just a lil reminder you can find all of our features over on our website! ranging from weekly reviews, roundups of our favourite releases, playlists and interviews – there’s a whole load of new music to find! 🙌
you can find it all at www.breadrecords.co.uk 🍞
just a lil reminder you can find all of our features, reviews and more on our website! 👊
lots of music coverage, lots of new music from our artists and all of our gigs – find it all at www.breadrecords.co.uk 🍞
in case you missed it, our latest Knead To Know feature with Craig Lee and the Humblebees was mega! 
fresh off the release of his brand new single “By Your Side“, we chatted with him about his inspirations, influences and upcoming plans for the year – always lovely to get more of an insight into artists’ lives and creative journeys. 
you can find the feature in full on our website at https://breadrecords.co.uk/2023/07/05/knead-to-know-craig-lee-the-humblebees/ – check it out and let us know what you think! 
after a long time, we’re back with our next Knead To Know interview, this time with the incredible Craig Lee and The Humblebees! 🥪
we’ve heard a bunch of great releases from Craig, and his music has been doing super well over the past few years, with his 60’s rock and roll-inspired sound mixed with indie rock and singer-songwriter influence, proving him as a real unique artist here in the North West. it’s real lovely to chat with him here, finding out more about his music and his creativity, you can find the full interview below! ⬇️
Hey mate, it’s great to have you here for our Knead To Know interview. What got you into doing music?
Some lads in my year did a few songs for a school talent show as a band and I thought I can do that. It was around the time of Arctic Monkeys first album, so they were a big influence too as I was about 14.
What inspires your sound? Who are some of your favourite artists?
I am massively influenced by the sound of retro rock’n’roll (Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, The Beatles) but also amazing poetic lyricists such as Bob Dylan, Frank Turner and Justin Young (The Vaccines). I try my best to mix the two…
Your new single “By Your Side” is out now – tell us a bit about it!
By Your Side is basically a song that says life is fine being on my own but it’s even better when I am with you. Soppy, I know.
How have you found the release so far? What are the highlights for you, with it?
It’s always great to hear from people on social media. I have had a few people message me to praise the song and to hear that from people I don’t know and have no reason to say it (other than that they love the tune) is a great feeling. One person even said it was one of their favourite songs period, which was madness.
What are your main inspirations for writing?
Seeing people dancing, hearing them sing the words back. It’s great when I hear a person’s favourite song of mine, as it’s always a different one and I am inspired by having more to add to that list.
What’s your process for creating music?
It varies. Sometimes I will hear somebody say a phrase and I will just laugh and make a mental note then go home and write a chorus using it. Other times I will challenge myself to write a certain bassline, or to write a song to incorporate a key change or simply strum and hum until something catchy comes along (wow that sounded ruder than I meant it).
Have you been gigging over the past few months? How is it?
In all honesty (when it comes to originals) not as much as I had hoped. Any bands looking for a support or wanting to put a show on, give me a shout.
Do you record in a studio or do you have a personal home studio?
I record at Vibe Studios in Cheetham Hill with producer (and quiet magician) Dean Glover. He filters my mad ideas and up to now, he has always got it right when bringing the songs to what I have in my head.
Have you got anything coming up in 2023 we should know about?
I am supporting The Dunwells in July and also Chris Helm (The Seahorses) in October. Both are in Oldham and are very exciting opportunities.
we always love writing these up, and finding out more about each artist’s inspirations, their creative processes and the journey that they’ve been on, it’s unique to every act! if you’ve not heard it yet, it’s well worth checking out his new single, another class tune under his belt. a big thank you to Craig for letting us interview him – and thank you all for checking it out! 🍞
just a lil reminder today that you can find all of our stuff here on our website at www.breadrecords.co.uk
all of our releases, features, merch and reviews are there for you to check out – there’s so much with us being on over a 1,100 day streak on it all. give it a look, you’re bound to find some new music to enjoy
in case you missed it, our Knead To Know interview with Chris Tavener the other week was class 
big love to Chris for doing this with us, plus his new single “This Is The One” sounds fantastic – it was super lovely to find out more about his inspirations and creative processes when working on his music!
you can find it over on our website at https://breadrecords.co.uk/…/knead-to-know-chris-tavener/ – give it a read and let us know what you think, plus all of our features are over there too
we’ve got our next Knead To Know interview for you, this time with a good friend of ours who we’ve known for a long time now – Chris Tavener!
