this is what we sound like’. That’s great. If anything, that’s really exciting for us because we just write whatever we want. I think our audience accepts that. If we made a complete u-turn on our sound, people would still be into it because that’s what we’ve always done. Because Murray has such a distinctive voice, in his lyrics and his actual singing, we can do quite a lot. It’s all Easy Life.”

“It’s just modern culture, isn’t it?” affirms Murray. “Nobody is defined by the one thing that they listen to because everyone listens to everything. Kids are just crazy, they’re into everything. When we were at school, you could see the kids that were into their particular thing. That kid is into that scene, or that kid definitely listens to that type of music. Whereas now, when I look into our audience, I have no idea what any of them fucking get up to because they’re into everything.”

“I feel like we’re not at the very top of that spearhead, but we’re close to it. We’re saying it doesn’t matter, you can be experimental and into so many different things at once. You can be really honest and say what you think – about anything!”

Already stepping out onto stages and finding themselves drowned out by fans signing back every note, Easy Life’s star looks set to only shine brighter. “Every time, things get noticeably bigger,” Murray explains, “and we are shitting ourselves every step of the way. Playing to a 200 capacity venue for the first time is intimidating in itself, then playing to 600 people is like fuuuuckk. The sensation just repeats, you never get used to people turning up to the shows, especially when they get bigger. We lose our shit every time.”

Easy Life’s journey began in glamorous Leicester. “None of us grew up in a particularly musical background, or had any idea really – we just liked doing it,” recalls Lewis. “It’s where we’re from, we never expected any of this.”

The freedom to experiment and create without fear of overstepping boundaries is one of the band’s defining traits, one indelibly tattooed on everything they do. Whether it’s reggae, dub, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, indie, pop, or whatever other genre you want to cook up, the way they mix it together never feels anything less than natural. Murray and Lewis, joined by Sam, Cass and Jordan, jump between instruments as easily as they skip through a wide spectrum of musical influences. Playing pub shows to mates, building their own studios by hand and crafting songs that would one day take them to something more, all while working away at day jobs in shops or food stands to pay the bills – the dream was always there. It’s not an unusual story, but for Easy Life, it came true”.

Since 2017, there have been many memorable moments in the band’s career. I think that this year has been their most successful. That said, their single, pockets, put them on the musical map in 2017. DIY spoke with the band in the summer. We discover how easy life’s fanbase has swollen and exploded:

“Since ‘Pockets’ landed at the end of 2017, Easy Life have slowly and organically become one of the UK’s biggest cult bands. Based out of their Leicester studio HQ, and defined by hugely fun, uninhibited live shows and music that traverses R&B, pop, house and jazz, the five-piece are a product of their generation’s genreless attitude, with no idea off the table.

Across three mixtapes (2018 debut ‘Creature Habits’, 2019 follow-up ‘Spaceships’ and last year’s Top 10-charting ‘Junk Food’), the band have slowly honed their sound, bringing together the cheekiness of Jamie T with sunny sprinkles of jazz instrumentation and languid, beach-bound pop songs.

Via huge crossover hit ‘Nightmares’, which soundtracked a pivotal moment in Michaela Coel’s stunning BBC show I May Destroy You, Arlo Parks collaboration ‘Sangria’ and more, Easy Life have gathered a set of songs more than capable of creeping them up festival line-ups towards the top of the bill - something that will surely await them upon the release of debut album ‘life’s a beach’.

A defining part of the band’s sound is Murray’s distinctive voice, a velvety speak-sing that’s as much a rap as it is a pop vocal. As he explains, it came about as another example of working within his limitations. “I could never be a singer like Aretha Franklin or Bill Withers or something,” he says. “My music teacher in primary school would always say that anyone can sing, and I’ve carried on the company line! Anyone can sing!

“I just sang because I liked to write lyrics and singing was the only way of getting those lyrics out,” he adds, his love of rap and poetry leading him to “just speak” the lyrics he was writing. “It’s another happy accident I guess,” he grins. “Once again, not trying so hard seems to be the only thing that works for us.”

Another key to the band’s dramatic rise has been their fervent and ever-swelling fanbase, who follow Easy Life around the country on tour and sprinkle their shows with flags, inflatables and every kind of colourful ephemera.

“We are a live band, that’s our forte,” Murray confirms. “That’s a thing we can do better than other people. We sell more tickets than we should really, I think. Bigger recording artists don’t do as big shows as us, and that’s because our fans are hardcore. They just wanna party with us, and we wanna do that same shit with them. They make it so sweet”.

Before coming to a review, I want to come to an NME interview. In this deep and fascinating conversation with the band, the guys talked about the pandemic and how, in a way, it ensured that easy life survived and were able to continue on:

“Easy Life now release ‘Life’s A Beach’, one of the year’s finest debut records, as they ruminate on mental health, growing up in a forgotten part of the country and, occasionally, getting a bit mashed up. The album is anchored around the concept of a day at the British coast, encompassing the high hopes and eventual disappointment of a day that turns out to be a complete wash-out. It evokes the feeling of a seagull pinching a chip then shitting on your head on the exit; it’s so impossibly unlucky, you’ve got to laugh otherwise you’ll cry.

