With influences consisting of Feeder and Jimmy Eat World, Leeds quartet Morain are a confident melodic rock band that have the songs to back it up. The quartet’s latest EP ‘Are We Lost’ is a bold, sharp collection of anthemic rock songs.
From recent single ‘Animals,’ a twiddly, bright slice of soaring British rock to the title track which is a sincere, bouncy number that is all-around warming and comforting.
‘Are We Lost’ is being released through Indigo Records, a label formed from Buckinghamshire rockers Futures and since forming in 2009, Morain have worked with A’s Jason Perry (The Blackout, Kids in Glass Houses).
With such a vibrant, confident EP in ‘Are We Lost,’ Morain are certainly one to watch out for in the coming months and for this reason alone, we spke to vocalist Wil Frost to find out more about the band, their influences, how ‘Are We Lost’ came together, its possible follow-up and more.
Already Heard: Could you introduce yourself and tell us your role in Morain?
Morain: I am Wil, the singer and one of the guitarists in Morain.
AH: For new listeners how would you describe Morain’s sound?
Morain: Morain’s sound is anthemic melodic indie/rock.
AH: Who would you compare Morain too?
Morain: I’d say you can hear a lot of British rock influences in our sound, Feeder being a big one. Then you have influences from the American bands like Jimmy Eat World.
AH: Collectively who has influenced Morain?
Morain: We all draw influences from lots of different artists, from all genres of music. However, collectively bands like Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, The Cure and Coldplay are big influences to our music.
AH: Can you tell us how the band came together?
Morain: We were all friends at school, had played in different bands together and became best friends, and eventually ended up at Morain. It was the first time we all felt we were part of something that could actually get somewhere, so we put 100% in to it.
<a href=“http://morainmusic.bandcamp.com/album/are-we-lost-ep” data-mce-href=“http://morainmusic.bandcamp.com/album/are-we-lost-ep”>Are We Lost EP by Morain</a>
AH: You’re about to release your debut EP ‘Are We Lost.’ What can we expect to hear from the four tracks on their?
Morain: We have spent the last year and a half in and out of the studio recording songs as we wrote them, and we ended up recording an album’s worth of material. This EP consists of four of the tracks from these sessions. We picked songs that we felt showed all sides of our band, so it would make a great introduction for people. All the songs have big anthemic sing a long choruses that tie them all together, but there is something for everyone on the EP.
AH: You’ve joined up with Futures’ Indigo Records to release the EP. What attracted you to joining that label?
Morain: We knew the guys from Futures a little bit beforehand due to playing a few shows with them and I personally had spent some time writing with Ant (West). When we were in talks with management about the EP, Indigo got in touch proposing to put it out through their label. We have a lot of respect for those guys and obviously love their band. At this current point in the band’s journey it seemed the perfect way to release our music. To be able to work with people like Indigo who have done everything you are setting out to do already is very inspiring.
AH: The EP was produced by Roni Szpakowski. How much input did he have into the making of ‘Are We Lost’?
Morain: Roni is the fifth member of this band, for sure. He had a lot of input in ‘Are We Lost’ and was never afraid to tell us if we were maybe heading off course with certain ideas. He brought the best out of us as musicians and as a band, you can’t ask for anything more from a producer.
AH: You’ve also worked with Jason Perry. How has he helped the bands sound developed?
Morain: Working with Jason was a huge thing for us, we looked up to his band “A” when growing up and also love so many of the records he has produced. It was a huge inspiration to sit down in a studio with him and listen to his thoughts on the tracks. He definitely helped us refine certain parts of our music to make sure they 100% worked for the song and weren’t there for the sake of it.
AH: The first single from the EP is ’Animals.’ First of all what is the track about and why did you release it as the first single?
Morain: Animals is a song about having a relationship with someone and even though there are hard times, as long as you are together you can overcome any problem. We chose this as the first single since we thought it was a true representation of the direction our music was taking.
AH: Can we expect to hear a follow up to the EP? If so how have the new songs coming along?
Morain: We are currently in talks about a follow up to the EP for early 2013. We have been writing a lot of new material; it’s hard to predict how the songs will sound when they are fully finished and produced but there will definitely be a natural progression from the EP.
AH: After the EP release what can we expect to hear and see from Morain in the coming months?
Morain: Once the EP is released we hope to be out on the road playing shows as much as possible to promote it and get our name out there.
AH: Finally why should Already Heard readers check out Morain and ‘Are We Lost’?
Morain: We feel like we offer something different than a lot of current rock bands. And of course the EP is free, so they have nothing to lose!
‘Are We Lost’ by Morain is available as a free download on Bandcamp and through Indigo & Bright Black Records.
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