2000 Trees Festival: Interview With Boston Manor

We got to have a quick chat we Boston Manor ahead of their 2000 Trees performance this year, here’s what they had to say about, Trees, their new album and touring around the world.

So guys, excited to come back to 2000 Trees?

Dan: This was our first festival we played as a band - we’re stoked to be here!

Playing The Cave stage later today?

Jordan: We played that stage three years ago, I think we played first or second on though.

Dan: We played first because everyone was hung over, I thought no one is going to turn up but it all worked out.

Does the close knit of bands and people in the industry add to the atmosphere and it’s a bit more relaxed?

Jordan: Yeah totally because when you play bigger festivals, it’s massive and you can’t make it to most of the festival because it’s that huge. Here you know the types of people who come and it’s very family friendly.

Yeah, this is a festival for music lovers and that shows over the weekend because the smaller bands playing have people watching them who will be paying attention.

Jordan: Yes, it’s a nice way for the smaller bands to be part of something bigger like we were three years ago. This not a big festival but in a small bands eyes it’s a milestone, like it was for us. I actually got a time hop picture on my Facebook today of us three years ago after we come off The Cave stage - it’s crazy!

This year you played Download main stage, I was there and it was a moment to cherish. How was that?

Jordan: Like I said with milestones, that was another big step up for us, we’d never played a stage that big before. It was such a nice feeling to play festival like Download and whether it’s opening or not it’s still a massive achievement.

Dan: I can’t believe we actually got that chance to do that, not only Download but main stage as well.

Jordan: I think the stage manger told us that he estimated about 40,000 people heard us play that day.

Dan: I saw it on Sky Arts the other day as well. Again little milestone to be on Sky TV.

Talking about milestones, you’ve been to and from America a few times now and selling out shows! How’s that been?

Dan: I couldn’t believe that and we even feel we are getting more attraction over there now.

What kind of size venues have you been playing over there?

Dan: It’s like 400 to 600 cap venues.

Jordan: The reason why were going more over there is because we’ve never been there before. We have done years of DIY tours in the U.K. So people are going to get a bit laxed with us but over in America it’s all pretty fresh for them.

Dan: You can only tour like two weeks at a push in the U.K. but America you can tour for two months and still not hit every market and venue.

New album 'Welcome To The Neighbourhood' comes out 7th September. You’ve already released a single off it called “Halo”, which sounds like the band has grown into a different genre. Have you tackled this album in the same way or approached it differently?

Dan: Thanks for noticing the genre change. We had a plan from when we started to slowly transform our sound instead of crazy out there straight away. So if you listen back we’ve put those Pop-Punk inferences in the EP then 'Be Nothing' has a mix and now for the next record I feel we have the freedom to do what we want.

Someone said to me it sounds a bit like Taking Back Sunday, same producer I believe?

Jordan: Yeah, Mike Sapone he did Taking Back Sunday and Brand New.

It sounds like from just that one single that he’s had an influence on your sound, would you agree?

Jordan: Totally, he’s a sound guy and really good producer, he’s helped us out and bought the best out of us on this record - we are so proud of it. Its gone more of Rock stage now, we’ve still got the experimental guitars and experimental sounds going in.

Dan: We’ve added in more synths, more electronic, more drum and electric drum parts to it.

Does this album have a deeper sound then?

Dan: Yep, it’s more full and it’s something we've always wanted to do but we were never able to do it at the time or like it wasn’t right at the time.

Jordan: What I would say it’s a record that sounds like we haven’t just wrote in two days. To me it sounds like an album which has been well thought out through years of tweaking.

How long did spend on this album compared to 'Be Nothing'?

Dan: Double the time, record time was like two weeks for 'Be Nothing', which was like nothing. For this record, we had a whole month but even before that we has two weeks of pre-production. We even wrote on Warped Tour last year plus we had a month before the pre production in my bedroom - which is where we write all our demos. Just like tweaking everything, writing lists down of what we hated and changing parts. I think we really had time on our side, which I feel is really important for every record we write from now on.

Jordan: It really shows in the end product and hopefully when people listen to it they will think this has been really formulated.

Dan: There were so many songs we dropped for this record because they weren’t good enough and is this all we can do? We just need to keep writing, writing and writing, eventually the songs started to flow and fit together then it became an album. It was hard but we got there and I think time definitely helps us.

Is there a reason for the sequence the tracks are in?

Jason: We always knew where some songs were gonna go. When you flip over the vinyl to side B, we wanted it to flow and piece the songs around those songs.

Dan: It was quite easy this time.

Jason: We had some outros which flow very nicely into the next song.

Dan: When you have a beginning, middle and an end, it’s easy to piece everything in between but when you have to write songs because we had to write an album like 'Be Nothing'. We never wrote an album at that point so we’ve just got to write songs and we just threw it altogether, it wasn’t very thought out.

Lyrically where does your inspiration come from?

Dan: That’s all Henry.

Jordan: He takes his inspiration from past experiences like “Broken Glass” is about friend of his which was in a car crash and “Forget Me Not” is about his Granma who had dementia.

Do you think that passion bubbles over to you both in the rest of the music?

Dan: Yeah, we’ve always had a connection with Henry from the very start with his lyrics and our music - it’s kinds just always fitted well together.

Jordan: He’s a very talent lyrical writer, I really dig his lyrics.

Your tracks are catchy and you can still get into them.

Dan: It’s hard to write a catchy song, with catchy melody’s and good lyrics on top of that. You get double the pressure.

You released “Drown In Gold” late last year, where does that fit in?

Dan: Its because we hadn’t released anything for two years.

Jordan: Our 'Be Nothing' touring cycle was basically two years so we felt we needed something to refresh peoples minds and just bring something new out. It’s another bridge to the gap of our changing sound.

Dan: It was also good to experiment with what producer we wanted to go for on the second record and what worked. It was really helpful because we learnt a few thing just doing that one single which effected the sound of the album.

Your touring the album in September, your taking out Wallflower and Microwave with you. Now going to bigger rooms, is that exciting or worrying?

Dan: I’m always nervous about it.

Jordan: You don’t want to turn up to a show and there is two rows of kids.

Dan: Even the American shows, I don’t know how we’re doing headline shows but they always end up doing alright.

Who’s idea was America?

Jordan: Joint really, you’ve got to take a lot of risks being in a band, you’ve got to do it because if it flops that’s fine but if it’s great your setting your band up to be that headline band.

Dan: It’s building your band, you have to do these things. The first 'Be Nothing 'tour we did I was so nervous and more than half the shows sold out!

Jordan: These shows in September I’m quietly confident they are going to do well.

Dan: I’m really excited to play the shows more than any other tour.

You’ve got Microwave on the tour as well, have you met those guys before?

Dan: Yeah, we did Warped Tour with them so that’s how we know them and they are really nice guys.

I saw them support Real Friends, great band!

Dan: Mike actually drove Can’t Swim on that tour. We came back from America and Can’t Swim needed a driver so he did it straight after touring America for three months!

Do you think the supports together all bring in a few people?

Jordan: Yeah but that’s not what we chose them for, we pick bands we personally love - we want to get them going and help them out.

So planned to see any bands today?

Jordan/Dan: Turnstiles, Basement, Moose Blood, Marmozets over the weekend.

Boston Manor have their new album Welcome to the Neighbourhood out 7th September and are touring at the following dates below!

September Tour

21st // Bristol, Thekla

22nd // London, Electric Ballroom

23rd // Birmingham, Mama Roux’s

24th // Nottingham, Rescue Rooms

26th // Liverpool, Hanger34

28th // Leeds, The Key Club