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.
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! 🍞
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!
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
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.
we’ve got our next Knead To Know interview for you all, with the supremely talented singer-songwriter Hayden J Barlow! 🥖
Hayden’s been making waves on the scene over the past year or so, putting out a slew of releases and singles like there’s no tomorrow, performing across the North and we’ve even had him play a bunch for us – his live performances are so well-honed and intricate, it’s a joy to catch him play. we’ve been massive fans of his music for a while now and his new single “Stockholm Syndrome” is yet another in a long line of incredible tunes from him!
find the full interview below! ⬇️
Hey mate, nice one for doing this interview here with us! Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hey bud! You’re absolutely welcome. I’m Hayden! I make video game boss music and then sing on it.
We’re massive fans of the new single “Stockholm Syndrome” – give us a bit more of a lowdown on the track!
‘Stockholm Syndrome’ is a tune I wrote a while ago about how much I both love and resent having a career in music. It takes a huge toll on me at times despite how much I love doing what I do. This song is an expression of that.
How did you start doing music?
I started singing and writing my own songs at about 10. It’s just something that has always existed simultaneously alongside my life. It’s only around 16 that I actually considered it to be a possible career. At about 22, I actually started actively chasing that. It’s had its ups and downs but it’s been pretty sick so far.
What are the processes involved in creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?
Everything I record is done all at home with a minimal home studio. It’s how I get that ‘D.I.Y’, glitchy sound that I’m starting to become known for.
We already know you produce your music yourself – what led you into self-production?
Honestly? Stubbornness. I am mad difficult to work with (trust me, I do it all the time) because of how unbelievably stubborn I can be when it comes to the sound of my music.
What are your main inspirations for your songs? What artists influence your sound?
It’s an eclectic bunch. James Blake is a big one production wise. In terms of writing, Kings of Leon are a big one as I grew up on them.
When you’re writing, do you focus on a melody first or is it lyrics, or some other way?
I don’t have a set approach, I tend to just go with my gut.
Over the past few years, how have you been spending your time musically? (recording, writing etc)
I’ve been heavily focused on recording these last few years. It’s become one of my biggest passions. Production is a whole other beast and I’ve learned a whole lot by using very little. I’ve had a lot of absolute beginners who have no idea what they’re talking about critique my recording methods. I’ve been honing it for years and these dudes with one set of cheap HS-5s and an ego think they can comment on it. One of my biggest motivations has been sticking it to them by proving you can make high quality, successful records with minimal equipment.
We’ve seen that you’ve been covered on radio a bunch of times now, how are you finding your music is being received?
It’s very validating. We’re slowly but surely getting there.
How are your gigs going? What kinda set up do you take to them nowadays?
To be honest, it’s not my biggest focus these days! I get the most dopamine from recording and making records. If I’m gigging, I want it to be a spectacle or a celebratory, wholesome event. Quality over quantity.
When you’re performing live, what do you enjoy the most about it?
I love translating my songs to a live setting. Whether that be to track, showing off my production skills or reinventing and rearranging my tracks for guitar.
Have you got anything else planned for the rest of the year?
I’ve a whole EP dropping in November! Then it’s onto planning the next batch of releases. Next year is going to be big.
it’s real lovely to put these interviews together and get a more personal and down-to-earth conversation with each artist, find out their motivations, inspirations and what their aims for the future are – seeing Hayden’s approach to music here is super uplifting, taking a much more DIY approach and focusing on the quality of his music is something that we can relate to here at the label. it’s well worth checking out his new tune, it sounds fantastic and if you enjoy it, his back catalogue is full of a bunch of gems as well! big love to him for participating in this and we hope you liked it as much as we did! 🍞
in case you missed it, our interview with Days Are Done for last week’s Knead To Know was fantastic
their new single “I’ve Tried” sounds sublime, with huge harmonies, uplifting production and their usual lovely songwriting that we’ve come to see with every single one of their releases. it was super lush to chat to them and get insights into their recording process, their influences and more!
here’s our next Knead To Know interview, with the amazing Days Are Done! 🤘
over the past year or so, they’ve been doing loads across Manchester, performing at various venues across the city and releasing tunes – we love their 80s-inspired feel with so many vocal harmonies lacing the soundscape and so much passion put into their music. ⚡️ their newest single “I’ve Tried” sounds absolutely gorgeous and we thought we’d get em for an interview! Find it in full below! 😎
Hey guys, thanks so much for doing the interview with us here. Tell us a bit more about yourselves!
Heya, we’re Emmy Kay – I’m a songwriter, singer, composer and actor originally from Manchester and Adam Lewis- singer, songwriter and BAFTA-winning composer originally from Wales.
The new single sounds superb, can you tell us a bit more about it?
Adam – It’s called “I’ve Tried” and it came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s a stream of consciousness really, thoughts about relationships and love. It’s half of a person’s conversation. Some things are hard to say but easier to say in a song. The last single ‘Say You Might’ was the other side of the conversation! It’s stuff one of us has really said for the most part. Musically it’s Pop- Classic Soul but with our own flavour. Influenced by a lot of our favourite artists like George Michael and Luther Vandross but it’s very much us. We’re creating our own sound and pushing it further every track we release.
