Photo: press
Dry The River’s new album Alarms in the Heart hits shelves this week, after we met Jon Warren and Matt Taylor to talk about their recording trip to Iceland, performing at Reading festival and the £25,000 the band got from the government this month.
"We are not the ‘party guys’ type, but somehow we are always end up partying every night. Like, for example, yesterday, we went out, yeah, Matt?," says Jon Warren, the drummer of Dry The River as we sit with him and Matt on a bench in Hoxton Square.
“I mean, what is the point of going home and going to bed early every night if you are in a band? Come on!” laughs guitarist Matt Taylor. Matt and Scott are smiling and making sarcastic jokes from time to time, constantly getting distracted by the cutest little dog running around the square. On the opposite bench, two other band members, Pete and Scott, are giving a video interview. All of them are really anticipating tonight’s gig, which is, in fact, a little celebration of the year’s success.
"This year we got to play on the main stage of Reading festival. We played this one before, but never on the main stage," says Jon. " So tonight is special for us. Matt’s first gig with the band was at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen. Oh, and our new album is out, so we use this little get-together to share our new songs with the fans. We all pretty much live around here, so it’s nice to play a gig, then come hang out with the crowd and drink and then head home. I cycled here, by the way."
Dry The River seem to be a part of an ultimate success story that every teenage boy dreams of as soon they up a guitar. “Back at school I was in a horrible horrible band called The Herb. Ironically, it wasn’t a reference to weed in any sense – I was too young to even know what it was”, laughs Jon.
The band formed in East London in 2009, and since their first headline show at the Luminaire in April 2010 it has been an all-uphill-journey for the guys - touring in Europe and USA, signing to Transgressive Records and trying to ignore the inaccurate and haunting comparison to Mumford and Sons - which they appreciate, but don’t really agree with.
When asked who would they rather be compared to, Matt gets a bit defensive: “Well, I think that is a very strange question. What kind of band would want to be compared with anyone?”
Jon dryly adds: “Yeah, of course, we want to be like every other band you hear on the radio. We just want to be a generic indie band and sound like eeeeeverybody else. Like, Arcade Fire maybe? That would be good.”
Searching for a new sound for their second album, they ‘migrated’ to Iceland in 2013.
"I know it sounds pretentious, but we needed to all get away as a band and work on our music. And we were like – why not Iceland?,"says Matt. It's no surprise that at some point the cold and the snow got to them and influenced the sound
“Especially Matt! At some point we had to tell him: ‘Whoah, man, this sound is way too depressing, let’s think about it again!”
But wait - there's more. Just a couple of weeks ago, Dry The River got some exciting news: along with 16 other bands, including The Wombats and The Wytches, they are getting government funding to promote their music around the world. The band will use the £25,000 to finally organise a tour in Australia.
“It’s a great chance for us," says Matt. "I mean, it’s amazing we have so much money on our hands and we will be able to go tour in Australia. We heard we had a fan or two over there – they sometimes send us e-mails and ask us to come. We always wanted to go there, but never had the money. And now we do! Overall, it’s a great government initiative – giving a chance to British bands to bring their music to the world."
Alarms In The Heart by Dry The River is out now. Their upcoming UK tour dates are below. For tickets and more information visit here.
OCTOBER
2nd - Portsmouth - Wedgewood Rooms
3rd - Cambridge - Junction
4th - Manchester - Academy 2
5th - York - Fibbers
7th - Hull - Welly
8th - Glasgow - Oran Mor
9th - Newcastle - Northumbria University
10th - Birmingham - Institute
11th - Oxford - Academy
14th - Cardiff - Globe
15th - Leeds - Cockpit
16th - London - Forum
Below: Photos of Dry The River, Alt-J and Django Django live at Glastonbury
