A little over 12 months
ago, I stumbled across a band from Stoke called Delamere and whilst
their Twitter bio said very little, their overall sound spoke
volumes; blistering choruses were interspersed with delicate verses
whilst the lyricism, wrought with dark sincerity, gave the band a
huge edge over the majority of their contemporaries. Sure, the
production on some early releases lacked the polish of later tracks,
but the same can be said for every band at that stage, and the rough
edges only served to add to the band's appeal
Indeed, such was the
impression Delamere had on me that I tipped them for label backing
within a year and whilst I might have been out on my prediction by a
month or so, sure enough, earlier this year Manchester's own Scruff
of the Neck Records signed the band, aiding them in the release of
previous single 'Do You Want Me?' which was met with much acclaim.
Looking forward however,
Delamere are to set to release their second single through the label,
the atmospheric 'Headstrong'. A step in a more electronic
direction, 'Headstrong' sees the band seguing in to the moody
atmospheric sounds enjoyed by the likes of local lads The Slow
Readers Club. It might be a slight change in direction, but it also
marks the full realisation of the step up in confidence that was
teased on their previous single.
Okay,
so they might not be from Manchester per se
(in fact, they're not at all), but being signed by Scruff of the
Neck, and playing a good majority of their gigs in the city, means
they're adopted Mancs by all accounts, and that's what matters. With
a development deal in place with Scruff of the Neck, as well as their
forthcoming single to look forward to, it seems all things are go for
Delamere and with 2014 being the year that it has been for the band,
we can only speculate and cross our fingers for what 2015 will have
in store for them.
U&I: Hi guys, thanks for having
a chat with us ahead of your single launch. First of all, you
recently signed with Scruff of the Neck, have you found it's opened
any doors to you as a band, which might have otherwise remained
closed?
Everything is
still pretty new at the minute and we’re still all working towards
our goals so its hard to say if any doors have been opened as such.
Both band and label are very busy with the next step at the minute so
maybe this question would be better asked at a later date. I suppose
one major factor that has come straight from this and that’s
management, we’re now managed by MTE management which will work
alongside the label, so that’s pretty exciting.
U&I: It's more than just signing
to a label though, you've also entered in to a 'development deal'
with the company. Can you tell us what this entails and what it means
for Delamere?
The best way
to put this I suppose is that a straight up recording contract would
simply mean that we record and the label puts it out, the development
deal on the other hand is pretty much what it says, obviously the
recording and putting out of music is there but with the added bonus
of the band being developed to a higher standard which can cover
anything from fan base to the performances. This is all in place to
ideally be ready for a major label to just pick it up from where its
at for the next major big step.
U&I: Obviously coming from Stoke
you're not a Manchester band, but we have adopted Delamere as one of
our own. What is it about the city that kept you coming back and
gigging? Why not opt for Birmingham or Nottingham?
We all love
Manchester, as kids it was the city we’d travel to, to watch all
the big touring bands, the sort of bands that would never come to
Stoke. Manchester holds a little bit of magic for us, every gig,
every meeting with Scruff, we look forward to coming here.
U&I: Usually I ask a band to
name a couple of Manchester-based bands our readers might not be
familiar with, but since we're bending the rules this month, any
bands from either Manchester or Stoke you think our readers should be
checking out?
There’s too
many good bands in Manchester to start listing, but we played with
this Manchester band in Stoke and were instantly attracted to their
music, they’re called ‘Flesh’ and it’s a real live show to
witness, check them out! There is also a good scene in Stoke and a
few good bands, our friends play in Manchester quite a bit and are
worth checking out they’re called ‘Camp Stag’, also check out
‘Moitessier’, we challenge anyone to watch them live and not to
tap a toe!
U&I: Your latest single
'Headstrong' is due out in a week and it's a little different than
your previous output, what's the story behind it?
There’s no
particular story to this song but the meaning about it is all in the
title, its purely about knowing what you want and going for it.
There’s a quite a poppy/dancey vibe to this and this just came
about during the writing process and instead of trying to hone it to
our usual sound, we just start running with it and quite enjoyed it!
U&I: You also premièred a video
for it earlier this week. How was the process of making a video? Have
you done it before?
We made a
video before for ‘Do you want me’, but this was our first
performance video and we thoroughly enjoyed it, Ash probably more
than anyone, the lad had a stiff neck from all the head banging.
U&I: Perhaps more importantly,
how long were you up on that roof for and did you have permission? I
remember being bollocked on more than one occasion for...enjoying a
similar view, though admittedly under-age drinking is probably
frowned upon more than making a music video!
Haha, yeah it
wasn’t too bad, we had it all done in one night. Scruff arranged it
and it was on the roof of the double tree Hilton in the city centre.
There wasn’t any time to even enjoy the view with a beer, we had a
tight schedule and the director wasn’t letting anyone mess it up.
U&I: Now you've got a label
behind you, thoughts must be drifting more and more to than
inevitable first album. Any plans for that yet? New tracks written?
Titles thrown about?
The albums
been discussed and it will happen but it’s a way off at the minute.
We’ve got some good songs that we’re happy with but every time we
write we always try and better the last so its hard to say at this
time.
U&I: Ash's beard is becoming a
source of envy for fans and critics alike. How can we be sure it
doesn't have some sort of ulterior motive, and that the momentum
behind you as a band isn't just the first stages of some beardy world
domination plan?
I don’t
think we can never be too sure, Ash is famous for coming out with
ridiculous statements, but since the beard got massive and covered
his mouth, he’s started talking sense, sounds like beard has
actually grown its own mouth over ash’s, or the fibres have
embedded themselves into his brain, either way we prefer this guy!
U&I: Forthcoming album aside,
have you got any other plans in the pipeline?
All talk at
the minute like we said earlier, but the next 12 months look very
exciting, more recording, more songs, new EP’s and possible tours.
Lots of work to do and we cant wait.
U&I: Finally, any exclusive news
you'd like to leave our readers with, or parting words of wisdom to
bestow on them?
Firstly never,
ever, ever bring piss to a shit fight!!!
Secondly,
we’ll be releasing a B side to ‘Headstrong’, entitled
‘Criminals’, its nothing like we’ve ever written. It’ll go up
on our soundcloud and will be on limited CD singles we’ll be
selling at our shows, heard it here first.
U&I: Thanks guys, it's been a
pleasure as always.
Cheers Dave,
always a pleasure.
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