Chris has been on the scene for a good while now, and we’ve been massive fans of his from the start, with his witty and tongue-in-cheek songwriting, ability to hold the crowd in the palm of his hand, and excellent repertoire of songs behind him – a real talent whose been making waves across the North West now for a good number of years. it was lovely to chat with him here – find the full interview below! ⬇️
Hey Chris, thanks for doing this interview for us! Tell us a bit more about yourself and your music!
Thanks for having me! I’m a singer-songwriter, originally from Northwich in Cheshire, but I now live in Manchester. I write music that’s inspired by quirky rock ‘n’ roll with some acoustic folk inspirations as well. I’ve often described my songs as satirical because they are humorous, character-based narratives that I create based on social commentary observations.
We’ve been huge fans of your music for the past few years, having listened to you perform a bunch. What got you into music?
I originally became interested in music by listening to my Dad’s CD collection in his car, with albums by: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Talking Heads and Elvis Costello. I think I’ve carried a lot of that 60s/70s inspiration into my songwriting. The likes of Randy Newman, Loudon Wainwright III and even Monty Python got me into writing songs with a cynical edge that would make people laugh.
Tell us a bit more about your new single “This Is The One”!
’This Is The One’ is a football song for the FIFA World Cup 2022. I’m really interested by the hysteria that seems to emerge every time England performs even remotely well in an international tournament. I find it hilarious that the most unlikely football fans are suddenly cheering with incredible passion for the sport as soon as England reach any kind of final.
What got you into writing more satirical music? Is it something you always wanted to do?
I’ve always loved comedy, looking at the funny side of life and I find it quite difficult to take being an artist very seriously. As a result, I think I’ve naturally gravitated towards expressing myself through humour.
Being cynical and joking around is what I’m most comfortable doing.
With the song being focused around the World Cup, are you a big sports fan?
I’m not, unfortunately…I’m a fraud! In fact, the sentiment of the song is relatable to me because for years I would only be interested in football when the world cup was on. Nowadays I’m a casual, premier league team supporter but I wouldn’t say I was a big sports fan.
What are the processes involved in creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?
I usually arrange all the instrument parts for a new song at home via Pro Tools recording software. I find it’s the easiest way to save money and time in the studio since I can be quite particular about what I’d like the track to sound like.
After that, I prefer to take these demos into the studio where session musicians and myself can give it a more polished sound.
Which studio do you go to?
Green Velvet Studios in Manchester. I highly recommend them!
What inspires you to create music?
I’m constantly inspired by the works of other songwriters; particularly lyricists. I find a lyric that can make you understand a complex feeling or sentiment in a short amount of words is so creatively invigorating. I’m always striving for that.
When I pair that with the fun performance style of rock ‘n’ roll, it’s a combination that’s never failed to keep me motivated to release music.
What have you been doing over the past few years, musically?
In the past few years, I’ve kept myself very busy performing hundreds of gigs a year. I enjoy keeping up a steady stream of music releases which is why I’ve never gone a year without releasing at least one single with a music video since I started in 2015.
I’m always trying to challenge myself as well, which is why I’ve performed abroad in Europe/Ireland and I’ve written a number of song commissions for individuals, filmmakers and organisations.
With each release, what do you find motivates you to keep going and putting out more?
I’m not the sort of person that experiences constant creative inspiration, I usually have to deliberately sit down to write new songs. What motivates me most of all is the thrill of performing live to a captive audience, I think there’s nothing like it.
Where have you been performing lately? What gigs have been special for you?
Recently I’ve been performing a weekends tour with Thomas Benjamin Wild Esquire. He’s another funny songwriter and it’s been fantastic playing to a room full of people that are up for a laugh. We’ve stopped in Nottingham, Liverpool, Brighton, Ipswich, Manchester and Chester. I will also be announcing a new tour for Spring 2023.
Have you got any more stuff in the works?
