Mutineers have taken social networking by storm - sharing their music through Twitter and Facebook, the band have built up an admirable 93,000+ (and growing) fan base.
Having released their first album 'Friends, Lovers, Rivals' in late November 2012, the band have returned with their new single 'Tell Me Why' and have embarked on a mini tour visiting Manchester, London and Leeds.
The prior drinking friends met at the beginning of 2010 and decided to blend their genius musical talents together to form Mutineers. What makes this band stand out from the rest is their hard work and dedication to their music, which has landed them in the position they find themselves in today. The members Nicholas James Mallins, Michael Reed, Iwan Gronow, Charles Salt and Thomas Twemlow managed to make their way into the indie chart with their new single 'Tell Me Why' this year - with no high powered management or label. The band have also had respectable support slots with indie icons Pete Doherty and The View - which opened the band to a wider audience.
Mutineers are the definition of being hardworking and passionate about your music. They show that if you are willing to put the effort in to what you love it does pay off. I asked 1/5 of the band Michael a couple of questions about the new single and their thoughts on the bands social media success.
What can you tell us about your new single "Tell Me Why"? Is it based on a personal experience from one of the members?
All the lyrics are written by Nick so I couldn't give you the exact meaning behind them. You can hear references to Greek Mythology in there and a lot of the songs deal with relationships and growing up. Nick spent a lot of time working in book shops so there's always an interesting lyric!
Your first album 'Friends, Lovers, Rivals" is relatable to those who have experienced heartbreak and is quite melancholic. Was this the purpose of your album?
I don't think you set out to do anything in particular really lyrically; it just seeps out of you from life experiences. The album was written in our mid 20's and that's quite an important time in most peoples lives; when you realise things haven't exactly turned out how you'd hoped them to. I think that's something that our audience really relates to and probably why we inspire a certain amount of devotion amongst a select group of people!
Why did you choose music, was it an industry you always wanted to be in?
I think music is something that chooses you in general and once you get the bug it's hard to give it up. We'd probably all still be doing it now if there was nobody listening, maybe to a lesser degree. I think we'd go mad if there wasn't that creative performance related outlet that music gives you.
"The album was written in our mid 20's and that's quite an important time in most peoples lives"
Would you say it's hard to gain recognition in the music industry amongst other bands?
We've just been making good music really; our last single got into the indie chart without any press plugging, no booking agent, no label or no high powered management The social networking thing has been really important. We've found that by just being nice to people that love your music and showing them that you really do care (we really do!) you can find your own audience. Albeit at a slower rate compared to a major label band with a 100,000 promo budget!
The 1980's seems to have an impact on your material, what is it about this era that makes you want to incorporate it into your music?
There's a lot of good music from that era and we all grew up in the 80's, so maybe its related to that when people say they can hear echoes of The Cure, Smiths or New Order in what we do. Luckily we haven't been compared to Spandeau Ballet as of yet!
Your lyrics are both poetic and metaphorical - do you ever get compared to Morrissey?
We love what Morrissey does and The Smiths comparisons are never too far away, especially with Iwan being in Johnny Marr's live band. But I think we're original enough to have our own vibe going on. It'd get pretty boring to be copying other peoples music all the time!
"We've found that by just being nice to people that love your music and showing them that you really do care (we really do!) you can find your own audience"
Have you had any interesting experiences whilst preforming?
We had a bra thrown onstage at us during our recent Manchester show! We also did a gig in Cornwall once where about 90% of the audience were wired on plant food! People were invading the stage and having a dance!
What are the Mutineers plans for the remainder of the year?
I think we're probably going to put a few singles out for the time being; and get out on tour a little bit more, really build things and get people vibed for the next album.
Follow Mutineers for updates on their music and future gigs:
No comments:
Post a Comment