Formed in 2018, Danny, Annie and Rhys make-up The Early Mornings, under the independent label, Safe Suburban Home. A young Manchester band with a classic 1980s indie sound. The Wedding Present come Teenage Filmstars while having an early Slits feel. Sounds that form scratchy bedroom pressing ideas, very DIY with poetic lyrics creating a dark innocence. How has this young band been adapting to lockdown?
Who are The Early Mornings?
The band is me (Danny) on bass, Annie on guitar/vocals and Rhys on drums. We’re from Salford/Middleton and Rhys joined us from North Wales. We formed in late 2018 and released our first single a few months ago.
What's the meaning behind the name?
There’s no meaning behind the name really, I guess you don’t see that many bands called ‘The (something)’ anymore so we thought we’d go for that. We liked the way it sounded and looked written down so that was it.
What was the drive to start the band?
When I first met Annie she had never been in a band or even played with other people before. We started to write some songs and originally thought we’d be instrumental, just guitar and bass, until we decided they’d be better with vocals/drums and used the books of poetry I had filled over the years to cut lyrics from. The drive in this period was just the pure enjoyment of playing with someone you really connected with and having fun coming up with ideas together. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that we put an ad out for a drummer and thought let’s actually start gigging.
Explain your sound:
Space
Biggest inspirations:
The Breeders/The Amps, The Raincoats, The Velvet Underground, The Feelies, Cate Le Bon, The Situationists, Dadaism, Bukowski, Frank O’Hara, Wilhem Reich.
How has lockdown affected you?
Me and Annie live together so we can still play and record at home. It’s actually been pretty nice so far, Annie’s been painting a lot and we’ve had time to work on some new ideas.
Will we see a change in attitude toward music after lockdown?
That’s a tough one. Will people realise how much they miss live music and more people will be out at gigs? Or will attendance be limited for a while? I’m not sure, I don’t think anyone can predict it.
How will lockdown affect young bands and venues?
Hopefully not too badly and we’ll all be having a few pints in our favourite venues watching bands again.
Overall aim?
Play as many shows in as many places as possible and make some albums.
What do you do outside of the band?
Annie is usually serving people fry-ups at a cafe during the day and I work the night shift at a hostel. Rhys is always getting sacked from his jobs. Annie’s also a great artist and makes all our artwork/posters and we like cooking together and drinking good beer and we all go to as many gigs as we can.
Your sound and culture...
Lyrically, we try to avoid being too explicit with meaning. We never sit down and think ‘right, this song is going to be about this’ - it’s more of a collage; a kaleidoscope of moments, observations and fragments of feelings all coming together to create a whole that can never really be predetermined. I think being overtly political in your music can often actually lessen the scope it has to inspire and affect people.
What has the rise in vinyl brought back for music?
I think it’s important to have physical copies of the music you love and there’s nothing better than vinyl. Aesthetically, I think it places more emphasis on the cover design and holding it in your hands and seeing the artwork up close is a different experience. It’s nice to collect things as well.
Where do you gain inspiration in your writing?
Everywhere. In the drawings of 4 year olds playing Pictionary on Christmas Day. In concrete reaching towards the grey sky. In the midnight rain and the 4am silence. In rusty mornings filled with indifference. In love.
As social media connects us do you still find difference and separation for bands outside London?
Probably not as much as there once was but you definitely still hear more about London bands in the press etc. We’re lucky to be from another great city for music though, but I think these definitions of bands based on where they come from have less meaning now. A lot of the bands I know in Manchester don’t actually have any members from here. People are moving around more and culturally we’re becoming more homogenised. Letting go of the past and the outdated notions of being a ‘Manchester’ or ‘whatever’ band was a necessary step to having a diverse and interesting music scene like we do today. We had some dates booked for our first shows in London that we had to cancel, so we’re looking forward to heading down soon hopefully.
What have you been doing during lockdown?
We live in the city centre so it’s been nice to walk around and enjoy the absence of cars and crowds. I usually work nights so I’ve appreciated seeing the sun and waking up at the same time as everyone else. Writing new songs, reading, cooking, playing with the cat and playing chess/risk. Plenty of doing nothing as well.
What emotions are you trying to drive?
Nothing in particular and everything in general. As long as you feel something.
What's your background in music?
None really, I taught myself to play bass when I was 18. Annie has played guitar since she was a kid and it kinda runs in the family - her Dad was a folk producer and recorded the likes of Bert Jansch, Davey Graham, Nic Jones and many more. Rhys is a great all-rounder and drums weren’t even his first instrument when we met a couple years ago.
What's next for the band?
Getting back to gigging and working on the next single
To follow the band;
You can listen to the band here;
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