Chimp iPhone App now available!
Home 
Articles Same Teens Old And New
Articles Same Teens Old And New
Old And New
It was a day for visiting Manchester institutions old and, quite possibly, new. Going to interview The Whip as they record their second album made an interesting enough prospect, their blend of electronic resonance having hit the streets of Manchester long before La Roux’s eighties-inflitrated back-beat.
But the fact they’re recording at Spirit studio in SSR makes it all the more so given how many of the crème of Manchester’s stalwartly musos have marched through those same hallowed doors.
Reminders litter the walls and while waiting for The Whip to do something technical I spot a postcard sent by Ian Brown from jail in New York. What a cool situation: “Ian, you’ve been arrested… ‘Wait, can I just send…”).
Same Teens and XOX are also embarking on the cusp of a Manchester institution and for In the City we put on a handful of bands from Berlin, Japan, New York, London and, er, Manchester over three days. What with a Winter BBQ and after-show parties there was no end of stuff going on over that weekend. Find out more at www.myspace.com/sameteensmanchester.
Back to the Whip, and once they were able to spare Fi we turned the Whip ON…
“The next album is going to be different to the first. It’s going to be new and fresh but people who liked our music the first time round won’t be freaked out… It’s just us, more mature, two years later.
“We want it to be out by February and once that’s done we’ll do a solid few months of touring. Recent music has been an influence - the new Zombie Nation album I really like. But it’s more once you listen back to what’s been recorded that you can hear what’s been influencing you.
“There’s all the dance music and electro stuff but then Nathan loves his Prog and listens to Yes all the time. We all love Fleetwood Mac so that must be in there somewhere, too.”
On gigging v recording…
“The four of us see each other more than we see anyone else; we’ve become a little family. A lot of bands can fall down there when they suddenly realise they might not get along because it’s hard being confined on tour.
“We’ve learned how to be with each other after some amazing experiences, like Japan, and this festival in Slovakia. It had to be closed down the next day because the tent that we played in collapsed. We’d missed sound check because we were late and had to go straight on stage. We thought it’d be awful but this empty tent filled up straight away and was mental! Another one was in Germany, the equivalent of V, and because we were dance music at a rock festival the tent just filled up and everyone seemed to love it.
“So now we sort of know what to expect. When we first played Glastonbury
On the differences playing abroad…
“In England Europe there’s not that cynicism. Japan’s the strangest the crowd can just stand there and wait til you finish and clap politely! Not like in Manchester, where you can play to a massive, brawling crowd and it can get messy.”
On being a ‘Manchester Band’…
“We’re a band from Manchester so there is no escaping it but that said, within that older scene there wasn’t the internet or anything. We can work with bands in Italy, Australia or whatever just by sending an email.
“Early on we were involved with the label Kitsune from France through Myspace. Back in the day it was more introverted because there wasn’t that freedom so you would work with bands that lived down the road.
“Music has gone global now so you don’t need to put people in a box regionally. Still, it’s good to be associated with all that stuff, it’s a really good heritage but it just isn’t as important as it used to be.”
On 14+…
“It’s the 14+ gigs which also have a different crowd because you have a load of younger people who are up for it from the minute the first band play to the last. If you’re a support band on a normal tour you’re there to warm the band up but 14+ they’re ready to go mad from 7pm.
“I remember when I was 14-15 I was just bored and all I wanted to do was go out and watch bands. That’s why lots of kids end up drinking on the street, that’s what I did, sat in a car park with my friends drinking 20/20, which was grim. It’s so frustrating when you want to go and watch bands. Youth centres are shit; kids just want to go to gigs.”
On new inspirations and voices…
“Bruce sits beavering away, really. So much has happened in a year. I’ll see Bruce sitting on the tour bus writing away and coming up with ideas. He has a baby on the way, so that’s also a massive change in his life which is going to affect his ideas. And the four of us have been rehearsing, bashing things out. I’ve started singing on a few tunes which I’ve not done in this band before, which is weird but interesting.”