“It was an aspirational thing for us to think about the seaside,” he says. “Leicester is a nowhere place. It’s not north, south or anywhere close to a coast from either side. It’s in the middle of the country and plenty of motorways in the country go through it, but it’s just passed over.”

The pandemic interrupted years of growth, but also came at a crucial time for the health and survival of the band. “My self-esteem and ego took a big wallop at the start of the pandemic,” says Matravers. “It was very sustainable to go out and play where everyone knows your song and people behind the scenes treat you extra nice – but that is a luxury. At the start of the lockdown we were having these chats in our WhatsApp group like, ‘Does anyone care about Easy Life anymore?”

PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Bentley for NME

It’s somewhat at odds with how melancholy this album can feel at times; frustration simmers on some of the moodier tracks (‘Ocean View’) but a resilient and devoted spirit remains (‘Lifeboat’). Throughout, Matravers frequently channels his deepest fears, as on ‘A Message To Myself’ where he implores all of us “take your mother’s advice” and to keep the fridge well-stocked and the self-love topped up, because he doesn’t “want another premature farewell”. Likewise, ‘Living Strange’ picks up where 2019 single ‘Dead Celebrities’ left off, the singer mulling on posthumous recognition and the pitfalls of fame.

“It’s super-negative,” he laughs, shocked at himself that they left it like that. “We’ve always tried to spin those negative emotions into something positive, but I felt like the album could do with some dismal shit. I felt like that could be an opportunity to get angry and sad and shout about it in a safe way with a song like that.”

Most affecting of all is ‘Homesickness’, Easy Life’s most brilliant moment to date. An arpeggiated synthline (which Murray says “brought me to tears”) lingers as he offers up equal parts sincerity (“I’d climb the highest mountain just to catch a glimpse of you”) and some suggestive sauciness (“You’re my booty call at the end, though / Switch on me like Nintendo”). It’s sublime and silly all at once, a moment where Matravers reaches full circle; as playful and indulgent as he was on debut mixtape ‘Creature Comforts’ and as earnest as he strives to be now. After years on the road looking for acceptance, it was coming back home to Leicester that kept him going.

“Before the pandemic happened we were playing in so many amazing places… but I was still such a homebird and I wanted to come home and just be normal,” he says. “‘Life’s A Beach’ was about aspiring to not wanting to be in Leicester anymore, y’know: ‘Let’s go to the seaside and all that’. But I’ve been there, done that and just want to go back now. The band has become something bigger than any of us wanted it to be: it’s enabled us to live and connect with the people in the present”.

Before coming to the end, it is wise to source a review of their lauded debut album, life’s a beach. It ranks alongside the very best albums of this year. The Line of Best Fit had this to offer when they reviewed life’s a beach:

“Life’s A Beach is a journey through Easy Life’s ever-evolving style. It's the product of a band that know themselves in and out - fearless in venturing to new places with their art. Nodding to their previous work on tracks like “daydreams” and exploring new and exciting places on the infectious “skeletons”, Easy Life are happy to migrate across styles because no matter where they go, the sound remains classically them.

Speaking of the elemental; Easy Life's vocal styling they've mastered is somewhat iconic by now. The everyman perspective of the untrained vocalist drifting through rap, spoken word and singing sets it apart drastically from the often relied upon processed alternative, and across the album Mutravers maintains a relatable and approachable persona which is impossible to not be endeared by.

Lyrically, Life’s A Beach is also something to admire. Taking the objectively mundane and spinning it into the poetic with comedic flair is no easy feat, and yet Mutravers makes it seem natural. Peaking on apt closer “music to walk home to” - a journey home from a night out delivered as an entirely spoken-word poem. Mutravers’ choice words are perfect even when they jump from subject to subject (“a vampire vacuuming up every last drop of my enthusiasm until I’m nothing but a sorry little raisin / bananas and raisins / I sure hope I have toast at home”) and rarely faltering when doing so.

Even tackling depressive and dark topics (“living strange”), the band sticks strong to their cheeky cheerful music which effortlessly balances the track to make the heft more digestible. Similarly, they take the opportunity to relax the vibe when the lyrics aren’t as heavy – like on “compliments” or “ocean view”. The subtleties written into the albums DNA make all the difference (with the mention of the albums title in so many of the lyrics acting as unifying sentiment), almost to a faultless degree”.

A tremendous young band who have grown stronger and more solid as a band the past couple of years, I think 2022 will be busy in terms of touring and recording. Let’s hope that we hear a lot more from the Leicester band. If you have not heard of easy life, then I would recommend that you…