Embrace interview: Love is a Basic Need

Image: Embrace

In the ever evolving alternative climate, Embrace are somewhat stallions in the industry. They have gradually built a reputation for producing beautifully melancholic music, and with their 2018 album Love is a Basic Need soaring to number 5 in the charts, this was our opportunity to get a personal insight on success, the forming of the band, touring and the future of embrace. Oh, and an emphatic World Cup song.

In May they make a main stage appearance at Lancaster's Highest Point festival, on a Saturday billing that also includes Ocean Colour Scene, Cast, Huey Morgan, Don Letts and more, and ahead of this huge performance we chatted to the band.

Love is a Basic Need is your 7th studio album, and your first in 4 years. Being so well established with each other as musicians and the alternative rock scene, is it easy to get back into making music?

We all are constantly making music with other projects and on our own, so we were never really away from it. This album has probably been our easiest to write and record as we’ve reached a level of maturity and confidence where we trust our own judgement and are not trying to second guess everything.

Your album has risen to number 5 in the charts after a terrific reception from the public, is success in the charts the most fulfilling reward for your efforts?

It's probably had the best response we’ve ever had, plus with social media we get to see it all, so it has been very gratifying. Anyone who says the chart position means nothing is lying as you put a lot of work into the music and you want as many people to hear it and like it as possible.

A question to the rest of the band, what is the best lyric you think Danny has ever written?

He’s written many great lyrics but my favourite at the moment is from Love Is A Basic Need - “ I’m like an alien, I only want peace; Drop all your weapons, they’re useless on me"

You have an upcoming UK tour starting on March 28th, would you say that you relish touring more than the music making process?

Both are great for a certain length of time, it's about getting the balance right. But touring is where you get the feedback and have the most fun.

I remember hearing ‘Out of Nothing’ for the first time in my brother’s car, and he constantly played the cd for about six months straight as I know a lot of your emerging fan base did, do you feel like “Love is a basic need” is a cherry on top of an incredible back catalogue, or another layer on the cake?

I hope it's just another layer on the cake, calling it a day has never been discussed. I suppose it depends on whether people still want to see us live and listen to our music.

I cried the first time I heard ‘Gravity’ as a teenager, and your often described on twitter as heart-wrenching but uplifting, do you think that pain or some form of loss is an integral part of making great music?

I think that's the sweet spot that we aim for, if the song doesn’t make us feel something then we move on. Life is hard but beautiful and everyone can connect with that and know that you’re not alone, its something thats become part of the Embrace DNA.

How would you describe the current indie alternative climate in five words?

I don’t know, it's struggling to get on the radio if guitars are involved. It's a very difficult time for new bands who don’t churn out Radio 1 pop, the playlists seem to be filled with a monopoly of the same dozen artists, it's very lazy.

As a band who originated in West Yorkshire, do you often find yourself situated there? Either in the studio or with family and friends?

We’ve never managed to escape! We all live in West Yorkshire still and have no intention of leaving.

In 2006, you were chosen to record England’s world cup song “World at your feet” and Danny told NME that he was “Just trying to cover all basis.”  Do you think that branching out into interconnected platforms such as music with football, or film soundtracks, is the best way to build your reputation as a band?

The World Cup song was an interesting adventure into the mainstream for a while, and it probably helped to get us to a wider audience, but its not something we’d do again.

Getting our music more in films and games would be great. As it's so hard for guitar bands to get on radio at the moment you need as many platforms as possible.

Finally, what can we expect to see in the next decade from Embrace?

More albums hopefully, and more tours, just so long as we get to keep making the music we want to make and release it to people who want to hear it. That’s all it’s about really.

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