Hey everyone, this is our first ever interview and we're very pleased to have Matthew from Wigan band, Island Dam.
SFTS: Alright Matthew, how is your lockdown going? can you tell us a little about the band, who plays what and how you formed the band?
ID: Alright Dave, we’ve been trying to keep ourselves busy and we keep in touch pretty much daily during lockdown. Obviously we’ve had to cancel all of our gigs due to the ongoing pandemic. It’s been quite fustrating after we released our new single on Friday 8th May as we were looking forward to tying in a hometown gig with this. Although it’s disappointing that our gigs got cancelled, it’s comparatively not the biggest issue and our new single has been a nice silver lining for us..
The band Island Dam consists of 5 members, Nick Calderbank on lead guitar and vocals, Conal Cunningham on guitar/backing vocals, Dan Henthorn on rhythm guitar/ keys, Matthew Blakeley on Bass and Rob Carroll on Drums. We got together approximately 2 years ago now, from Nick, Conal and Dan jamming in Conal’s garage, to later adding Matt and Rob as the final parts to the puzzle. Since forming we’ve had gigs in Wigan, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, securing two headline spots at the Night and Day Cafe and Jimmys in Manchester. We released our debut EP in May 2019 and have since released two more singles. We have many more songs in the bag and can’t wait to start recording them and start gigging again!
SFTS: How important do you think it is for bands to release new material at this time? And how has it been received by your fans?
ID: Yeah mate I think it’s worked out for the better definitely, got our name out more.
SFTS: I personally think you made the right choice to release it and you’ve reaped the benefits, I’ve read bands have delayed releases because of all this. Some a week or two and others a few months. Are they any tracks/EPs/albums released during lockdown you’ve enjoyed or looking forward to?
ID:During lockdown, the Strokes and Tom Misch’s albums have both been very good.
SFTS: Great to see Radio DJ’s and football clubs giving bands more airplay these days. How did those opportunities come about for the band? The Strokes are a band I’ve not really listened to since room on fire I’ll give the new one a listen and Tom Misch is an artist I don’t know much about so I’ll give him a listen. What song would you recommend of his?
ID: We messaged Wigan Athletic privately and then didn’t hear anything for a day, then they followed and messaged us which was a nice buzz. New Strokes album is really good, Tom Misch’s album is a different vibe, a lot more chilled but still good. Off the new album Nightrider is good!
SFT:I bet that felt amazing having your music played by the team you follow and love and also the fact they’ve got thousands of followers on social media! So, let’s talk about your latest single No Fire Here. How did the song come about and is there a general process of songwriting in the band? How does it work for you guys?
ID: Yes it felt quite special, was a very nice touch from them. And yes as you say 300K followers was a great audience. We’ve actually played this song in every set we’ve done, it just felt new as we’d finally got it ready in the studio and could finally upload to streaming services. The songwriter for this tune was Nick. Essentially was normally happens is someone will come with an idea and then other band members will sort of write their own part to fit the song. Our drummer Rob is very solid and has been playing for around 13/14 years so to have someone so good to hold things together it really helps.
SFTS: It’s great to see the band is beginning to gain momentum and even in these dark times bands can do things to push to promote theirselves! What can we expect next from the band and when?
ID: Next is the Boulevard gig mate, we are hoping it’ll be on but a second wave for Covid seems inevitable now. There are more important things going on in the world currently and they take priority. If circumstances deem us fit to play at the Boulevard then we are hoping it’ll be a huge night for the band and all involved!
SFTS: Fingers crossed it’ll happen as we’re very excited to be working with the band. What can people expect from a Island Dam gig?
ID: People can expect an explosive performance, we’re confident that we are better live than on social streaming sites, that’s all we can say other than to come and witness it yourself.
I’m gonna ask you 5 quick questions before we finish...
Beatles or Stones?
Beer or wine?
Kebab or Pizza?
Book or Netflix?
Spotify or Vinyl?
ID: 1 - Beatles 100%
2 - Beer (but preferably real ale)
3 - Kebab - people have referred to me as Madonna meat
4 - Would have to go with Netflix, I get restless reading books and do not have the attention span for reading
5 - Tough, Spotify is obviously convenient for driving etc but there’s nothing quite like sticking a vinyl on and chilling out!
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us and we’ll hopefully see you 30th August at The Boulevard Wigan.
Island Dam’s music can be found on all streaming platforms and go and visit their pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for gig news, releases etc.