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| Photo Credit: Vicky Chambers |
Hailing from Stockport northern indie five piece Fuzzy Sun has a new EP out. Titled "Warm Evening / Cold Morning" released through Blossoms' label Very Clever Records, the band's second EP features four mesmerising tracks. With Blossoms in the producer's chairs Fuzzy Sun are bringing back the disco flared bass lines, high quality songwriting and psychedelic pop.
Although the band have been active for less than a year their list of achievements is pretty full already including airplay and support from BBC Radio 1, Radio 6, Radio X and BBC Music introducing Manchester. There has also been lots of Spotify traffic with over 250k streams and a growing fan base.
Fuzzy Sun have definitely wet the appetite for fans all across the globe and their upcoming live shows include a full UK tour with Blossoms. On top of that a big all-dayer next year where the band will share the bill The Coral, Blossoms, Cabbage and The Blinders was announced earlier this week.
The four new EP tracks see Kyle Ross, Daisy Valentine, Lewis Jobson, Raffaele Pani and Mitch Bancroft challenge the depth of their songwriting with an eclectic mix of influences echoing the likes of Chic, Tame Impala, Fleetwood Mac and Dr Dre shining.
Having just played Neighbourhood Festival in Manchester a couple of weeks ago, Kendal Calling, Festival Number 6 and Sound City this summer there is clearly plenty to be excited about. It's All Indie caught up with Kyle to hear more about the band's EP and their music adventures so far.
Your set at Neighbourhood Festival was special, how did you find the experience?
"Thank you. It was absolute class. To have a room so busy there was so many other great acts on at the same time was amazing and the atmosphere was great, we thoroughly enjoyed it. So cheers to everyone for coming to see us."
What gigs have Fuzzy Sun enjoyed this year?
"Every show on the first Blossoms tour, especially Leeds and Manchester Apollo! That was surreal, just playing venues like that is next level! Also our first Jimmy's gigs hold a special place in my heart and when we sold out Soup Kitchen that was another night which was very special and a great atmosphere! I think the most fun we had at a gig was in Scunthorpe though, at Cafe Independent, we really got to let loose on that one and the crowd were having it large!"
You know Blossoms well, what has the collaboration been like so far?
"We are friends and fans of them and have long histories with each other in some way or another which is really nice. Supporting them came about because they heard the songs that I started writing about a year and a half ago, and they liked the vibe, so once the band formed we started writing more, they produced the first EP and it came off the back of that."
What does it feel like to be going on tour with Blossoms again? How do you intend to prepare?
"We can't wait! The first time was amazing, it is just nice to have even more of your close mates around when you are doing something like that, it is a good laugh! We just approach it professionally, make sure we are very well rehearsed and tight so we can go out there, put on a show and enjoy it."
Are you planning to adapt your live set specifically for the tour?
"Yes we are wanting to work on a few things and throw in some new tunes in there too, see how they sit with a live audiences."
Fuzzy Sun share the Stockport connection with Blossoms. What other similarities do you see?
"We have a similar sense of humour."
What is Stockport's music scene or community like?
"It is sweet, I mean 20 min one way and you can be in Manchester and 20 min you can be in the Peak District, what is not to love? It is funny when I was about 13/14 it felt like there used to be a scene especially around the market place, there was always gigs and stuff going on, then it disappeared for a while, everything went a little quiet, a lot of venues shut down, but over the past few years it does feel like there is a revival, even in Stockport as a town. So now I think the community is growing again, they do always say that there is a calm before the storm, so hopefully that will keep growing!"
You have released a brilliant second EP, please tell us about making it
"Thank you. The two songs "Heavy" and "I'll Be The Man" we knew as soon as we wrote them that they were going on and they were the two we wrote closest to the first EP, so it felt right as it was a like a natural progression. "Eve" came later but it had a real pop grove to it so again I thought it would be a good one to get on there, get people going! So those three came pretty organically, it was just like 'yeah those are going on it'. "December" was the track that was not initially going to be on there, it was not even considered at first."
