As Leeds-based five-piece, Eades, will say themselves, there’s a load of amazing bands coming out of their homestead at the moment, and they’re certainly an absolute gem among them. Since banding together just about a year ago, the band —composed of members Harry Jordan (lead vox, guitar), Tom O’Reilly (guitar), Jof Cabedo (drums), Dave Lancaster (bass), and Dan Clifford-Smith (synths, percussion) — has maintained their spot within the intense musical race with ease. With a strong Post-Punk and New Wave influence to boot — signaled through their use of hypnotic riffing, synth-infused, indie-led melodic sequences, and dreamy disco grooves — they’ve hit a lo-fi sweet spot certain to help push them to the front of the pack. At least for me, they’ve easily piqued my interest, just a handful of releases in.
Their musical prowess is especially clear with the July 10 release of their debut EP, Microcosmic Things, via their own record label, Bam Bam Records. It’s a compilation stacked with 5 quick-witted, existentially heavy, musically sharp hits, indicative of what can only be a strong future discography ahead. Tracks such as “Saying Forever” and “Same Guy” show strong strides from the quintet, pushing their knack for making an earworm in this, the infancy of their career, to the forefront.
We chatted with Eades’ Harry and Dan about the process behind making the Microcosmic Things EP, some of their influences, and what they’ve been up to in quarantine and look forward to once they “Make It Outside.”
Hey guys! To begin, how would you describe Eades and your general ethos to anyone who isn’t familiar with you guys?
Harry: We are five good mates who want to put out as much good quality music as we can. We are a DIY project writing, producing, and mixing all our music, as well as making most of our artwork and videos (apart from a couple bits and bobs). We also put out our music on our own label, Bam Bam Records, with the goal of creating a platform for ourselves and other DIY bands. Musically we are inspired by the rawer side of music.
Sound and content-wise, where do you guys take notes from, if from anywhere? Specifically, I get a strong sort of New Wave, Post-Punk vibe from the Microcosmic Things EP that I always love to hear!
Harry: Post-Punk and New Wave were definitely a big influence on me when writing the EP, but I think what made things interesting for us was the fact that everyone came from different backgrounds. For example, Dave was playing in a psychedelic band when I met him and Dan in a more Neo soul-inspired project. It was cool because everyone had their own individual styles and influences, but everyone was very happy to bounce off each other and learn new things, too. I can think of quite a few times it has led me to step out of my comfort zone and, most of the time, it’s led to something pretty exciting. It’s weird though, how like-minded all our visions have been for the band, considering our contrasting backgrounds. Lou Reed has always been really inspirational for me. Like David Bowie, he managed to shapeshift whenever he got tired of what he was doing or wanted to try something new and I’d hope we could do the same (even if it risks losing fans or whatever). I got a massive book recently with all his lyrics and poetry and it’s so good. I love his honesty.
We also knew we wanted to record and do as much as we could ourselves. I love a lot of lo-fi music and something about Punk’s DIY ethos really excites me. I think it’s the authenticity of it all. Dan and I also both have dreams of becoming professional producers, so what better way to get stuck in than producing your own music?
As far as influential artists, new and old, I’d have to say Velvet Underground, Car Seat Headrest, Parquet Courts, Talking Heads, Devo, Corridor, Pink Floyd…This list is endless, to be honest.
There’s a lot of amazing music coming out of your homestead of Leeds right now, too, including acts such as Drahla and Treeboy & Arc. (Besides you guys,) who would you recommend readers check out to get a taste of the local flavor?
Dan: Where we went to uni, we were lucky to be mixed in (excuse the pun) with a huge variety of different people making all different genres of new music. Some good friends and great music mates include Vraell, Yaatri, B-Ahwe, Melancholy Ray, and Okedo… a real broad mix of original music coming out of sunny Leeds.
