Sammy Lewis, front man of Being There, a London-based lo-fi rock act, was kind enough to answer some questions about the band ages ago. But they got lost, which had nothing to do with drunkenness (or at least very little to do). The band is on Young And Lost Club Records, also home to Noah and The Whale, among others.
When given the opportunity to decry the label some folks have hung on the band, namely “lo-fi” he is philosophical.
“I guess for a lot of people 'lo-fi' now means a philosophy or an approach, more than an actual sound, so if people have said that about our songs then I can understand that. I like lo-fi, so I'll go with that - lo-fi indie rock.” he says.
This question, incidentally, was posed as “if you had a gun to your head and had to choose a genre?” Fortunately this is rarely the case, excepting in some parts of Detroit. Perhaps if your booking agent accidentally sets up a show in Jackson, Mississippi.
The band apparently uses different instruments to fit the mood of their tracks. One of those tracks had an old school synth sound but that is, apparently, not all the band is about.
“Well The Radio is actually the only track on the album that has those kind of synths. I knew I wanted something a bit different for this track, as it seemed straighter and poppier than other songs we recorded. We recorded our album with Richard Formby at his studio in Leeds, and he has a bunch of old organs and keyboards there, old Farfisas and the like (one of which you can hear on the Herman Dune track Recording Farfisa),” says Lewis. “We tried a bunch of those, and piano, but ultimately I ended up trying at the last minute this little Yamaha keyboard that Louis from Spectrals had left behind from his last session with Richard. And it worked so we stuck with it. So Louis, if you're reading this, thanks buddy.”
When given the opportunity to decry the label some folks have hung on the band, namely “lo-fi” he is philosophical.
“I guess for a lot of people 'lo-fi' now means a philosophy or an approach, more than an actual sound, so if people have said that about our songs then I can understand that. I like lo-fi, so I'll go with that - lo-fi indie rock.” he says.
This question, incidentally, was posed as “if you had a gun to your head and had to choose a genre?” Fortunately this is rarely the case, excepting in some parts of Detroit. Perhaps if your booking agent accidentally sets up a show in Jackson, Mississippi.
The band apparently uses different instruments to fit the mood of their tracks. One of those tracks had an old school synth sound but that is, apparently, not all the band is about.
“Well The Radio is actually the only track on the album that has those kind of synths. I knew I wanted something a bit different for this track, as it seemed straighter and poppier than other songs we recorded. We recorded our album with Richard Formby at his studio in Leeds, and he has a bunch of old organs and keyboards there, old Farfisas and the like (one of which you can hear on the Herman Dune track Recording Farfisa),” says Lewis. “We tried a bunch of those, and piano, but ultimately I ended up trying at the last minute this little Yamaha keyboard that Louis from Spectrals had left behind from his last session with Richard. And it worked so we stuck with it. So Louis, if you're reading this, thanks buddy.”
Tomorrow
What is it he thinks makes the band stand out? What is it he feels that makes them different from all the other young guys hopping into the path of the train that is the music business?
“I think that there are very few British guitar bands these days that deal with real life. Bands like Electrelane and Sleeping States were so good about discussing real lives and feelings. Growing up, going to work, walking around the city. But I think we've kind of lost that in this country. Which seems so strange to me, especially at a time when more young people than ever are going through difficult times, people I know leaving uni with no work, trying to move out of their parents place but not being able to afford it,” he says. “In America, on the other hand, you have bands like Kurt Vile, Ducktails, Woods, Nodzzz, Times New Viking (the list goes on) that just seem like regular people making great music about real life. Not that every band should try to be 100% 'real', that would be boring; but I think it's so important to be true to yourself. I think we're at least trying to do that, and it's a shame that there are so few bands in this country that feel like they can do that and be accepted by the industry.”
Good answer!
There isn’t a single way the band go about creating a song. But there is a starting point.
“Hmm it really varies so much. But generally it starts with me messing around on my guitar and coming up with a riff or a chord sequence that I like. Then I'll work on that until I've got the structure of the song more or less finished. And then I just wait and hope that lyrics will pop into my head, which they usually do when I'm walking around town.” says Lewis.
-by Patrick Ogle
“I think that there are very few British guitar bands these days that deal with real life. Bands like Electrelane and Sleeping States were so good about discussing real lives and feelings. Growing up, going to work, walking around the city. But I think we've kind of lost that in this country. Which seems so strange to me, especially at a time when more young people than ever are going through difficult times, people I know leaving uni with no work, trying to move out of their parents place but not being able to afford it,” he says. “In America, on the other hand, you have bands like Kurt Vile, Ducktails, Woods, Nodzzz, Times New Viking (the list goes on) that just seem like regular people making great music about real life. Not that every band should try to be 100% 'real', that would be boring; but I think it's so important to be true to yourself. I think we're at least trying to do that, and it's a shame that there are so few bands in this country that feel like they can do that and be accepted by the industry.”
Good answer!
There isn’t a single way the band go about creating a song. But there is a starting point.
“Hmm it really varies so much. But generally it starts with me messing around on my guitar and coming up with a riff or a chord sequence that I like. Then I'll work on that until I've got the structure of the song more or less finished. And then I just wait and hope that lyrics will pop into my head, which they usually do when I'm walking around town.” says Lewis.
-by Patrick Ogle
The band played a tour in the UK with Noah and the Whale and has a launch for their new single in November.
“Then after Xmas we'll release another single and then the album after that, which is called Breaking Away. Hopefully we'll get the chance to play more cool shows around then.” says Lewis. “I'm really excited about the new songs we've been working on since finishing the recording of Breaking Away; we're playing some of them live now, so check them out in person.”
“Then after Xmas we'll release another single and then the album after that, which is called Breaking Away. Hopefully we'll get the chance to play more cool shows around then.” says Lewis. “I'm really excited about the new songs we've been working on since finishing the recording of Breaking Away; we're playing some of them live now, so check them out in person.”
Being There have released the free single, Tomorrow, which is above. You can download it HERE.
The Radio b/w Back to The Future is also out as a limited edition CD wallet and released digitally to coincide with the band supporting Noah and The Whale on their UK tour that just finished up.
The Radio b/w Back to The Future is also out as a limited edition CD wallet and released digitally to coincide with the band supporting Noah and The Whale on their UK tour that just finished up.
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