Kick Up the Fire They’ve played fewer than 20 gigs, but with cinescope scores and grand ambitions, Manchester-based band Embers look set to ignite. They explain why ‘aspirational’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word
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ast November, just six months after their debut live show as part of Salford’s Sounds from the Other City festival, Embers made two live videos available online. In their unflinching grandiosity and boldness, the performances set out an early statement of the band’s intent and character. Recorded in Gorton Monastery, a Grade II listed building, Hollow Cage and Part of the Echoes were full-bodied constructions that shook the dust from – and matched the towering augustness of – the walls around them. The two songs drew on a heavyweight, cinematic approach, but channeled it into structures that lent themselves to the possibility – and indeed subsequent reality – of mainstream radio play; the choir-heavy Part of the Echoes has gone on to become the group’s new single, out this month on blog label Killing Moon. Manchester isn’t shy in terms of acts presenting themselves within a defined aesthetic; but if you take, for example, the likes of SWAYS Records and those associated with it – whether the since-progressed MONEY and PINS, or Ghost Outfit and Kult Country – there’s a certain muddiness to their sound and sense, evocative of and perhaps influenced by the wider spread of rough’n’ready lo-fi bands that continue to make up much of the city’s music community. In contrast, Embers have presented themselves in high definition; they cite Sigur Rós and soundtrack composers Hans Zimmer and John Murphy as influences, and from the off they’ve looked to use visuals in their work. “When I write songs I visualise imagery with them in my mind anyway, so it seems quite natural to actually bring that out into reality,” says the group’s guitarist Steven McInerney, in an ale house around the corner from their rehearsal space, Sunshine Studios. “I love how music can completely change the tone of a scene in a film, but I want the visual side to change the tone of our songs too.” Keen to push an emotional intensity, Embers are of a maximal
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school of thought that seeks to make everything as big and multi-layered as possible, so that the intended rush pours forth amplified and uncoded. They frequently use extra musicians beyond their orthodox four-piece set-up (the two Gorton videos feature McInerney, vocalist/ guitarist George Agan, bassist/keyboardist Will Clutton and drummer Nathan Howard, as well as two choir singers, a cellist and violinist), even when it means struggling to fit everyone on stage – as they discovered during cramped support slots with The Invisible, Halls, and Esben and the Witch.
“Every band should have an idea of what they want to be” George Agan
Such is the cynicism of an online music press grown weary of supposed shadowy figures – and false myth exposed as folly – that some critics have questioned the validity of this apparently wet-eared new band creating a pair of astonishingly slick videos with high-end production values, but Embers refute any claims of their having any secret backing. “We just saved up and paid for it ourselves, in truth,” explains Agan, “and we called in favours. We were just really lucky that we had some friends who were able to create something of such quality. It actually made us look a lot more professional than we were at that point!” The four core members had been working in private long before they revealed themselves in late 2011, rehearsing and writing fervently
until they’d created a body of material that was, they felt, developed enough to introduce to the world. “We knew what we wanted to be and so we just worked away at it ourselves,” says McInerney. “We instantly wanted to challenge ourselves musically too, and it would’ve felt a bit naïve to put out songs that felt under-developed.” “It’s never been a situation where we’ve sat down and written a manifesto,” Agan adds, “but I think every band should have an idea of what they want to be and what it is they want to achieve.” For Embers, ‘ambition’ is one of their biggest motivators – the word occurs repeatedly as we converse. It’s an uneasy subject for many artists, particularly during a time where so many are touring into a financial black hole and seeing Spotify squeeze their royalties. Set against the wider social backdrop in the UK and the political decisions that have divided – and enhanced the gulf between – social classes, admitting aspirational desires can invite accusations of careerism at the cost of artistic compromise. But Embers are startling in their honesty as to where they’ve set their sights: “We want to go far, because… look, who doesn’t want to play in front of a lot of people?” snaps McInerney, when asked what drives them. “Who doesn’t want the chance to play interesting gigs and the chance to work with better musicians and producers? That comes from artistic integrity and wanting to better yourself in that sense. That’s nothing to do with wanting to become rich and famous.” The affront McInerney expresses is reassuring because, though defensive, it evidences a furious pride in his band, as well as the depth of personal catharsis he finds in their music. His conviction gives faith that, as Embers enter the music industry tilt-a-whirl, they should reemerge from it with their sense of self intact. “We just like to challenge ourselves constantly,” McInerney continues. “It’s about always trying
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new things. The search to try and excite ourselves as a band is what pushes us on.” “There’s nothing more we despise in a band than mediocrity,” Agan emphasises, “which is… a lack of conviction and sincerity. It’s a situation where something about it feels half-baked. Whether you like our music or not, there is always passion in what we’re doing.” Embers’ commitment to maintaining creative control is clear: through dead end jobs, they endeavoured to save up enough to record not only those two videos, but also to self-release in September 2012 their debut single, Tunnel Vision/Sins Unknown, as a 7”, which quickly sold out. Despite recently signing to Brontone Management (who list Muse among their clients) and getting a booking agent, they’re still committed to calling the bulk of the shots, down to who produces them and how. Former Hope of the States man Anthony Theaker worked with them on Part of the Echoes, and they recount much to-ing and fro-ing between parties during the process, not least because of their own bullish stance regarding how the track should be sculpted. “Our identity hasn’t changed in spite of all these people,” insists Agan. “It just means we don’t have to write as many emails.” A soaring, seven-minute arc of layered elements that coalesce and rise to create a gargantuan atmosphere, it’s Hollow Cage that – so far, anyway – offers the best representation of what Embers can be. Ostentatious without webbing the bare bones of hurt beneath, it is an opus that, for all its majesty, is also endearingly shackle-free and without pretension. “We’re not cool at all,” McInerney laughs. “But what we’re doing is us, and hopefully there’s enough conviction in that.” Part of the Echoes is released in a limited edition run of 7” vinyl on 8 Jul on Killing Moon Records Embers play Sacred Trinity Church, Salford, 11 Jul, 7.30pm, £4 www.embersembers.com
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Photo: Sebastian Matthes
Interview: Simon Jay Catling