Harry: There’s a crazy amount of good music coming out of Leeds at the moment. There’s our mates’ bands Far Caspian, Vraell, Melancholy Ray, Household Dogs, Harry Jay Robinson, Van Houten, Niall Summerton, Honey Guide, The Golden Age Of TV, Sam Wilde, Leo Cosmos, etc. Also, Yard Act, Mush, and Goldfishes are great, too. I’ve definitely missed a load out, but they are everywhere. We made a playlist on our Spotify page called ‘Made In Leeds,’ full of our favourite music coming out around the city atm.
Of everything you guys have released (and even anything you haven’t), what of Eades’ discography are you most proud of/ excited for people to listen to?
Harry: I always liked “Same Guy” from the day Dave and I demoed it in my old bedroom. It’s just a really fun song- though, I have been working on our second EP in lockdown and it’s got some songs I’m really proud of on it. We have also started piecing together an album and there’s some cool stuff we have in the works for that, too. Lockdown has definitely given me the opportunity to explore new ways of writing that I had not tried before.
I also really like the lyrics for “Forget What You Want.” I think we could have done more to build the track throughout, in all honesty, but I do really love those lyrics. Maybe we will revisit it one day.
In terms of the holistic Microcosmic Things EP, did you guys have a general end-goal in mind regarding what you wanted this, the Eades debut, to consist of?
Harry: We definitely wanted to have a broad mix [that shows] a preview of styles/genres we want to delve deeper into in the future. We also knew [that] if we wanted to do that, we would have to come up with a way of keeping it all coherent. In the end, we used the production and instrumentation to create the ‘sound’ so the actual tunes could vary quite drastically at times.
I always wanted to keep a more minimal theme for Microcosmic Things. We were very conscious about not adding any unnecessary wanky bits or double-tracking loads of guitars or whatever. It was clear quite quickly that the limitations we were setting [for] ourselves were actually one of the main factors towards creating a vibe for the EP.
We have always said, as a band, we want to try different things and move in different directions so we felt it was pretty important to show this off early on in our career.
“Saying Forever” is probably one of my favorites off the EP — can you describe the process that went into the creation of this track?
Harry: Thanks; it’s my Mum’s favourite too! It was one of the first songs I wrote for the band. The original demo was super New Order[-esque] with the beat [being] a really ‘80s-sounding LinnDrum beat I’d made. I wanted to write a really dancy song that crossed over a few different styles which is why there’s a bit of Funk, Disco, Jazz, Punk, and even a bit of Psych in there.
After I had the beat, I just started jamming loads of ideas on the bass until I had the full song recorded on bass and drums. Then, I added the guitars after that and then freestyled some vocals to get some melodies out, just chatting rubbish for ages. All the synths and stuff didn’t get on there until right at the final recording stages. It was definitely a more musically led track than some of the others that came lyrics-first. I think the original demo was like 6 minutes long with a crazy long Psych outro.
I also wanted to talk about “Make It Outside” and the sort of irony it has in its title alone, considering how everyone’s essentially cooped up at the moment. What would you say you miss the most about “normal” life?
Harry: Definitely seeing friends and family, though, the lack of gigging has been the thing bringing me down the most. I had quite a busy summer lined up with festivals, tours, SXSW, etc so it was gutting to cancel it all. Though, I appreciate a lot of people have had it a lot worse. My Great-Grandma sadly passed away from COVID-19 and the funeral was tough, having to all be separate, so I can’t wait to see all my family, especially my Grandparents.
Hypothetically, what would it take (or what sort of milestone would you like to achieve) in order to feel like you guys have really “made it” as a band? I’d say you guys are on your way!
Dan: All I want to do is tour with these guys. We’re all best mates and I know it would just be insane—couldn’t imagine anything more satisfying than playing shows all over the UK and hopefully further afield with this lineup.
Harry: Headlining Glastonbury would be up there, haha. I think we’d be pretty pleased if we all got to a point where we could support ourselves and our family on money we’ve made from making and performing music. All I wanna do is make music for the rest of my life so, if I can do that, I’ll be happy. But, if Emily Eavis [co-organizer of Glasto] is reading this—we don’t cost much!
