By Alex Pearson
We are back again for Artist Spotlight. This week is Manchester indie rock quintet Affairs. Forming in 2010, James Robinson (vocals), Liam Grindell (guitar/backing vocals); Dan Parker (guitar/synth), Jack Richards (bass/bass synth), and Michael Bradnam (drums) met at Hull University and gathered a lot of attention through BBC Introducing Humberside.
We picked up Affairs in 2015 when they released their second single ‘Brothers’, Robinson’s bold and unique voice blew us away. With new wave synths; cascading, crystalline guitars; and heart-pounding bass lines and percussion as backup, the band have set themselves in good form for 2017.
‘Life of Leisure’ is arguably their most anthemic and complete number. Their sound is at their maturest, through shimmering orchestration rises frontman James Robinson’s unique but remarkable vocals, which fall between Morrissey and Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands.
On their recent single, ‘Life Of Leisure’ the band said; “All of us are really proud of how “Life of Leisure” came out. Musically, we were aiming to bring an organic feel to the production, focusing on the various tones and sounds. Sometimes it can be a battle between the synthetic, electronic elements and the more traditional instruments.
“But with James Kenosha at the helm, we really married the two together creating something that felt natural with less emphasis on programming or computer tricks. The track itself was one which just flowed out in the writing process, and we wanted to keep this care-free vibe for the recording.
“Working with James in his studio, which is somewhat isolated and definitely off the grid, meant we could totally emerge ourselves in the track with no distractions.”
You can check out Affairs on Facebook and Twitter!