At the moment, I’ve been having ideas for songs that aren’t quite as satirical as what I’ve done in the past. There are still some songs with a humorous edge but they’re less character-based. I’m not sure yet what to do with these songs but I think it might be a positive progression to try them live and perhaps in the future make my first studio album.
as always, we love making these up – learning more about artists’ inspirations and musical journeys is always super interesting for us to see. Chris’s new single sounds great as well, another fantastic piece of music to add to his already incredible discography! big love to him for doing this for us, and thank you all for checking it out! 🍞
In case you missed it, our latest Knead To Know interview with Gramms is a belter 
They’ve been smashing it with their debut single “Shut Up A Second” and it was super lovely to chat to them about their inspirations, influences and more! 
Definitely one’s to watch here in Manchester 
Find it over on our website at https://breadrecords.co.uk/2022/11/10/knead-to-know-gramms/ – let us know what you think!
we’re back with our next Knead To Know interview, this time with the incredible Gramms! ⚡️
formed by our good friend Sam Jenkins and Paul Bowe, they’ve just put out their debut single “Shut Up A Second“, a riotous, infectious tune filled to the brim with attitude and gorgeous guitar riffs. an absolutely explosive debut release – we’re huge fans of this tune and knew we had to get them on for an interview. check it out in full below! ⬇️
Hey guys, thanks for sorting out this interview! Give us a bit more information about yourselves.
GRAMMS is Sam Jenkins and Paul Bowe and we’re based in Stockport. Started throwing demos across to each other during lockdown and released our first single earlier this year.
We love the new tune “Shut Up A Second” – tell us some more about the tune!
It was the first thing we worked on after the last lockdown and I don’t know if it was because of all that pent-up creativity, but we put it together in a matter of hours.
It’s essentially about our need to express an opinion no matter how baseless or unhelpful that may be.
What started you guys off as a band?
We’ve both been on the scene for a good while in separate projects and have been wanting to sort out some kind of collaboration for years. End of last year we finally both found ourselves with a bit of time on our hands.
Whose the main songwriter in the band, or do you do it all together?
Yea, it’s completely collaborative and the process depends on the song.
What are the processes involved in creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?
All the songs have been written and arranged at Paul’s rehearsal studios (Stockport Studios). We then demo them on logic and use that as a guide in the recording studio.
Both ‘Shut Up a Second’ and our upcoming single were recorded in Levenshulme by the musical wizard that is John Simm; formally of Cleft and currently working with Blossoms on their tour.
Where do you get the inspiration for your tracks?
It really varies. The lyrics for Shut Up were inspired by Paul’s riff. Made me think of a circus lion strutting around his cage thinking of ways to escape and the rest fell into place from there.
Over the time you’ve been together as a band, how have you been spending your time musically? (recording, writing etc)
It’s all been about writing and recording at the moment, but we’re planning to put on some shows in the new year.
What kinds of responses have you had from your releases?
Overwhelmingly positive! We’ve had record of the day, week and month from various publications. That leaves, year, decade, century, millennium and all time, so plenty to aim for.
Have you been performing live?
Not yet. Stay tuned!
When you’re performing live, what do you enjoy the most about it?
In previous projects it’s been seeing the impact your music can have on a room of people. Stunning a crowd into silence or inciting them to riot is a very cool power to wield!
We’re really looking forward to the next release, can you tell us any more about that?
It’s called ‘All’s Fair’ and it’s big! That’s kind of the through line for all GRAMMS tracks; it sounds massive. It’s got a slightly more mature sound than the last one but it still has the signature GRAMMS monstrousness to it.
What else is in the works?
We’re looking to release the next single before the end of the year along with another equally bonkers video and we’ll be back in the studio recording the third single in the next couple of months.
we love putting these interviews together, it’s so good to be able to interact with bands and artists on a more personal level – fantastic to see that Gramms have some more stuff in the works and find out the inspirations and backstory to them! we hope that you enjoyed this as much as we have, big love to Gramms for doing this for us! 🍞
in case you missed it, our last Knead to Know feature with Hayden J Barlow last week was beltin
it was great to chat with him about his new release “Stockholm Syndrome“, plus about his inspirations, creative processes and more! the new tune sounds incredible as well, another in a long list of bangers from the hyper-soul songwriter.
you can find the feature in full over on our website at https://breadrecords.co.uk/…/knead-to-know-hayden-j…/ – give it a read and let us know what you think!
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