Currently on tour around the UK following the release of new singles and the announcement that debut album Reasons to Dream will be released in May, whenyoung are the indie band to watch in 2019.
Formed of singer/bassist Aoife Power, guitarist Niall Burns and drummer Andrew Flood, who are all originally from Ireland, whenyoung’s euphoric melodies will make you want to dance and cry at the same time, but in a good way! I caught up with the effortlessly cool band members backstage at Nottingham’s iconic Rock City just before they were due to perform on stage and I could definitely sense the atmosphere of excitement for the evening ahead.
For those who are unaware of your sound how would you describe it?
Aoife Power: I think we try and make euphoric melodies and maybe sad lyrics but accompanied with happy melodies. It’s kind of pop vibes, but also punky with the guitar sounds.
Sing along tunes but with deeper meanings?
AP: Yeah exactly!
So you’ve just released new singles ‘Never Give Up’ and ‘Future’. How is it different to your previous releases?
AP: I think ‘Future’ and ‘Never Let Go’ are in a similar area to our older music, but they are more pop-sounding than songs we’ve released before. We’ve also worked with a different producer this time. We wanted to make the tracks more pop sounding and see how that goes. At the moment it feels like we haven’t released enough to show our true colours yet, so we can’t wait to release the new album to show our style more.
“At the moment it feels like we haven’t released enough to show our true colours yet, so we can’t wait to release the new album to show our style more.”
How did you find it emerging as an artist? Were there any major challenges?
Andrew Flood: Yeah I guess it just takes time in that you have to realise what kind of songs you write, how you play together as a band.
Niall Burns: Even just keeping a day job at the same time whilst you’re just starting out.
AF: Yeah working in bars and stuff, and it even takes time just getting gigs and getting people to come.
AP: You really have to work hard and network as dirty as that sounds you totally do, you have to go to gigs and try and meet other bands and people. Everyone’s doing the same thing.
AP: We’ve gotten so many opportunities through friends we’ve made and people we’ve met. Definitely the best thing is just getting out there and playing shows and meeting other bands.
So it’s mainly to do with who you know?
AP: Yeah really, we really worked hard at trying to get to know people because when we moved from Ireland we didn’t know anyone so we had to go out and meet people a lot but it’s kinda true, we just played loads of gigs.
“When we moved from Ireland we didn’t know anyone so we had to go out and meet people a lot.”
Would you say your music has an Irish influence?
AP: Yeah definitely in the way I sing and my accent, but all the songs really are written in London from the perspective of Irish immigrants living in London going through the feeling of being a bit lost to feeling accepted.
How are you feeling about the tour at the moment considering this is only the very beginning?
AP: We’ve done Glasgow and Rock City last night, but it’s going really well.
AF: Yeah so far so good the Sundara Karma guys are really lovely and the fans are nice. The first night was particularly insane, we’re excited for Manchester.
NB: The venue is huge in Manchester, Brixton Academy as well will be a big one.
Do you tend to get good crowds in the big cities?
AF: Yeah definitely and mostly student crowds, and it’s nice to be able to feed off Sundara Karma’s energy and hopefully inspire some of their fans to listen to our music.
What’s your songwriting process like? Is it mainly a personal experience or are the songs open to interpretation?
AP: It’s personal experience but hopefully written in a way that people can relate to. A lot of the songs are about human emotions and insecurities and things like that a lot of the time.
It seems like a lot of the songs have very emotional undertones…
AP: Yeah that’s where they are written from, it’s a release of emotion.
Do you have any major plans for the future and this year, anything you’d like to achieve?
AP: We’d love to play more headline gigs around the UK and Europe.
AF: Yeah we’d love to get to a point where we can headline big shows like this and mean that much to people. Getting our album out on the 24th of May, and just building the fan base and hopefully meaning something to people. To grow as much as we can and see as much of the world as possible.
“We’d love to get to a point where we can headline big shows like this and mean that much to people.”
Do you find it different playing here than in Ireland?
AF: Not really, I think the crowds are quite similar and there is a similar music taste. It’s always nice to go back and play in Ireland as it’s nice to get home and see friends, hopefully get an Irish number one album!
It seems like you’ve had a really successful year so far and good luck tonight I am looking forward to watching!
All: Thank you hope you enjoy it!
whenyoung’s debut album Reasons to Dream will be out May 24th 2019 and is available to pre-order now. You can find them on Instagram (@whenyoungband), Twitter (@whenyoungband), and online (https://www.whenyoungband.com).
Isabelle Walker
Featured Image courtesy of whenyoung’s official Facebook page.
Image use licence here.
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