Photo: Press
Bright young East-Midlands things April Towers have a lot to be excited about. New single 'Modern Psyche' is out at the end of November and, to support it, the duo are playing their first headline tour.
Their previous singles have won support from the likes of Radio 1, and the new track looks set to build on these already solid foundations. But it’s the live shows that seem to be at the forefront of Alex Noble’s mind when Gigwise catches up with him.
"We wanted people on this tour to feel like they were in some kind of seedy club," he explains. "We wanted a strong look that reflects the style of the artwork. We’ve got and A and T on the keyboards that we can illuminate from the desk and generally we’ve got a lot more scope to set things up how we want."
And the new-found freedom extends to more than just stagecraft. The band have also been thinking about how to structure the music into a headline set – a different art than just packing in as many hits as possible to win over festival crowds with short attention spans.
Watch the video for 'Modern Psyche' below
"We’ve got a chance to play some of the more gentle April Towers songs; so it doesn’t always have to be so high-octane. The more melodic songs get more of a look in, so you can really shape the set how you want it to be. That’s something we’re really looking forward to."
And melodic is a word that springs to mind within seconds of new single 'Modern Psyche' - and, in fact, pretty much any April Towers song. The band’s electronically-tinged pop is driven as much by mellifluous vocal lines as driving synths and crunching beats.
New Order and Soft Cell are instantly brought to mind, but in truth the band’s direct influences sit closer to the modern day. "It’s funny because from the very first day when we put our demo online we had a lot of comments saying, 'This is very Depeche Mode or OMD'. But, to be honest, me and Charlie (multi-instrumentalist and producer Charles Burley) had never really listened to those bands. So it was a bit of an accident. We were into bands like Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem and they’re the bands that inspired us to make this style of music."
If it hadn’t been for the huge musical impact those two electronic giants had on Noble and Burley, April Towers might not have happened at all – or at least, they would have sounded completely different. Previous affiliated bands such as Frontiers were much more influenced by the mini-indie revival of 2004. And although not much of the posturing and angular guitars of those days has made into the April Towers image, Noble is keen to hold on some of the best aspects of that era.
"What initially inspired me first was when bands like Arctic Monkeys came through, also Editors and The Rakes," he explains. "And that really has shaped the way we write songs even today; with the melodies especially."
Watch the video for 'A Little Bit Of Fear' below
"The way that April Towers has worked so far is we take the best elements of the great bands like that and infuse it with electronic production. When we formed, Charlie was getting into DJing and harder dance stuff. So we mix those elements with the classic song writing structures we grew up with."
And the elements of the more traditional guitar set-ups also influence April Towers’ live shows. They are taking a live drummer on tour with them and the band are keen to give a performance that is eminently human – something not all electronic artists have managed in the past.
"Playing electronic music live is undoubtedly a lot more technical," says Noble. "And when we first started it was terrifying because you’re putting a lot of faith in technology. But we’ve always been aware of the need to bring a warmth to our shows. We played in Ibiza and Charlie spoke on a panel about how people going to see DJs are now a bit bored if people just stand there and play songs."
"And I think that bands everywhere are getting a lot better at bringing that warmth to the show and realising people want to see something that’s honest. And I like to think that if people see that we’re really into the music and the show that the fact it’s an electronic gig is almost overlooked in a way."
As April Towers hit the road they look set, if they play as good a game as they talk, to replicate the success of their first well-received singles. Like their heroes Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, they are a band that understand how to put the human into Human League.
See April Towers' remaining tour dates below, and you can buy tickets and get more information here.