"When it came to the last track, we were hit with some time constraints for recording so they mentioned doing an acoustic tune. At first we didn't really have one to hand, so I pulled out a song I wrote before the EP came out that I had just put to one side. Everyone seemed to dig it so we went with that, tried to give it a bit more a stripped back feel, that then exploded into the full band at the end. Funnily enough, a lot of people have said it is their favourite song, and it is definitely become a personal one."
Can you talk us through how you wrote them?
"Heavy was a song which we wrote whilst jamming a few ideas in the rehearsal room. I started playing a riff and then used that as a basis to build on. Then Lewis wrote the guitar part for the verse and Mitch wrote the chords sequence for the middle eight and it all got built up in the room over a few weeks, everyone adding little bits. So it was more like a collective writing process for that song.
"On the other band Eve started as just a verse Lewis sent me and I went away and worked on it, putting in the riff, chorus and stuff. We don't really have one specific way of writing which is nice because it keeps things a little more fresh."
Who would you say are specific influences for the EP?
"I don't think we ever really sit down and look at it like that. We all have a vast range of influences individually so we never really go at it from that perspective. I think the best answer I could give is, on Heavy say, we wanted the guitars to have a bit of a Stone Roses kinda feel. We also wanted to push on those harmonies to give it a bit of a Fleetwood Mac vibe. So it is pretty much dependent on the song rather than a collective for the whole EP."
Are you working on new material at the moment?
"We are constantly working on new stuff and October is a really quiet month in terms of gigs for us so we are spending a bit of time working on new songs."
Do you have plans to release an album?
"Nothing concrete yet but I guess what you are inevitably working towards is that first album release. I think time will tell with this, if there is a need for it and we have all the means of doing it, it will happen so at the moment we just need to keep doing what we are doing and see what happens."
What other current bands out there do you admire?
"Personally I am into a lot of different things but a few people I have recently come across that I am really digging, is Aldous Harding and her new album Party. It has a real honest emotion to it, yet it is very soothing. I also love her vocal delivery, something quite theatrical whilst still being very somber, it is great! Connan Mockasin is another artist I am really enjoying just now. He has really great melodies and quite a sultry element to his songs,which is cool, also he uses jazzy chords which I am also a fan of."
Fuzzy Sun release music through Very Clever Records. What is the label like? Would you like to sign to a bigger label?
"The label is really good, it is a close knit so everything is on a personal basis which is really nice. We have had a great experience so I don't see why that would change."
"I mean it would be great to end up on a major label, but again, you don't know what is around the corner and you have just got to roll with the punches."
What else do you want to achieve and how do you see things develop in the future?
"We just want to write songs and play them for people, and if people love what we do then that is even better! We would love to achieve as much as possible and as for the future, personally I just want to be playing in this band and building our fan base."
Live - 2018
27 - Nov - London - Old Blue Last with
Himalayas + Ed The Dog
30 Nov -
Manchester - Yes (Pink Room)
3 Dec -
Glasgow - O2 Academy with Blosssoms + Sam Fender
4 Dec - Sheffield
- O2 Academy 2 with Blossoms + whenyoung
5 Dec -
Nottingham - Rock City with Blossoms + whenyoung
7 Dec -
Birmingham - O2 Academy with Blossoms + whenyoung
8 Dec -
Manchester - Victoria Warehouse with Blossoms + whenyoung
9 Dec -
Manchester - Victoria Warehouse with Blossoms + whenyoung
11 Dec -
Southampton - O2 Guildhall with Blossoms + whenyoung
12 Dec -
Bristol - O2 Academy with Blossoms + whenyoung
13 Dec -
London - O2 Academy Brixton with Blossoms + Sam Fender
Live - 2019
22 June -
Stockport - Edgeley Park with The Coral, Cabbage, The Blinders