It took nine years of solid work for indie rockers Catfish And The Bottlemen to be named Best British Breakthrough Act at the 2016 BRIT Awards. They might have won the BRIT a year earlier as their 2014 debut album, The Balcony, had reached number ten in the UK chart.
“We were just grateful to have the award,” smiled singer, guitarist, songwriter and frontman Ryan Evan ‘Van’ McCann. Some people have said it was a year late but we regard it as recognition for what we’ve achieved since we released the album.”
Best British Breakthrough Act might easily become Best British Group at the 2017 BRITs. Their sophomore album, The Ride, has shot straight to number one.
“We’re absolutely made up,” beamed bassist Benji Blakeway. “We obviously see the kind of response to our songs in concerts but it’s something else for the fans to actually buy our record.”
Although widely regarded as a Welsh band, none of the members were born in Wales.
“I co-founded the band with our original lead guitarist Billy Bibby,” Van revealed. “Both of our families ran bed and breakfast guest houses in the holiday resort of Llandudno in north Wales.
“But I was born in Widnes and Billy was from Blackburn. Our current guitarist (Johnny) Bondy (Bond) is from Newcastle, Benji was born in Chester and our drummer, Bob Hall, comes from Sheffield. We’re a bunch of English guys who just happen to have our band roots in Wales.”
If their roots are in Wales, the band’s name is from Australia. It is by way of tribute to a street musician who captivated Van as a child when he and his parents were travelling ‘Down Under.’
“His name is Catfish The Bottleman,” Van explained. “He plays music on a row of bottles out on the streets of Sydney. I was fascinated watching and listening to him when I was a kid. He’s actually still performing today. His real name is Michael Bevan. A Sydney radio station brought us together to do an interview when we toured Australia.”
Bob Hall joined the band under unusual circumstances.
“I was in accident and emergency at the hospital,” he recalled. “Van came in with Larry Lau, our stage tech, who had been knocked down by a car. We got talking while Van was waiting for him.
“Jon Barr, the band’s original drummer, had recently decided to leave so they were looking for a replacement. I played drums, had a great conversation with Van and was invited to become the new drummer.”
Bondy was given three days notice to replace Billy Bibby.
“Van had seen me playing in the band Detriot Social Club,” he explained. “Billy had left and they had a whole bunch of major gigs coming up.
“I was a big fan of Catfish And The Bottlemen but hadn’t played any of their stuff so I had the songs on a loop for two days learning everything. Then it was one day in the practice room before playing the Kendal Calling festival. The next week, it was Reading and Leeds. Talk about a baptism of fire!”
Unlike many bands and artists, Catfish And The Bottlemen actually enjoy meeting their fans. Van even responded to everyone who sent him a message on Twitter.
“I don’t do that anymore, it just got to be too much. I’ve only made one tweet on my own account in the past year. But we love meeting fans after gigs. It’s great to sit down and have a chat over a drink.
“Some of the people are amazing. There is a Japanese girl who is a massive fan. She flew to England just to see us do a gig in Manchester. She brought us all green Kit-Kats. They looked a bit strange but tasted just as good as regular Kit-Kats.”
So, if you enjoy indie-rock, want the chance to meet your music favourites and can perhaps create unusual chocolate wafer biscuits, Catfish And The Bottlemen could be the band for you.
in
brief
Billy Bibby
Billy Bibby didn’t remain with Catfish And The Bottlemen long enough to experience the enormous success the band are now enjoying. He left to concentrate firstly on writing his own songs and then to form his band, Billy Bibby and The Wry Smiles.
“I played some acoustic gigs to gauge the audience response to my songs,” Billy explained. “Obviously people knew me from Catfish And The Bottlemen so the gigs I did had a totally different sound. But I was really encouraged by the audience feedback so I set about finding the right guys to form a band and turn my acoustic songs into melodic rock numbers.”
Those guys were guitarist Rob Jones, bass player Matt Thomas and drummer Michael Pearce. The band released their debut single, Waitin’ For You, last November. This has now been followed by a four-song EP, Bide Your Time. Each track can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/billybibs20/
A black and white video for Waitin’ For You is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9xraCk7F9A
Another black and white video has been made for the band’s latest single, Don’t Fall. This can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu1bdTF-hsM
Shura
It’s difficult to categorize singer/songwriter Shura. Real name Aleksandra Denton, her last two singles could hardly be more different. Check them out for yourself. The video for The Space Tapes is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbQeO_t6KF0 while the video for her new single, What’s It Gonna Be?, can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ4uBdmnKds
The daughter of an English documentary filmmaker and a Russian actress, Shura’s first single, River, was issued five years ago. Yet it will be July 8 before the release of her debut album, Nothing’s Real.
The intervening time has seen her musical style change radically. In its original form, prior to an acclaimed remix by producer Hiatus, River was a haunting folk song. But there is nothing folky in the tracks on Shura’s album.
With the exceptions of River and The Space Tapes, her previous singles, plus numerous remixes of the songs, can all be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/shura
Videos for the tracks can also be found on YouTube.
An audio posting of the original version of River is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiFm54h-vu8
The Hiatus version is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=efWwyhun9cM
Major Lazer
More than 230 tracks are available to hear at (no www.) soundcloud.com/majorlazer
The electronic dance music supergroup consists of hot shot DJs/producers Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. Switch originally co-founded the collective but left in 2011.
Three full-length Major Lazer albums have now been released. They debuted in 2009 with Guns Don’t Kill People...Lazers Do. Free The Universe followed in 2013 while Peace Is The Mission appeared last year. An extended version of Peace Is The Mission, featuring five new tracks, was made available in November.
Marking one year since the original Peace Is The Mission was released, a remixed version is now being offered for free download at Major Lazer’s SoundCloud page. Their fourth album, Music Is The Weapon, was supposed to be issued around this time but the project seems to have been put on hold.
The Avalanches
Australian band The Avalanches recently played at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound music festival. It was their first concert for 15 years.
The performance promoted the forthcoming release of Wildflower, their first new album for 16 years. Lead single, Frankie Sinatra, has just been issued. The track features vocals by American rapper Danny Brown and London-born but New York-based rapper MF Doom.
The electro-swing and calypso-based music is augmented by a sample from Bobby Sox Idol by the late Trinidad and Tobago calypso star Wilmoth Houdini. The song is accompanied by a big budget video which even The Avalanches admit is “bonkers.” It can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjfspM5sDIA
Wildflower will be available from July 8. Guest vocalists include Biz Markie, Father John Misty, Toro y Moi and Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue.
Although widely regarded as a Welsh band, none of the members of the Catfish And The Bottlemen were born in Wales.
