AN INTERVIEW WITH NO HOT ASHES - 12/12/2016
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| NO HOT ASHES - photo credit to Jacob Winter From left to right - Matthew, Jack, Luigi and Issac. |
NO HOT ASHES are a post-pop-discofunk four-piece from Stockport, Manchester.
Their sound is one of heavy bass infused Red Hot Chili Peppers meets James Brown with a rap / hip-hop overlay and is allowing them to provide something fresh in an era of guitar bands with varying qualities.
Since forming in 2014, this band consisting of Issac Taylor (vocalist and guitarist), Luigi DI Vuono (guitarist and backing vocalist), Jack Walsh (bassist) and Matthew Buckley (drummer and percussionist) have played almost every venue in Manchester and through this they have built up a solid fan base and a reputation for raucous live shows.
As well as being played on an array of local radio stations around the North-West and some further afield, No Hot Ashes have racked up a number of plays from BBC Introducing.
They have amassed over 230,000 streams on Spotify and have supported bands such as Spring King, Blossoms, Prides and Walking On Cars on their UK tours.
Alongside all of this, they have been booked for major festivals such as Kendal Calling, Y Not Festival and Tramlines.
I was due to interview the band at the first Kazoopa Festival a few weeks back. However, I did not get to do this due to my plans for the festival changing.
Luckily, I managed to interview the Mancunian quartet via email following the festival. The interview can be found below!
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| The boys of the band in Cardiff - photo credit to Justin Garner |
How was it that you all first met?
Issac, Luigi and Matt all grew up together in school and it wasn't until 2014 that Jack joined the band. The rest is history. NHA kind of started when we released "Goose" in October 2014.
When was it you all realised music was something you wanted to pursue? Was there something specific that triggered this?
Well we formed the band through a mutual love of music and playing gigs, we floated along for a while not really knowing how to get better and be more productive. It wasn't until we saw more & more bands forming around us and rapidly getting better and we wanted to stand out and be noticed.
What would you describe your genre to be at present?
We recently settled on "post-pop-discofunk" as a genre - generally there's a lot of funk influence in our music but still keeping that indie / guitar music alive.
"It's banging, progressive, future-psych tinged funk with rapped edges and the crowds love it." - Louder Than War (Feb 2016)
Who would you say the biggest influences for your band are? Are these influences people in which you grew up listening to or did you find them later in life?
Within the band we all listen to very different music, we have always seen this as a massive positive because we all view music different when it comes to recording and producing. We all come together though with 70 - 80's Funk & Soul music. The likes of James Brown, Doobie Brothers, Diana Ross, Chic, Earth Wind & Fire. Music to make people dance. That has always been our aim.
Out of all the up and coming bands and artists out there, who are No Hot Ashes listening to?
We're always out around Manchester watching the unsigned bands play, we feel you've got to make that effort and very quickly you will realise that sense of community amongst bands. A few bands making cool sounds are The Blinders, Larkins, Clay & The Orielles.
You're last gig of the year is going to be the '3 for 5' gig at The Sitwell Tavern in Derby where you're playing alongside Scribble Victory and Smiths and Groves on 18th December. What is it about this gig you're looking forward to?
It's our end of year Christmas party so we can't wait for it. The promoter Dom has been a champion and really cares for up and coming bands. Top promoter and has put his all into exposing the gig. With us being out of town it is always a ticket one getting the punters in.
Have you played Derby before?
No, this will be our debut in Derby but we have heard tickets are already 50% sold out so that means a lot to us.
What is it that you think makes a good gig?
Good organisation is key. There is nothing worse than turning up at a venue and nobody knows what the fuck is going on. Promoting the gig is also important, a lot of bands rely to heavy on the "promoter" to sell the gig for them but when you're getting an unknown band with no fanbase you are the biggest promoter. Social media, radio, getting out to other bands gigs are all key to getting more people to come to your gigs so always ensure we are doing everything we can to help ourselves. So basically within the up and coming scene the bands playing are what make the gig good.
