Formed last year, Cheshire-based three-piece indie outfit Strangers released their debut EP 'The Demo Tape' earlier this year, and have now produced new single 'Hibernate' (the first of two set to be released by the end of the year) on November 3.
Who are you?
My name is Liam McGrath, I sing and play guitar in Strangers. I also sometimes play piano/synth on our recordings, but not live. Our bass player is called Sean Goddard (he also handles some of the synth work on the recordings) and our drummer is called Jamie Griffith. Me and Sean are from Widnes, and Jamie, who's 18, from Warrington.
Tell us something about yourself and how you came to be where you are today.
I'm a 20-year-old multi-instrumentalist. I've been writing music since I was ten years old. I met our bassist, Sean (also 20), at high school. We started a band in 2016 but after name and line up changes nothing really came of it until we met our drummer, Jamie through mutual musician friends. We became Strangers about a year and a half ago and began recording music together at our friends studio. We released a five-track EP earlier this year. Being based between Liverpool and Manchester that is generally where we play shows although we have ventured out across the north.
Give us an idea of your musical style and influences.
People (us included) find it hard to define our sound stylistically. I don't really like the term indie. We have quite an eclectic range of songs, some rocky, some more ambient and some sweeter and more indie pop. We take influence from a wide range of people. We are fans of the production and sonics of hip hop and electronic music and like to incorporate this into our songs to subvert the usual sound of an "indie" guitar band. The three of us all listen to, and take influence from, different things, everything from the 1975 to weird synth wave music and Latin jazz.
Explain the production and writing process behind your songs.
The songs usually start with an idea from myself or Jamie. Sometimes it is a guitar riff or a drum beat or maybe I'll have just written a verse and chorus. We then take it to the rehearsal room to arrange. Once the song is a bit more fleshed out we'll make a low quality demo for me to write lyrics over. It is at this point that we'll start to add possible production ideas such as synths, extra percussion, backing vocals etc. We then use that as the bases for our recording of the song.
Tell us a little about your new single.
Our new single is called 'Hibernate'. We recorded it in my home studio and it was produced by me. Lyrically it tackles themes of growing up and losing your naivety as well as the story of an ending relationship and what it feels like to transition from summer to winter.
Can we catch up with you at any forthcoming live shows?
We play a This Feeling night on 16th November at EBGBS, Liverpool supporting Factory. Then on 19th November we're at Night and Day Cafe, Manchester supporting SisterRay.
How's the rest of the year looking, plans-wise?
We are already in the final stages of recording our next single which is set to come out in December. Both that and 'Hibernate' will be included in a longer project that will come out early next year.
Where can we hear more of your music?
Spotify, Soundcloud.
What social media platforms can we find you on?
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