Alternative Friday

Mosley Bar are a vibrant indie guitar 4-piece from the North West of England, made up of (from left to right) Tim Williams (bass & vocals), Adam Eccleston (guitar), Matthew Wright (drums), and Ryan Ward (guitar & lead vocals). They first appeared here back in the Oct 2015 Mixtape with the excellent Record Sleeve, and this year they’ve stepped up another gear with the release of their second EP, Royalties, so read on to find out more about the band, the EP, and, er, dancing eyebrows!

 

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~ Tell us a little about the background to the band?
[Matt] Me and Ryan were in another band (The Inkhearts) that split up, so we put an ad out for a bassist and met Tim, then he invited Adam to come along and we just went from there.
[Tim] I met Matthew through an online ad back in September 2014, which was originally for a replacement bassist for Ryan and Matthew’s previous band, and over the next year we wrote some music, and it was during that time the track Record Sleeve came about. We did 2 ‘gigs’ but it was only in September 2015, when my cousin Adam joined, that we had our first proper gig at Studio 2 in Liverpool, and we’ve been going ever since.

 

~ What have been the biggest challenges to date?
[Tim] Musically I would say when we released Record Sleeve, as that set the bar so high. For a virtually unknown band to get a track that went straight to national radio was unreal. But what got me really down and fed up was the feelings of “shit, how are we going to top that?” In the end I think we give it our best shot with the likes of Risk and Two Apart.
Non-musically I would definitely say that being in a band is hard obviously… it can certainly be very expensive, especially when you feel you’re not getting much success back from it. I quite regularly feel that at times the lights on the stage never shine as bright as they look, but overall I think that if you push through it and come out the other side the result is a much better band.
[Adam] Sorting out a day for all of us to practice, as three of us are at Uni and Ryan has a job teaching.
[Ryan & Matt] Finding our own sound!

~ What was it like recording the Royalties EP at the Motor Museum Studios in Liverpool, and how did they help to create its dynamic sound?
[Matt] It’s a great studio. There’s a lot of inspiration on the walls with all the accolades of bands who have succeeded there. James Mellor, the producer/engineer of the two EPs, really gets us a band so that is a massive help.
[Tim] James has a brilliant ear and imagination, and the way he hears music and how he puts it all together the way he does is just mind boggling. The professional sound comes from having him in charge of it all really. We really trust him to just go nuts with it and every time he knocks it out the park.
[Ryan] The Motor Museum is brilliant for recording! It’s a great environment to focus on getting the right sound.
[Adam] James really helps us as he has a similar taste in music to us all, and understands what we want within a song.

~ The superb Two Apart is undoubtedly one of the most ridiculously catchy indie tracks of the year, with its lyrics, riffs, and powerful finale, so tell us more about it…
[Ryan] I’d written the lyrics with a basic structure, Adam added the Guitar lines and then Matty and Tim took it to another level. It was originally written as a set filler, so it’s turned out quite well!
[Adam] Thanks for that! From what I remember it started with me and Ryan writing the main basis of it and it just elaborated when we all added our ideas!
[Tim] As for the ending, that guitar crescendo thing actually came off the top of my head just before Adam and I drove to a gig one time, and I took the fast tremolo picking idea that you can hear in Record Sleeve, showed the idea to Adam, and he liked it. Then in the studio our producer turned it into layer upon layer of guitar lines, and in the end it just gave birth to that massive ending it has. It will long be the big finale at our gigs!

 

~ Is a third EP due any time soon?
[Ryan] Yes, we’ve a couple of new songs recorded! Still writing more though.
[Adam] We’ve recently recorded two new tracks over the summer back at the Motor Museum, which in my opinion are on par with Two Apart (if not better!)
[Tim] The two new songs are the priority for now, and as we prepare them for a release we will keep writing new songs, and when the time is right for us all we will go back in to finish off another EP.

~ Are there any other new bands or musicians local to you in the North West that you recommend we check out?
Yes…
Saytr Play
Sugarmen
Paris Youth Foundation

~ Which famous song by another artist would you love to have written yourself?
[Adam] Knights of Cydonia by Muse without a doubt, it’s just amazing from start to finish. Matt Bellamy is such a talent and is amazing to see live too!
[Tim] For me it’s definitely Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis. It’s one of those songs that will never age and is basically ‘the anthem’ of Manchester. I honestly think that If you’re ever lucky enough as a songwriter to write a song like that, they just fall out of the sky onto your lap and naturally become what they are.
[Ryan] Ultralight Beam – Kanye West
[Matt] Billie Jean by Michael Jackson because it’s a classic and a massive song. Or, Half the World Away by Oasis, what a tune that is.

~ If you could collaborate with a famous musician or band, who would they be and why?
[Tim] Jamie T, and I think Matty wouldn’t mind a go of that either…
[Matt] Serge Pizzorno, Jamie T, or Pete Doherty for their song writing ability, and Travis Barker because of his unreal talent! It’s hard to just pick one ahah.
[Ryan] Kanye, he is edgy.
[Adam] Either Alex Turner, as he just thinks of the most simple riffs and ideas, and is simply amazing, or Dave Grohl, or a hip-hop artist such as Dr. Dre. I think he could pull something special out for us.

~ If the four of you were asked to curate a festival stage, who would you invite to perform?
Foo Fighters
Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
Liam Gallagher
Circa Waves
Muse

~ Do any of you have any obscure talents you’d like to reveal to the world?
[Adam] Not that I know of! I guess making my eyebrows dance is a weird talent to have.
[Ryan] My only talent is music, haha!
[Matt] No, aha, I play a lot of sport like cricket and footy. Not bad at quoting funny films or programmes, not that that will get me far!!
[Tim] I learnt some great shoe polishing techniques when I did my basic training for the navy when I was 16, so if you ever need some shoes shined…

~ Which famous person would you love to get to drive the Mosley Bar tour bus?
[Adam] Pete Doherty would certainly be a laugh to have on a tour bus!
[Matt] I’d think Steve Coogan would be a laugh, Liam Gallagher would be entertaining, or maybe just a good bus driver so there were no accidents ahah!
[Tim] Alan Partridge, for a laugh.