Above Them in the Studio

When we first heard Pontefract’s Above Them were recording their debut album in Manchester, images of the band living it up in the city flooded our minds. Country kids in the big city seemed like the perfect story for the young trio, who after recording their EP a year ago, are now ready to take the plunge on their long player.

So consider our surprise when we roll into Manchester to find a huge old mill where the band can be found recording in a small corner of the building.

“I haven’t had much sleep,” mutters bassist Mark as he welcomes us in. “The hotel bed is hard as anything, plus we went out last night.”

“I think we must be in a big gay area, because last night we ended up in three gay bars,” drummer Tom adds.

But despite trawling the latest gay hang outs, Above Them have actually been hard at work. After recording in the studio for two days all the drums and bass are laid down, with Oli currently recording the second layer of guitar. The group are quite content in the studio, but surely it can be a little frustrating for a band who are so used to playing live?

“We’re quite enjoying it really,” adds lead singer Oli. “Last time we recorded was for the EP and we didn’t have much time. Now we’re just enjoying messing around and finding out what works and what doesn’t.”

Mark chips in, “Plus I think it’d be different if we were working with someone new, but we’re not.”

Of course Tim the producer we see very little of during our visit. Transfixed to his computer, only looking up to sneak another Haribo into his mouth, we feel like we’re disturbing his work. Also it’s a little surprising Above Them, who spend most of their time shouting out football scores by the minute, get on with the producer so well.

“I know what to expect from them and they know what to expect from me,” the producer barely whispers from behind the desk.

Mark adds, “We do feel like we can relax and talk to him but it is a bit different from what we’re used to.”

But in fact the band are not too different. While they bounce around the studio scrapping with each other, as soon as the interview begins it’s like getting blood out of a stone. As they return from a photo shoot a little disgruntled at standing in front of a camera, the band slink into themselves as a few questions are asked. So how did a band, mainly known for their ecstatic live shows decide what to record and what to leave out?

Oli: “It’s not like we had loads of songs and we don’t know what to pick. We decided on the best ones and made sure they were the ones we wanted to record.”

Mark: “Some we’ve had for a long time and we’ve been saving them for the album and others were only written a couple of weeks ago.”

Tom: “One thing that’s great is that none of them have ever been recorded before.”

As the band begin to ease up we do begin to notice something- this trio are super organised. In the corner we can’t help looking a white board with every little recording change noted down (“I think secretly Oli’s always wanted a white board of our recording process” Tom muses) But do the band feel like they’ve moved on since their EP?

“Yeah shit loads!” Mark bursts in, “It’s been a year since we last recorded and we’ve changed styles. What we’ve recorded is what happened at that time. From travelling around America we’ve met so many ace new bands and I think our songs have changed a little bit.”

“We’re more defined now,” adds Tom, “more us- more Above Them.”

Above Them’s debut album will be out later in the year on Inhaler Records.

Ruth Offord