Interview: Manchester Orchestra

It has been some time since we last saw Manchester Orchestra on these shores. 2014 saw them release their brilliant fourth album ‘Cope’ which saw the quintet explore a more bold rock sound whilst is accompanying ‘Hope’ LP re-imagined the former with a well-executed collection of softer, acoustic songs.

As part of a whistle stop visit back to the UK, we caught up with vocalist Andy Hull at the Leeds Festival to discuss his past memories of playing the festivals, what they’ve been up to since their last UK tour and more. We also found out about his forthcoming project that sees him producing a film score.

AH: So you’re back at Leeds Festival. You played here a few years ago right?

Andy: Yeah. This is our third time playing.

AH: What are your memories from previous festivals?

Andy: I feel a lot older now. It seems the crowd is really young. My first memories was that they had this stage where you had to sign up to play. So us and our buddies in Brand New all signed up and played a bunch of Weezer songs.

AH: You’ve recently been on a European tour. How has it been going?

Andy: It’s been awesome. We went to Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland. It’s been realy really great.

AH: I remembed you last toured over here last Autumn. What have you been up to since then?

Andy: I’ve been scoring a movie this year called ‘Swiss Army Man.’ We’ve been writing the music for it for the last six months, and now we’re starting to record it. So we will be working on that for the rest of the year.

AH: Is that just you by yourself or by the band?

Andy: It’s me and Robert (McDowell – guitarist) from the band.

AH: Other than that is any other new material in the works?

Andy: We’ve written three new songs but I don’t think they’re going to go anywhere.

AH: Today you’re playing the Festival Republic stage. It’s one of the smaller stages here. Does that bother you at all?

Andy: No obviously we would want them to put us on the main stage but they obviously they don’t want to, so you just play where they tell you to.

AH: I know you’ve been playing some American festivals and got some coming up like Riot Fest and Austin City Limits.

Andy: We’re not doing that. We’re just going to be there hanging out with our buddies in Brand New. We’re going to be on tour with them so we’re just going to hang. It’ll be nice to go to a festival and not play.

AH: How do American festivals differ to UK and European festivals?

Andy: A lot of it is pretty similar. The structure is the same. It all depends where you are. We just in Switzerland. It was a totally different, laid back crowd. Here it depends what sort of music you’re playing. People get a little rowdy.

AH: Are there any bands you’re wanting to see why you’re here?

Andy: I’m not sure. I haven’t really looked at the lineup. Kendrick Lamar tonight will be really fun to see.

AH: Going back to the film score. When can we expect to hear that?

Andy: I think the movie is coming out next year. We’re definitely going to release the music to it as well. Hopefully by March of next year.

AH: How does it compared to Manchester Orchestra?

Andy: There’s no instruments. It’s all vocals so it sounds really different.

AH: Are you doing any solo stuff at the moment?

Andy: Yeah I have a concept that I’m starting to chip away at but no immediate plans. It really is just focusing on the movie and then next year Manchester will start writing a record again.

AH: What is the movie about?

Andy: It’s starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe. It’s about a dude in the woods who finds a dead body and they become friends. It’s really cool.

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