These days, in a particularly tough and competitive industry, only the very brave and fortunate few get the lucky break and go beyond playing their music in local bars and pubs. Even with a strong work ethic and belief, not to mention talent in abundance, it is still a huge ask for the majority of bands and musicians to force their way onto the bigger platform and go on to forge a career out of what they love to do.
With The Atmospherics, a young Blackpool indie-pop quartet, there is a real chance that something might just happen for them. Nothing is guaranteed, it never is, but there is a sense of excitement and expectation surrounding this band and without releasing any recorded material into the public domain as yet, they are certainly beginning to create a buzz. All still only 19, there is plenty to look forward to.
Things are about to change though and their eagerly awaited debut five-track EP is ready to be unleashed, albeit after a few unavoidable delays, but no doubt it has certainly been worth the wait.
“We’ve got a set of original songs that we’re really pleased with now,” lead singer and guitarist David Mangnall told me, “It has been quite a lengthy wait and we have had to be patient, but we all had to be happy that the songs sounded the way we wanted them to and reflect us as a band – I think we’ve achieved that now, so we’re made up and satisfied to finally be ready to release something.”
After securing some very exciting live slots at various festivals over this summer, it’s a very good time to be a part of The Atmospherics. A main stage slot already in the bag at the Northbound Festival in Cumbria in August, alongside the likes of The Beat, The Dub Pistols and Public Service Broadcasting, provides an excellent stage for the band to go out and show music fans what they are all about. Other appearances around the country will keep them busy too.
“It will be fantastic just to go out on a big stage in front of a great crowd and play our own tunes,” said David, “We have been playing locally for around two years in bars and pubs, but mainly cover songs in our genre, which gets us used to playing live. But there’s nothing quite like performing our own stuff and the feedback has been phenomenal. We are delighted that people do love our own material and it’s given us a real buzz to work harder.”
After a terrific live set at The Layton last October, supporting The Sex Pissed Dolls in front of a capacity crowd, things have started to take off for the band and they are garnering a lot of attention. The whole gig was filmed and it has helped the band get noticed further afield.
“We now even have fans in the United States and Australia!” David added. “The live video from The Layton has really helped us on our way and since that was shot we’ve become tighter as a band and our confidence has risen. We’ve knuckled down and worked hard on our writing and the thought that has gone into our material. We generally write upbeat and meaningful songs about our experiences and a lot of people in our age group will relate to the lyrics. But we do love to give off a hopeful and happy vibe and perform songs people can sing along to and remember – with catchy hooks.
“It’s now just a case of getting the EP out there and going and performing it live around the country. We can’t wait and as long as we enjoy ourselves and transmit that to our audiences then that’s all that matters. We are still a young band and good mates, so we are developing all the time and hopefully that will improve us as a group.”
The band have several very good dates lined up in places such as Leicester, Doncaster, Cumbria, the Midlands and Scotland as well as other towns and cities around the North West. No doubt that kind of exposure will benefit the band and give them the much needed experience on the road.
“We’re working out a small summer tour of sorts and we are trying to get to as many places as we can,” David told me, “We all finish college this summer so it gives us much more time to focus on the band and our music. Over the summer we’ll just see what happens. But the main thing is to enjoy ourselves and learn along the way.”
There’s no doubt they will enjoy themselves and the release of their debut EP will perhaps give them a great platform to go on to bigger and better things. Like said, nothing is guaranteed in the music industry, but The Atmospherics have given themselves a good chance by working extremely hard at what they do and will continue to keep a big smile on their faces while they do it. It’s a great place to start and will add to their development. This summer should prove an exciting period for the band and we wish them the very best of luck.
You can keep up with the progress of the band, the EP release news and other snippets on their social media pages on Facebook (TheAtmospherics) and Twitter (@theatmospherics).
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