Meet five-piece FAERS, an unsigned band from London consisting of Ryan Faers, Morgan Rees, Steven Anderson-Howard, Sam Rawlings and Alex Crowley. After consistently selling out shows across the capital, they prepare themselves for one of their biggest headline shows to date. We chat to the band to find out what they are all about.
Tell us about your aims when creating music, and where does that aim stem from?
Sam: It usually starts with a mood that we want to create and we build it from there. We all have our different styles of playing and we’ll work together to write something that injects everyone’s personalities into our tracks. It’s always about trying something new for us, as well as improving and building on what came before.
What was the catalyst for picking up instruments and wanting to start a band?
Steven: I guess like many musicians, it was about wanting to create something and find a sound that resonates with people. But its evolved over time for us, there are more complex ideas that we’ve been working towards expressing as well.
Were you very influential to music when growing up or did you establish your own musical preferences?
Sam: I think we all have an appreciation for musical heritage; we’ll chuck on the Mac [Demarco] or Massive Attack in the van on our way to gigs. But we all have eclectic tastes and between us have a really good knowledge of new music scenes as well. The old and new are both important to our sound.
Tell us about what it was like when you first started writing?
Steven: When we first started writing as a band, Morgan, Sam and myself would head upstairs to a room at our local pub and write with just a guitar then take the ideas to the group. Since Alex joined the band our writing structure has improved and we do things differently with a longer more thought out process. It’s taken a while but we are now happy with the way we write our tracks.
The London music scene is buzzing with new talent at the moment but are there any other bands you would recommend?
Sam: Loads of artists and scenes are thriving in London at the moment. I’d reccommed checking out Kojey Radical, Moses Boyd, Dream Wife, YVES and Glass Peaks to just name a few. 67 are sick too, shout out to the ‘drill’ fans.
Do you have any other gigs or festival appearances?
Ryan: We have a big one in October but we are not allowed to announce the show yet.
What and who influences you musically?
Steven: As a band, we have a few artists that influence all of us, such as the Maccabees, Wu Lyf, Foals but we also, all have a range of less-expected individual influences as well. Ryan is into a lot of punk and metal, Morgan loves atmospheric guitar bands like Explosions in the Sky, Sam is a hip-hop head and Alex likes being left alone in the woods to listen to folk music.
Describe your songwriting process?
Alex: Steven is great at coming up with vocal ideas, so generally, we take one of those ideas or a guitar riff and spend time building other ideas around it at one of our houses. Once we’ve got the core of an idea for a song, we’ll take that into the rehearsal room and see if it works with the whole band, if we’re all vibing off it, we’ll sometimes take it back into our home studio and tweak some things before approaching a producer.
What has it been like recording your music?
Morgan: We’ve worked with a few producers in different studios, and had great experiences all the time. It’s a really nice feeling to shut yourself away for an extended period of time and really focus on getting something created that you can take away and share with other people.
Steven: It normally involves a few hours of doing your individual parts, then sitting back and drinking beer whilst we guess who Chelsea are gonna sign next.
Although you are in a band, do you still have to work day jobs in-between live shows?
Steven: during our working days, pick up penguins when they fall over at the zoo, Ryan works for Warner Bro’s, Morgan is an engineer, Alex hacks into big companies and we ask Sam what he does on a regular basis and we still do not understand.
How would you like people to respond to your music? Do you wish to connect emotionally with the audience or is it just about having a party?
Morgan: We all like a good party ha!
FAERS are headlining CloseUp Promotions show in London Friday 28th July at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen. Tickets available for £6. Support includes Glass Peaks and Submariner.
Ant Adams Photography – header image
