featuring: blind atlas.

one of the first bands i came to discover here was blind atlas, and to be fair, they are probably one of the best manchester bands as well. it was incredibly easy to get into their sound and when i finally got the chance to see them live, their performance was  just as great as i expected. gorgeous lyrics, haunting vocals and a unique sound simply never fail to impress.

when it comes to blind atlas, i just keep wondering why they still seem to be some sort of insider tip. they’re simply one of those bands that i think deserve much more attention. lead singer ross thompson is joined by adam jones, christian jacobs, pete garner, cameron baxter and to make the line-up complete, helen 'bels' temperley. their music is quite multifaceted as they combine different genres in their songs, which is easy to tell just by listening to their debut ep iron wall and the singles take a while and 4th street. in my humble opinion, blind atlas seriously need to become more well-known – and not just outside of manchester, but outside of the uk in general. 

 blind atlas

 

and that’s exactly the reason why i wanted them to be this month’s feature. massive thanks again to blind atlas for kindly agreeing to answer a few questions for me. now here’s what they had to say. 

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question: since the internet doesn’t reveal too much about you guys, it would great if you could tell us a little bit about yourselves – where did you meet, how would you describe your music and so on.

ross: i moved here from boston, massachusetts, i'm from denver in colorado originally. i was looking to start a band and met cam and adam. adam was wearing a flying burrito bros t-shirt which got the conversation going... we arranged a jam and it went from there. 

 

adam: that was a couple of years ago, i had been in a few bands together with cam previously, they weren't great.

cam: chris was looking at 'wanted' ads in a music shop... specifically 'wanted drummer' ads, so i basically wrestled him to the ground and forced him to come to a jam.

chris: which worked out very well...

ross: we played a gig with a band bels was in, and asked her to play on some of our tracks. bels can play viola, violin, keys and backing vocals.  

cam: bels and chris put some great harmonies on some of the tracks. 

adam: pete was already a friend and was in a band we're friends with. 

pete: i was playing in a band called 'walton hesse'. i'm still great friends with them but i left and then took up the invitation to join blind atlas.

cam: it was really great he joined. helped to fill gaps in the sound and having someone new reinvigorates what you do. 

pete: i play guitar and keys, we all have various musical tastes and the way we all play gels really well.

adam: in terms of describing our music, i think if we said country it puts a negative image in people's heads in the uk. americana has a more acceptable image, but it doesn't really describe what we do. yes, we do have some songs which fall into that box, but actually we have some songs which defy that genre. we are not rootsy, traditional guys who are looking to be authentic to a perceived notion of the 'americana sound'. we have the edge on most folksy bands in this country as we have someone who actually sings in his own accent. also the songs we write are deeply personal. i like to think when you hear us and see us live, you are looking at a band which is opening itself up to you totally. 

q: country still seems to be some sort of taboo here. although it’s not like americana is much different, or even folk. lots of bands who were part of this big folk hype during the last couple of years sure used country elements and still do, yet almost none would admit that. why do you think most people in the uk still share this negative image of country music?
  
adam: i think country is perceived to be rather conservative music and therefore people who say they like it are deemed to be so. a lot of what comes out of nashville can definitely be said to be so, but that's the just the commercial aspect of the industry there. folk music of the british isles was seen as being backward, after the revival in the 60s and early 70s it pretty much disappeared off the radar till the last ten years or so. americana really hit here after 'o brother, where art thou?' came out, with bluegrass and the traditional songs from the south. all these types, country, folk etc. as you said, have all got similar links to each other, but country is taboo because of the gun owning, apple pie image which the nashville industry pumps out on a regular basis. possibly that might be a bit of snobbery there too, as country could be seen as a working class genre. the country clubs/pubs in the uk are rarely frequented if ever by students or white collar types.

q: you can already show off a quite impressive list of bands that you supported live, such as the features, lucy wainwright roche and of course the travelling band. is there a special band you'd love to support in the future? or perhaps a band you wish would open for you at one of your headline shows?

ross: i think supporting the bees was a highlight for me, the atmosphere at their show was just crazy and they were really nice guys. i'd support them again any day, or have them support us, why not!

q: sadly i've only had the chance to see you live once so far. your acoustic set at 'shut the far cupboard' was great, i enjoyed every second of it. do you usually prefer small (acoustic) events like stfc or do you rather play proper gigs at slightly bigger venues?

pete: personally i like them both. it's good to be able to do both types. sometimes all you wanna do is rock out and be as loud as you can, but other times you want people to be able to hear what you're saying and actually listen rather then just be there, if that makes sense. so to answer, as long as we can do both, i'm happy.

q: the new year is already a few days old but there are still tons of 'best of 2011'-lists getting published each day. what was your personal favourite record of 2011?

cam: ashes and fire by ryan adams was a good one, as was brothers* by the black keys.

(*note: brothers was released in 2010, el camino in december 2011)

q: finally, what can we expect from you in 2012?

chris: well, we have an animation due out later this month for the title track of our debut album kodiak bear, with a few more videos hopefully to follow, before the album is released in april.

adam: we are also looking to maybe do a mini tour, but you'll have to keep an eye on our facebook fan page for any details. but we do have gigs in manchester and london in the next few months.

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blind atlas - my proud mountains

check the blind atlas facebook page for all news, gig announcements, new videos and to find out more about the release of their debut album kodiak bear. they're also on twitter, so make sure to give them a shout on there as well.

as chris said, kodiak bear will be out in april. of course you can expect an album review here, so make sure to check back. until then, you should do yourself a favour and have a listen to their singles and the iron wall ep. all songs are available on itunes, amazon and other good online music shops.

take a while (single)

1. take a while (3:32)

2. best day of my life (2:33)

released in july 2010

listen here

4th street (single)

1. 4th street (3:28)

2. for carol (3:54)

released in february 2011

listen here

iron wall (ep)

1. iron wall (7:04)

2. mary anne (3:18)

3. my proud mountains (5:51)

released in july 2011

listen here