At the beginning of 2000 Terris were tipped alongside Coldplay as the best new bands of the year. Well Coldplay went onto major chart success and Terris just sort of disappeared. Well fear not because on March 19th we see the release of the debut album "Learning To Let Go". We caught up with the band to discuss just exactly what they got up to all year and to ask is 2001 the death of one Welsh band and the birth of another.
 

Q: Last year you came out with a blaze of publicity and then you just disappeared. Was that the calm before the storm?
A: We didn't come blazing in. It was just the press that came blazing in. We just went and made the album which was what we were going to do all along. The thing was that we hadn't actually recorded the songs we'd written and we simply had to go about recording them. It took us a while to find the right producer and right environment to record it, so that's basically what we have been doing.
 

Q: So what were the record company like when they heard your plans?
A: Well it was us that wanted to get the record out first and they wanted us to get the recording right. The frustration was more ours because we wanted to record the songs more than anything else, but the time wasn't right at the end of the day. There was all hype and we had no music to back it up. All we wanted to do was record the album and once everything fell into place it only took 3 months.
 

Q: The albums out on the 19th March - the same day as the Manics. Would you say its the birth of one band and the death of another?
A: We know were not just another Welsh band. We never associated ourselves with part of that Cool Cymbru stuff. The thing is you can't make Welsh music. You just make music and we've never been interested in flying the flag.

Its just a coincidence that the albums are released on the same day. If people want to make comparisons then fine but were not the ones saying it. I think everyone knows that were not fans of the Manics and as regards for "So Why So Sad" - I'd rather listen to the Beach Boys version.
 

Q: So you won't be penning songs for that fellow Welsh boy - Noel from Popstars?
A: Its all just uglyness and I think music is something that should be on a higher level. I think Popstars is good because people can see it for what it is. The worrying is people can see it with their own eyes and they will still rush out and buy it.

All this stuff about "you look fat" then "go on a diet", Fuck off!!!!! Its just another example of people moulding societies set standard of what you should look like, what you should do and how you should act. Its all extremely manipulative
 

Q: Your album "Learning To Let Go" actually sounds like a complete album as opposed to a collection of singles. Was this something you tried to achieve?
A: Were not a very singles orientated band, we just write what we feel. It wasn't a conscious decision anyway - we had songs, recorded them and those songs made up the album. Its just a really simplistic organic process and we didn't consciously do anything - its just pure expression.

Achieving a timeless album is the ultimate thing. An album shouldn't be of its time, but beyond its time. I think good music is beyond categorization anyway. I want people to listen to the songs an interpret them in their own way. There's no need for me to explain each song because its all about what you get from it.
 

Q: You're known for your live shows. Was this something you tried to recreate in the studio?
A: I think we try to get a lot of the live energy onto the record. "Deliverance", the last song on the record, is actually a live take. It was important to get that energy down on tape cos of the way they were written. Hopefully a lot of what people have seen live over the past year or so does translate well onto the record.
 

Q: What ultimately do you hope to achieve with Terris?
A: Great music. Real music that has a soul. Songs that communicate from one heart to another. The songs that comfort you at night or make you move in the morning. Its as simple as that really.

Just because you get on stage with a guitar doesn't mean that you are real. Its a popular misconception. You can say what you want in interviews but people can hear the truth as soon as they play your records.