Heavy Lungs, high energy: the band on their live performances, recent album, and more
Heavy Lungs is a band bringing the decibels and the energy that the crowd craves. Consisting of Danny Nedelko(lead singer), Oli Southgate (lead guitar), James Minchal (bass) and George Garratt (drums), Danny is the band’s core, bringing all the members together to create their unique sound. According to Danny, the band started from “sheer desire to make actually good music because there wasn’t any at that time”. Starting in 2017, the band has witnessed a lot of change in the music industry as well as in themselves.
Heavy Lungs perform at Petit Bain in Paris shot by Alessandra Berry
The band’s most recent album Caviar came out in April of this year, marking a new era for Heavy Lungs. They’re very happy with the final product. “I do think this is the best Heavy Lungs music to date, Caviar. To me it’s lyrically more concise. Sonically we’re just getting closer and closer to it,” Danny said about the evolution of their music.
Going deeper on what listeners can expect from Caviar, Danny revealed that “some themes that are quite personal to me play, but also some abstract fun ones and kind of silly bits. To me it maintains a sense of humor in the way that we don't take ourselves too seriously. We take the job very seriously. Performing very seriously as well. But, I just think you can't take yourself too seriously. And it's also 11 tunes under 29 minutes, so I feel like we went really hard with this one.”
The biggest lesson that the band has had to learn, especially while making their newest EP, is how to slow things down. Wanting to get things going when they first started, the band played their first show after a month of rehearsing together and recorded their first album that summer.
“We were almost too ambitious for the first album. It just felt more comfortable to do things a little bit more at our pace, more locally…[the first album] was done in London. It was done in an incubated period, a very short space of time, whereas [with Caviar] we just decided to take a little bit longer, so it was easier in that way, doing it with people we can relax a bit more with. It was stressful in the sense of writing as best as possible, but in a more relaxed environment,”
Oli explained.
Caviar was recorded in the band’s hometown of Bristol. They have learned to love working there, Danny saying “I have loads of great friendship networks with loads of creative people, not just musicians or artists, videographers and stuff too. I feel like it is a great community. At the time it was cheaper as well, but now it has been a lot more expensive. Also it is a genuinely good place to live as long as there are places to play music, which there are”.
Something else that keeps the band in Bristol is the unwavering support of their friends and family. “My parents are into it. Yeah, I think friends are really supportive. One of my best friends was a huge part. I was promoting shows at the time and he made it really easy for me to like to do shows there because he didn’t charge me for the sound guy and didn't charge me for the room,” Danny recalled.
Heavy Lungs also has a network of friends that attend their shows regularly to show their support “The ideal scenario is that our friends like the music. Or they don't, and they have to lie to you for the rest of their lives. And few people did say to me, I was so relieved when we watched you guys play that you guys are really sick. Somebody apologized for not coming to one last month, two months ago, whatever. And you go like you've been to pretty much most shows like you get pass, but like yeah, our friends are very supportive.”
Heavy Lungs at super sonic records by sixtine cail
When watching a Heavy Lungs show, you can see how this support plays an important role in making the members of the band comfortable expressing themselves and making it easier to feel at home with the audience. It also motivates the band to keep going no matter what. “Some people don't quite understand how we can go to Europe all the time and not work. The reason we can afford it is purely down to hard work and getting good deals with venues. We might play in France and they'll give us dinner for the night. We save some money, you know, that kind of thing. We're not making a huge amount of money in our pocket, but we just do it 'cause we want to keep doing it. Being passionate about those things means that you just keep it. I could do it in another 20 years. It's not going anywhere,” Oli explained.
The writing of each album has looked very different for the band so far, “I think I'm cursed for every album recording process because I had food poisoning when we started the first album, so that was stressful for the first half of 11 days. And for the second I was going through a big breakup, so I was having a mental breakdown. So yeah, each time I'm just giving it my best shot,” Danny recalled.
Getting more specific about what the writing process looks like for them, Danny revealed that
”we’re still learning our method and what's quite best for us. It’s constant evolution. We’re getting to know each other better and what works best for us”.
When asked what comes the most naturally for the band when writing Oli stated that “the majority of the time it is instrumental, purely because that's the vibe of the song. Most of our music is about energy and the live shows, so if you’ve got the energy right, then that's the start of it really. And that can be from vocals and lyrics or an idea, but generally I think it’s our sound.”
Heavy Lungs played their biggest festival yet at Haldern Pop this year. On the experience, Oli said “Well, the major difference though is that you're not playing for your audience. So you've gotta kind of win the audience over a bit. Whereas generally if you’re playing your own show, everyone's there for you. They're backing you”. Danny had a similar take “it was our first time there, so, obviously you hope that people do know your band, but it was such an incredible lineup for both of the days, so you just hope that some people like you. It’s exciting that people could discover you for the first time. I guess we just want every show to be the best one. Every show matters”.
Heavy Lungs at super sonic records by sixtine cail
When it comes to being on the other side of a live show environment, Danny and Oli appreciate authenticity in a performer the most. “ I just want to feel like [the person on stage] wants to be there and like this is important to them. And yeah, the performance [is most important] to me but obviously being in a band you do care about the sound of it,” Danny said. Oli also added onto that idea, saying he values "someone who wants to take risks and wants to not just play to the crowd, but enjoy themselves as well. I don't necessarily want someone to just do all the hits and nothing that they actually want to play. Especially someone that's been around for a while. Play some B-sides. Play to your deep fans. I like that.”
On watching other bands and today’s live music, Oli believes that other bands hold back their volume. “It’s part of the experience for it to be loud and to be bold. I think that's slightly dying out because everything's been sort of squashed. Either compressed sonically, or it's been like just held back. It’s like, you're not allowed to or there's restrictions on things like that. When we talk with people after our shows, they're quite surprised at how loud or how rambunctious it is”. Oli revealed the reason behind their love for having a loud sound; “I think there is something scientifically where when it’s loud you feel it more when you are in it. When you're watching a gig and you can talk over it, it doesn’t do anything for me”.
Something that really stands out about Heavy Lungs and makes them much more authentic is their dedication to their live show and relationship with their audience.
“I'd like to think it's like both parties are having a fun set. We don't just play the show and then just ignore what's happening down below. We kind of like watching them watching us. You feed off of each others’ energy,”
Oli explained.
Like many bands, Heavy Lungs is a window into an intimate friendship between four people, with Oli comparing being in the band to a “four-way relationship”. Danny thinks that “the mix in this band is very interesting and I think that's what really makes us, well, unique. We do clash of course, as any colleagues would. We’re four different people with different tastes, but at the end of the day, you know, we really love each other and it comes through”.
Although they’re very different, all four members come together to create a sound for everyone to enjoy, but most importantly something that expresses who they are. Bands like Heavy Lungs are what keep the live music scene alive, connecting with their fans and letting their passion for what they do drive them forward.
hEAVY lUNGS bACKSTAGE AT SuperSonic Records by Sixtine Cail
