Words: Dave Beech
One of the most exciting new bands out of Manchester at the moment is Kult Country, whose impossible to pin down sound and incendiary live shows have become something of legend over the last few months. After being mightily impressed with their follow-up (to 'Slowburn') single 'Trembling Moon', which was released yesterday (June 30) - see our Track Of The Day feature, and 9.5/10 single review - we caught up with the band for a quick five minutes.
Hi, thanks for agreeing to have a chat with us. First of all, your name feels like it has some kind of political overtones. Is that the case? Is there a meaning behind it, or did you think it just had a ring to it?
Political, social and behavioural aspects of humanity were inspirations towards Kult Country being formed, along with personal experiences and many other interests. The meaning behind it is evolving constantly, reacting to the external world and internal struggles.
Having only been a band for 18 months, how have you settled in to the city after returning from London? Was it an easy transition?
It was an easy transition; most of the band had always resided in Manchester.
Your first label, SWAYS, seems far more than just a record label. The bands they put out, yourselves included, have an intelligence behind the writing that isn't present in other bands from the city. What do you think it is about SWAYS that attracts such bands?
I feel they approach music with awareness towards literature, lyrics and context. The natural interest they have in encouraging and supporting many different mediums of art (zines, installations, visual arts, literature etc.) seems to provide them with a broad outlook when working with bands on the label. Plus, in the most beautiful sense, SWAYS just magnetized a weird fucking bunch of people, which is why it’s so special.
Speaking of which, your new single, 'Trembling Moon', was released by No Self Records. Can you elaborate on your decision to not to put it out via SWAYS? Or were you just approached by No Self at the right moment?
It was just a case of timing and availability.
'Trembling Moon' feels somewhat more straightforward than your debut 'Slowburn'. Given how different these two tracks feel, what can we expect from any future releases? Do you think you've found your niche yet?
You can expect more songs that will feel different from each other, as everyday day does; as every cloud filled sky you see is. A ‘niche’ seems like a dead end, a repetitive content place to be stuck in. Our focus is solely on being able to make music of any direction we choose without defining it ourselves.
The B-side to 'Trembling Moon', 'Atlas Haze', gives off a feeling of narrative, or rather a more obvious feeling of narrative, than other tracks, and comes over as more accessible too. Could you elaborate on the subject matter a little? What was the writing process behind it?
A state of confusion, sorrowful cries asking why. I woke up one day and wrote it.
What was it like working with Hookworms' MJ at his Suburban Home Studios in Leeds? Did you learn anything from him as a band or was it a fairly typical recording process?
Suburban Home was relaxed, we learnt a few new tricks in relation to creating the sounds we had in our heads, we just recorded the majority of what we had demoed whilst discussing the textures with MJ. He’s a very talented musician and has a clear production vision when behind the desk, which is important if you haven’t got long in the studio. We were open to him giving ideas for certain parts if he felt they needed altering.
Your live shows have been garnering a reputation as being pretty intense affairs. How have you found they transfer from smaller gigs to festivals such as Beacons? Is it a different type of show in comparison or do you just treat every gig as a gig?
Sometimes the energy is uncontrollable, sometimes a crowd is frozen…we hope the music translates the same every time, with the venue being irrelevant. It’s always going to feel different when a band is playing 5 metres away from you as opposed to 50 metres away from you.
Obviously, being Manchetser-based, you must be working with a host of bands who you feel deserve a little more recognition, are there any you think our readers should be checking out, that they might not be aware of yet?
G R E A T W A V E S, M O N E Y, The Tahitian Sons, Naked (on drugs), Aldous R H, Temple Songs, Waiters, Weird Era, Obsidian Pond, Sex Hands, YBA, Fruit Tones, Francis Lung.
With your single just out, what can we expect from Kult Country going into the latter half of the year?
One LP. One EP. A few world tours.
Finally, any last minute words or exclusive news you'd like to leave our readers with?
Keep creating. Keep collaborating with love.
Kult Country play a London single launch show at Sebright Arms tonight (July 1), followed by a Manchester launch at The Eagle Inn, Salford on July 4.
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