Words: Caroline Morris
Indigo Dub are; Mark Wilson (Vocals), Phil Knox (Guitar), Ant O’Donnell (Bass), Daz Keal (Keys), Paul Mawhinney (Loops) and Gaylord Knott (Drums).
To put things straight from the off I’ve decided I’m not
going to take a walk down ‘obvious street ’ and do what other misinformed
journalists have chosen to do with this band ‘ Were sick of getting pigeonholed
by the press and labelled as a ‘baggy’ band’ begins the Dub’s vocalist
Mark, ‘were a step above baggy! Just because we come from Manchester and
play dance / guitar based stuff, were seen as baggy’.
Indigo Dub have never denied their main influences are
of that era, Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, The Roses...And although these
bands are still pumping out records in the millennium we’ve moved on and
so, believe it or not, have your average Manchester band!
So, were did it all begin?...
‘The band was a collaboration of three sets of people’
explains loopist Paul, ‘Mark and Phil got together in a band at school,
then drummer Gaylord, yes Gaylord, and bassist Ant both answered an ad
in the Loot. The rest of the band, Daz and Myself, got into the band after
watching them gig’, something that was initiated by their now manager Jackie
Brown.
The bands equipment runs quite a bit further than drum
sticks and a spare guitar string – heavy looping and sampling and a fair
amount of keys can be expected, so did the band always know what sound
they were hoping to create? ‘ No, not really it’s just what happened.
We could always tell where we were going’ begins Phil ‘we were never shoe
gazers’ adds Mark ‘we do things differently’. So, this explains the
bands antics on stage, showing an alternative ‘energetic’ edge to their
performance. Although this may not have been a conscious decision,
it certainly makes a refreshing change from your traditional ‘moody glare’
pose.
To escape the rainy city’s dull press the Dub embarked
in a UK mini tour in May, which included dates in Wrexham, Dublin, Dundee
Doncaster and Camden, at the much respected ‘Barfly’ club! ‘Yeah, we got
75 flyers for us on the door and we didn’t know who any of them were’ explains
Phil ‘All our friends are in the band and the people we work with aren’t
really into the music’ adds bassist Ant. The Dub have always been
respected for they’re large following but claim to not know most of their
audience. ‘People just come and see us and seem to get hooked and come
along to most of our gigs’, it’ got to be bonus hasn’t it!
Back in Manchester the band have recently landed themselves
a residency at Night and Day, Oldham Street. ‘ Well, the promoter Jenny
really like us and offered us a chance to play without having to sell tickets
or bring a crowd so we couldn’t argue with that, if nothing else it’s a
good rehearsal for us!’ The band have never gone short for a gig with numerous
appearances on the HMV Showcase nights, now being held at The Roadhouse
they seen to be popular with the promoters but unfortunately not much interest
from the industry?
With band concentrating on there live performances, recent
attempts to produce a decent demo have been unsuccessful, ‘We’ve found
it really difficult to produce a demo that sounds as good as we do live,
this is why we decided to record a live demo from the Dublin gig’.
The Dub admit that they need to ‘get their shit together’ and record a
better demo, ‘It’s money as well, not just recording costs but sending
them off. We sell some at gigs but not enough to cover costs’
‘Alot of bands are getting extra support from organisations like the Princes
Trust etc’ begins manager Jackie, ‘but because the band are working we’ve
got not chance. ‘ We do plan to do another demo soon though’ adds Phil
on a more upbeat note, ‘ we want to get distributed, at local record shops
this time and build up a bit more interest in Manchester. We are
probably more well known outside Manchester, which can’t be good for a
M/CR band can it?’
What first drew my attention to this band and led to me wanting to interview them was their fanzine ‘The Dub’, not only was it rare to find a fanzine for an unsigned band but the quality and wittiness of the mag was something else! ‘ Yeah, we just take the piss really, a mate of ours puts it together but we like to add our own idea’s’ explains Ant. ‘ were working on a new one at the moment’, ‘Well, I hope to make an appearance’ I add! The band have surrounded themselves with everything you might think they would need to get them noticed; a crowd, promotional material (T-shirts, fanzine, stickers, postcards etc), gigging opportunities, an impressive web site and a positive attitude, but are still finding it difficult to be accepted in the Manchester scene, so what’s going on?
Their response, ‘ It’s all about ‘the scene’ these days instead of the music!’ And I must say I have to agree, but there is some good music coming out of Manchester which helps in re-injecting that original M/CR music spirit. ‘Yeah, we like some bands, Bullgoose Loony, Ten Kingdoms, Surround, Moco, even some of the signed stuff like Doves, Nylon Pylon and, although we don’t believe it’s possible to get signed off a 3 track demo, (the) music are ok!
It was an experience interviewing this band. Normally I hear dreams of breaking into the UK, branching out and spreading the word, with the Dub, they’re already doing this and all they want is to be accepted by Manchester, so please do me a favour and listen to the music, not to the arsehole behind the counter in your local record shop!
Night and Day Cafe
Wednesday 31st October
This was my second attempt to catch the bands renowned live performance at Night and Day. And yet again they had been shunted to the back of the queue and appeared on stage at 11.45, following a less than impressive line up of directionless bands. And despite the graveyard shift the Dub begin the set with a powerful injection of beats! The immense power that is achieved from 6 people gets inside you in the first minute. Although the direct influences are obvious I found myself discovering new angles to approach the music from, an 80’s drive comes in two forms, the electronic beats and loops and the strong ‘new romantic’ vocal, it’s rare to find a band these days who offer this approach to singing; it’s simple and it works.
As with any successful dance band the tunes are catchy and create a buzz but with the added extra of guitar you get those notable lead-offs, which gives you the melody you want to hum. I’d like to see the band in a club atmosphere as I think they’d open themselves up to a new audience. The band has a non-aggressive stage presence but still a definite presence; I can’t put my finger on what is refreshing about the Dub, although in recent months we have become bombarded with formula bands with matching haircuts and although this offers symmetry on stage it has become tiresome.
With an obvious ‘split personality’ we get a dark and
interesting sound without the moody attitude. The band are professionals
when it comes to playing live, a tight but always innovatively melodic
and edgy sound. To conclude, guitar based dance is always going to
work because it offers you the best of both worlds, just read the above!
The band has an immense amount of dates lined up over
the coming months, for more information check out their website;
www.indigo-dub.co.uk
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