Where is your favourite venue to play gigs?
If we are talking Manchester then definitely "Deaf Institute" just off Oxford Road. Velvet walls, a disco ball, bunk beds. What more can you ask of a venue, It generally has that "vibe" when you walk in and we have never had a bad gig there. This year we've been very lucky to travel a lot for gigs which we all love, we played Cardiff a few weeks ago at Hoyfest 2016. This was held in a very cool venue that was also a part-time church. Very cool venue.
Throughout the rest of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, what else can we expect from No Hot Ashes?
More dancing, more drinking.
Issac, Luigi and Matt all grew up together in school and it wasn't until 2014 that Jack joined the band. The rest is history. NHA kind of started when we released "Goose" in October 2014.
When was it you all realised music was something you wanted to pursue? Was there something specific that triggered this?
Well we formed the band through a mutual love of music and playing gigs, we floated along for a while not really knowing how to get better and be more productive. It wasn't until we saw more & more bands forming around us and rapidly getting better and we wanted to stand out and be noticed.
What would you describe your genre to be at present?
We recently settled on "post-pop-discofunk" as a genre - generally there's a lot of funk influence in our music but still keeping that indie / guitar music alive.
"It's banging, progressive, future-psych tinged funk with rapped edges and the crowds love it." - Louder Than War (Feb 2016)
Who would you say the biggest influences for your band are? Are these influences people in which you grew up listening to or did you find them later in life?
Within the band we all listen to very different music, we have always seen this as a massive positive because we all view music different when it comes to recording and producing. We all come together though with 70 - 80's Funk & Soul music. The likes of James Brown, Doobie Brothers, Diana Ross, Chic, Earth Wind & Fire. Music to make people dance. That has always been our aim.
Out of all the up and coming bands and artists out there, who are No Hot Ashes listening to?
We're always out around Manchester watching the unsigned bands play, we feel you've got to make that effort and very quickly you will realise that sense of community amongst bands. A few bands making cool sounds are The Blinders, Larkins, Clay & The Orielles.
You're last gig of the year is going to be the '3 for 5' gig at The Sitwell Tavern in Derby where you're playing alongside Scribble Victory and Smiths and Groves on 18th December. What is it about this gig you're looking forward to?
It's our end of year Christmas party so we can't wait for it. The promoter Dom has been a champion and really cares for up and coming bands. Top promoter and has put his all into exposing the gig. With us being out of town it is always a ticket one getting the punters in.
Have you played Derby before?
No, this will be our debut in Derby but we have heard tickets are already 50% sold out so that means a lot to us.
What is it that you think makes a good gig?
Good organisation is key. There is nothing worse than turning up at a venue and nobody knows what the fuck is going on. Promoting the gig is also important, a lot of bands rely to heavy on the "promoter" to sell the gig for them but when you're getting an unknown band with no fanbase you are the biggest promoter. Social media, radio, getting out to other bands gigs are all key to getting more people to come to your gigs so always ensure we are doing everything we can to help ourselves. So basically within the up and coming scene the bands playing are what make the gig good.
Where is your favourite venue to play gigs?
If we are talking Manchester then definitely "Deaf Institute" just off Oxford Road. Velvet walls, a disco ball, bunk beds. What more can you ask of a venue, It generally has that "vibe" when you walk in and we have never had a bad gig there. This year we've been very lucky to travel a lot for gigs which we all love, we played Cardiff a few weeks ago at Hoyfest 2016. This was held in a very cool venue that was also a part-time church. Very cool venue.
Throughout the rest of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, what else can we expect from No Hot Ashes?
More dancing, more drinking.
You can listen to the boys of No Hot Ashes here:
If you are about in Derby on the 18th you should definitely head down to the Sitwell Tavern for the '3 for 5' gig to see No Hot Ashes for the last time in 2016. You can buy tickets here.
Written by Sophie.
@sopharnold_
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