What inspired you guys to start making music together?
Emmy – It sort of happened by accident. We knew each other through mutual friends and we just sat down with a “let’s see what happens” attitude which pretty much sums us up as a band. Adam was already in a band at that point and as that folded we just ran with this.
How do you go about creating your music? Do you home record, or use a studio?
We record everything at home – we have a very tiny home studio so we really are self-contained. We tend to slip into our own little world. But yeah everything’s done by us. We occasionally will get drums or a few other bits recorded remotely if we feel the track needs it but “I’ve Tried” is all us.
We’ve seen you take a little break from gigging – what have you been up to in the meantime?
We have! We’ve been writing, recording and much like everyone else, having the odd extentensial crisis. You know how it goes! We try and lean into remembering why we’re doing this now and again. So we don’t get caught on the music industry treadmill. Also living life, so we’ve got stuff to write about obviously.
Your previous singles sound absolutely brilliant, we love the harmonies and orchestral-sounding production on them. Who produces the music and what do you look for when producing?
Thankyou. We do is the short answer. It’s the both of us and it’s taken a long time to find a sound we were happy with and work out the journey we want to go on with the music. We started off doing acoustic stuff and we’re proud of those early singles but as our sounds developed and our writing has matured we wanted to move on. Embrace all our influences. For us it’s all about finding the right sounds so we do spend a decent amount of time on that. We love harmonies, like you said. Stacked vocals and making just the two of us sound like an entire choir is our jam. We’re lucky in that we have an amazing mix engineer – Steve Power ( Robbie Williams, Womack and Womack) and he really gets what we’re trying to do. We’ll send him the finished track and he’ll add this amazing shine to it. He really fills out the tracks and understands us.
What are your main inspirations for your songs?
Lyrically – life . We have the joke that all our songs are based on a true story but it’s really true. Whatever happens, whatever we experience or we see other people experience we write about. A lot of it is “ I’ve felt like this, have you?”. We try not to censor or edit in the sense that we try to be as honest as possible. Musically – a mash of a lot of our favourite artists. We both love D’Angelo and 90s r and b but we also love Hall and Oates, George Michael, Crosby, Stills and Nash. In terms of modern artists – we love H.E.R, Leon Bridges, Snoh Allegra, Marina Diamandis. We’re Pop, Classic Soul but in our own way. You can still hear our Americana influences if you listen carefully too. But we also take influences from other stuff – fashion, movies, architecture. We try an absorb vibes from as much stuff as possible.
How do you write? Do you write together, or do you bring lyrics and melodies to the table separately?
Emmy – Musically we always write together. Adam will come up with some chords or I’ll hum a melody. Then we’ll see where it goes. We usually decide fairly quickly if it’s going in the bin or not. Lyrically – it’s me. I’ll run lyric ideas by Adam now and again but I write them.
Over the past few years, how have you been spending your time musically? (recording, writing etc)
Lockdown had the biggest influence on us. We really went into a ‘burn it down and start again’ moment with the band. Adam lost his Dad during that period and just being inside, everything was very emotionally overwhelming. It made us stop and take stock. Why are we doing this? What do we want out of it? We wrote a crazy amount of songs while everything was shut and our sound started to evolve.
When you’re performing live, what do you each find best about it?
Emmy – We both love being on stage. In fact that’s where you really find the songs cause you can feel them evolving. It’s funny cause the old more acoustic version of the band we were gigging sometimes 5 times a week but with this version we’re still tryna navigate our way through how to best convey these songs as best we can to an audience cause at the moment there’s still just the two of us.
What music do you listen to? Which artists inspire you to make music?
Adam – that’s a complicated question because we both have different tastes but overlap in the middle somewhere. I love Leon Bridges, disco (I’m a big Donna Summer fan), but I’m also a huge Guns and Roses fan, I love Metallica. But also Crosby Stills and Nash, 90s r and b…
Emmy – I also love Guns and Roses! I maybe have a bit more of a pop lean than Adam- I’m a long term Marina Diamandis fan, I love Ariana Grande, I listen to a lot of Jorja Smith but we’re named after a Nick Drake song (Day Is Done) cause we both love him, I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan. I love Kate Bush. I love 90s r& b too. TLC is my jam and I think Babyface is one of our greatest living songwriters. It’s definitely complicated!
Have you got anything else planned for the rest of the year?
Writing and writing. We’re not sure if we’re gonna release anything else this year yet. But certainly, there’ll be new music soon and gigs. We may do a launch gig in Manchester next year for some new music. Stay tuned.
we love doing these interviews, it’s so great to have an insight into each act’s writing processes, their inspirations and the such – fantastic to see what makes each act unique! we also really enjoy the fact that they do the production themselves, being able to have that creative control is something we often enjoy here at the label so it’s nice to see artists taking a more personal approach! it’s well worth checking out their new tune as well, another incredible release under their belt! a big thank you to them for partaking in this interview, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 🍞
Definitely one’s to watch here in Manchester 
Bread Records 