Lights interview - band

ukevents.net · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 2513

Lights. Brightening London’s Music Scene

By
Jay Morey

You’d paid fifteen odd quid for a night of live music in the dingy but atmospheric Islington Academy, and the last thing you need is another unsigned band acting as support. So you stand at the bar, order another overpriced pint and plan on letting the noise from the pretenders drift through your ears. But this night, instead of an overbearing bunch of posers, an actual band of class takes to the stage and pulls the waiting punters in from the lobby, from the toilets, from their cigarette breaks, and takes your attention from the surely illegal bar pricelist.

Puressence are a band who’ve seen success elude them time and time again. As their biggest break is yet to materialise they play regular gigs to keep the fan base happy. Of course, this means that support is usually local acts or unsigned bands. Earlier this year I attended my second Puressence gig and saw an exceptional example of unsigned talent filling the awkward support slot. Lights, a band who practice in Hackney, played with a sublime energy and innovation. Strong, classically inspired tracks and assured, confident showmanship from front man Andrew Future gave the crowd an excellent and surprisingly polished performance. The toil in their lyrics of ‘love, loathing, fear and dreams’ was evident as I became easily swept into the sea of guitars and piano. Not condescending and nowhere near clichéd in their brand of pop-rock, Lights made me believe they would not find it hard to find a much larger, receptive audience soon.

Taken with this band, I was prompted to find out more. The thrumming crowd indicated they already had the beginnings of a devoted fan base and looking around the patrons all nodding with me, I found they had many more in the offering. www.myspace.com/lightsmu is the home of the band. I found I wasn’t the first journalist to make their acquaintance. Playmusic magazine stated in May 2007 "Lights make inventive, invigorating and highly memorable dramatic pop,”

Reading through their history on their stylish site, I found this band had only formed this year. Andrew Future, the approachable and charismatic lead singer was kind enough to grant me a short interview.

o What bought you together?

The desire to create beautiful music and the mutual respect of each other’s abilities. We share a desire to move people; to write timeless songs and create unforgettable soundscapes. We want to make music to make people look outward and share in what we do. Music is about self-expression but it’s not about being selfish or indulgent. Our music is complex without ever being self-indulgent. It’s about melody and that, ultimately, is what brings us together.

o Are you confident of success in the current music scene?

As Lights aren’t and will never be part of any scene, yes. We have no desire to be pigeon holed and because of the way we write and because we’re not concerned with following any trends that may exist in the North, or in Hoxton or New Cross, what comes out is a much richer, more honest sound that will outlive whatever the current magazine face is. If you look at the great bands of the last thirty years - The Smiths, The Verve, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Depeche Mode, REM - they all crossed many genres, borders and scenes, surviving on their integrity, musicianship and the quality of their songwriting. We’re not comparing ourselves to any of those bands, but we do aspire to be that great.

o And from what I have heard, that aspiration is a serious possibilty. If you had to collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

Probably a really great pop producer to do something totally unique. Pop music is the most progressive area at the moment. If you look at guitar music, it’s all very samey and very dull. Because we boast a classical pianist and a lead guitarist, there’s a lot more to our sound and we’d like to maximise this and push back the boundaries.

o What’s the best venue you’ve played?

Probably the Carling Islington Academy. We played our second gig there to five hundred people supporting Puressence. It was great fun. People really got into it.

o Do you have enough material for an album you can be proud of?

We have dozens of songs and when the time’s right we’ll consider what will make our album. Because we’re a band of five songwriters, it adds tons of variety to our songs and means we never hit a dry spot in coming up with new music. The ideas always flow. Ideally, we’ll have our first two LPs written by the end of the year.

o How close are you to getting record company representation?

Well, we’ve only done five gigs and have been concentrating on writing and rehearsing, although we’ve been contacted by several major labels already. We’re represented by the same lawyers as Keane, Sugababes and Get Cape and really, we just wanna work with people that respect what we’re trying to do and are really into it. So if that means signing to a major label that believes they can get our stuff to the masses, then great. We want everyone to hear our music.

o Are you close to any other unsigned bands in London?

We have lots of mates in bands, yes. Although London sadly doesn’t have the community of other towns.

o It does appear to be a much more fractured and individual musical world, that’s true.What song do you feel best represents you?

‘Welcome To The Real World’ is most people’s favourite. It’s a poppy-catchy number that considers the concepts of what beauty is and what we really look for in people and in ourselves, taking a swipe at the pitfalls of love and what happens when you’re shallow. The slightly wry chorus lyric goes: "There she goes, there she goes / She cuts your throat and there shes goes / Welcome to the real world." It’s the band playing at its best - playing just for the song, with no one playing more than they need to.

o We’ve talked about your music, how about your influences? Who are your biggest heroes?

I don’t really have any heroes to be honest, they always tend to disappoint you. Although I respect a lot of people. Anyone who makes you think, who changes your beliefs or who makes you a better person can be a hero. Heroes shouldn’t be famous people, they should be anyone who changes your life. Whether that’s a lover, best friend, band mate or singer in a band.

o But there has to be a favourite album?

I could never just pick one, but records like OK Computer, A Northern Soul by The Verve, Asleep At The Back by Elbow and After The Goldrush by Neil Young all had profound effects on my songwriting and musical outlook. But then so did records by Interpol, Radiohead, Incubus and The Cure.

o I loved your set at the Islington Academy. Any more upcoming gigs/shows/support slots?

There will be, but we’re keeping tight lipped, as we’re inviting A&R folk to our studio at the Premises in Hackney to see us. We’ll post gigs on www.MySpace.com/lightsmu when they’re confirmed.

o Thank you for answering my queries, is there anything else you’d like to add?

What our music has come to symbolise is that belief and tenacity is enough to overcome the barriers that would otherwise make things impossible. This probably sounds a bit vague right now, but in time, it will make sense.

I couldn’t help but feel that Lights are a band with a determined desire for great music to be great and innovative again, and are not simply breaking into this fraught industry for any personal success. With classical roots and a wealth of respect for other bands and artists rather than detriment, they’ve the ingredients to succeed. I hope they find the right home for their brand of music very soon.

Thanks to Andrew Future for the interview
Please visit Lights at www.myspace.com/lightsmu