In a post on Instagram, you guys said that you might’ve demo-ed your single “Vivid Dreams” at least 15 times before you were happy with it. I’m curious – what were some problem areas you were desperate to smooth out? And how much did the track change from its initial form to the final result?
Harry: I wrote it before I actually got a band together so I didn’t have any proper sonic vision to follow. So, when I finally got the band together and we started learning all the other songs, our sound started becoming quite apparent, and the version of “Vivid Dreams” I had at the time just didn’t really fit. One version was a bit shoegaze [and] the other was a bit drum and bass. It took a lot of time to get it somewhere we were happy with because we all like the verse vocals and lyrics and we were really into the riff — it was just a matter of making it work best for us. If anyone wants to hear any of [the demos], just DM and I’ll send you some mp3s.
Regarding the “Vivid Dreams” music video, too, what inspired you guys to take the more homemade route, especially since quarantine has really limited the modes of content one can create right now?
Harry: I think that was exactly why we did it. I don’t even own a video camera so it just seemed like an easy option, in all honesty. I like the David Dean Burkhart videos and I thought that style would work well for the tune.
Going back to “Same Guy,” too, this track has an element of acceptance, in the sense that it’s sort of admitting that, yeah, we make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t grow. Where did the inspiration for this message come from? Do you feel like it rings true personally?
Harry: I’m always learning from mistakes. My Mum once told me I could never be told and always had to learn the hard way. I don’t think I’m stubborn; it’s just that information doesn’t really stick unless it’s been shocked into my system.
Dave wrote that song though, so you’d have to ask him but I think you pretty much nailed it on the head. The lyrics definitely resonated with me when I first heard them. I think the fact they are juxtaposed with such a carefree instrumental- it really adds to that feeling of “acceptance.” If it was in a minor key and all miserable, it would have probably sounded a lot more depressing.
How much would you say Eades has changed since all of you first met back in school, even if you’re all the “same guys?”
Harry: I only knew Jof in school and the rest at uni. We’ve only been a band altogether for about a year (if that), so we are still in early days. Though, I don’t think we’ve changed much, really, since we all first met. We don’t go out as much, which is definitely a good thing for our brains and wallets.
On another note, our world is definitely in a state of upheaval at the moment aside from the excitement you guys must be feeling regarding the EP and the future. So, throughout everything, how have you guys been coping? Have you picked up any interesting hobbies/ways to keep yourself occupied during quarantine?
Harry: I know Tom’s been painting a lot and Dan’s been working still but mostly, we have just been churning out demos so we can focus on gigging when lockdown is over. I have been running quite a bit which has been great for clearing my head in the morning as well as helping me shed A LOT of pasty weight.
What would you say you’re looking forward to most once everything returns to some sort of normalcy? Maybe playing more gigs?
Harry: 100 percent gigging and touring. You can’t beat the visceral experience of playing music live to people who enjoy it. Also, I can’t wait to get back to the practice room with all 5 of us. I love it when you first hear a song you write on your own come to life, especially if the other bandmates are getting into it. Our friend and fellow musician, Sam Wilde, lets us use his lockup and it’s become a bit of a haven for us all, as cold as it can be.
Finally, with the future of Eades considered, what can listeners expect the next year or so to look like (tentatively)?
Dan: The future of Eades looks bountiful and absolutely packed full of new music. We have so many new tunes in the pipelines ready to be rolled out and can’t wait to gig and release it all.
Harry: I counted the other day and I’ve demoed close to 50 tunes in lockdown, not including the songs Tom and Dave have been working on as well. So, [the] plan is to get our second EP done, then, an album next year. Don’t worry, though; no plans to put out an obnoxiously long double album yet.
Make sure to keep up with Eades via their socials (Instagram, Facebook) and listen to ‘Microcosmic Things’ on your favorite streaming platforms now!