Night Engine
Night Engine are already proving themselves to be more than your average pop band. We spoke to them to find out their story...
(((o))): So, first and foremost, who are Night Engine and what are your musical backgrounds?
We’re four guys from London and we play aggressive new wave pop. Musically we all come from different places, Lee (drums) played jazz for years, Ed (bass) was primarily a trumpet player, Dom (keys) composes for theatre and I (Phil) played in a Zappa covers band. We’re united by a desire to play simple, direct and exciting music.
(((o))): How did the band come together?
I know Dom from when I was a kid. I worked with Ed and Ed met Lee at a wedding. I had a couple of songs and so we got together last January just started playing around with them and it went well.
(((o))): Please describe your sound in the form of either a haiku, a rhyming couplet or, if you are feeling massively ambitious, an acrostic...
Describing one’s sound
In seventeen syllables
Is very diffic...
(((o))): Has your local music scene had any impact on you as a band?
Dom and I were around the “Thamesbeat” scene that sprouted Larrikin Love and Mystery Jets. Those are the famous ones but there were so many other great bands around Twickenham and Hounslow who never made it. AirHammer were famous in our area and Ben, the front man, is the best I’ve ever seen, I still aspire to be as good as he was. You were constantly going to gigs, seeing bands live and socialising with musicians. It was a very supportive community.
(((o))): You’ve got some new tracks ‘Young and Carefree’ and ‘Give Me a Chance’ out in a few weeks. Tell us a little bit about them...
They show two very different sides of what we do. ‘Young and Carefree’ is a dark disco stomper and ‘Give Me a Chance’ is a rocker. One is about control; the other is about trying to get a job.
(((o))): What do you think is the most difficult challenge facing new bands starting out in the music industry today?
Music is easier than ever to record and to distribute. Getting noticed amongst the huge number of bands that are around today can be very difficult, some people get lucky and some have to slave away for years. It’s important not to lose heart.
(((o))): Every band has different aims. What would have to happen for Night Engine to make you feel that you’d “made it”, so to speak?
When we’ve got an album that we’re proud of, when we play to audiences who know all the words and when we’re asked to do a car insurance advert. That or having one of our songs played in the cafe in Eastenders.
(((o))): Does a night engine only work in darkness?
There’s only one way to find out (insert seedy emoticon here).
(((o))): We have another column called Echoes of the Past in which we get people to write about albums that have particularly influenced them. What would you guys choose to write about in that column?
Talking Heads – ‘Speaking in Tongues’. Every song is a belter. I read someone describe it as “underwhelming” recently and I thought that was bonkers.
(((o))): This is ostensibly a column for introducing new bands. Any suggestions as to who we ought to include in the near future?
Die Mason Die. Brilliant songs and the best two singers in London.
(((o))): What are Night Engine’s plans for the near future?
Releasing our new double A-side single, going on tour with Electric Guest, playing lots of city festivals like Great Escape and Dot to Dot, playing our headline show at XOYO, another tour of the UK in June and then the summer festivals.
