The Debrief: The Early Mornings
After finding their feet in the Manchester music scene, Brixton-based three-piece The Early Mornings are charting their own course down South after conquering much of the North quicker than a Lannister would.
Renowned for their energetic live performances, word has quickly spread across the country about their onstage exploits, quickly landing them a support slot with post-punk legends The Raincoats.
Whilst now mostly focused on their work in the studio, they’re about to follow up 2021’s ‘Unnecessary Creation’ EP with another infectious extended play, ‘Ultra-Modern Rain’; released via Practise Music, both releases will sit side-by-side on a Rough Trade exclusive double-vinyl to be released in January. Following their triumphant return from Rotterdam’s spotlight festival, Left of the Dial, we sat down with Annie Leader and Danny Shannon, the writing team and indie super-couple behind The Early Mornings…
So you guys all met in Manchester. How did that come about? What led to the formation of The Early Mornings?
Annie: Danny and I knew each other for a long time. Then we started playing together. I don't know how we started writing...
Danny: We got a practice room in Brunswick Mill. We tried to find a drummer for ages. Putting adverts out. Yeah, Rhys responded and then he ended up going to the wrong mill on the other side of Manchester the first time we were supposed to practice. Luckily, he just cycled back another hour or something across Manchester, and came to the practice; we'd finally found a drummer.
So if I'm correct in saying you live in Brixton, how did this change of scenery come about… was it a movement to further the success of the band?
Annie: Not consciously. We lived in the centre of town and we got so bored during lockdown; walking around the city centre again and again, and again. I mean, I've lived there all my life and I think we wanted to go somewhere even bigger. London was kind of the only option that was bigger. I mean, Glasgow could've been good as well, but it's just so far away. So anyway, we'd just decided on London and we just asked Rhys. We all moved together as a band to Brixton. It's been really good. Really enjoying it. Really fun living here.
““I’ve been able to hear my voice a lot better on stage since moving to London. I don’t know what that’s about though””
Do you think having undergone that change, that there are more opportunities for artists to be discovered in London than in Manchester?
Danny: I think there are more labels, PR and radio stuff for sure. I think that's true for most of the creative industries, not just music. It's just generally like the number of people you meet, like working in film or doing other stuff like that as well.
Annie: I feel like, you know, if you had a gig on a Wednesday or midweek one on Monday or Tuesday, it does seem like people are just always out; there are just a lot more people in London aren't there?
Danny: One thing that's for definite right, is there's always a backline. You always get it which obviously helps a lot. And then generally, a bit more of a fee. Any Manchester bands will know about having to pay for taxis across the city with huge bass amps in the back.
Annie: Yeah, we thought with performing that we'd have to take our amps on the tube and stuff but they're just so good with every little detail like providing their own gear. It just makes it so much easier. I've been able to hear my voice a lot better on stage since moving to London. I don't know what that's about though.
Image: Luke Keatinge
How do you think the music scenes differ, if at all?
Danny: I feel like in Manchester everyone kind of knew everyone a bit more. There's just kind of one, you know, scene of guitar bands or whatever. But here it's a bit more… what's the word? Like different little pockets. It's not kind of like so homogenised into one scene.
You've been continuously described as post-punk in interviews. I think that’s a bit of a lazy way to describe your sound. How do you guys feel about that label?
Annie: I just don't know what other labels to put on us. So I mean, if I had no other option to give, I'd say that. I find it so hard to describe our music anyway, but I do agree with you, that label is slapped on a lot of bands that I don't even think suit the name. It's just, it is used a lot; to the point where it doesn't really mean anything anymore.
Danny: If you want to give people a quick buzzword, so they know what general area it's in, it's helpful to do that. Maybe we can move away from that and have a bit more of a nuanced description. Maybe it's just with that first release. Post-punk's gone through a lot of different mutations. I think we're fine, almost every band now gets referred to as that. It's a bit lazy and it's not really us.
It almost reminds me of BC and AD; but… before punk and after punk, almost like all music stopped when punk was created… but I digress; moving on to your new EP ‘Ultra-Modern Rain’. Could you speak to some of the lyrical themes that make up the record?
Danny: I think we sat down in a pub and just played a few word games, just like writing down some different phrases, different words, and then playing around with different combinations. I think we wanted to write something that was just really kind of fun lyrically. Every line was like rhyming almost a bit Dylan-esque in a way; think of ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ or something like that, you know, every line is just constant rhymes, and it's all a bit nonsensical yet there is meaning there as well. If you want to find it.
Annie: It was it's very much like kind of the cut-and-paste style. Danny writes poetry and I sort of will take lines and sort of put them in a different order. I mean, it can sometimes feel a bit nonsensical, but I think it makes sense. In its own way, eventually.
Danny: We want to avoid the cliches that you always hear in songs. Avoiding lines that you’ve heard in different variations like a hundred times. I mean, we just don't want to do that. We just want to write things we’ve never heard before. I just have fun with words. Like, it's just boring when you use the same phrases again and again. So, I guess we just try and come up with something a bit more original.
““I think it would be good in future to spend a bit more time in a different studio and work more on the production side of things though. I think, with these first releases, we played live a lot and wanted to capture that live energy and bring that into our recordings””
I think you've done that, in my humble opinion. It's a really good EP. How do you think it differs from your previous release, ‘Unnecessary Creation’, which was all recorded in one day, right?
Danny: Pretty much yeah. Honestly, not that much changed; it’s kind of a continuation of that. You know, a lot of songs were written around the same time; it could easily be put together as a double EP. It was basically a seamless transition from one to the other. It was all wrapped up in like a day and a half. I think it would be good in future to spend a bit more time in a different studio and work more on the production side of things though. I think, with these first releases, we played live a lot and wanted to capture that live energy and bring that into our recordings, but I think it'd be fun to delve a bit deeper, go into the studio and work on something a bit more.
How excited are you guys for the double-sided physical release in January? Is it your first recording on vinyl?
Annie: It's not our first physical release; we had managed to get… what are they called? The tiny little ones? A seven-inch recording of us for the first single that came out. So not technically our first physical but we are really excited to have a proper big 12-inch record out.
Danny: It was kind of always the dream to get these two together. A and B's, you know, as one kind of holistic thing. As I said, they all follow each other and I think it makes more sense, the more you hear it because every song is a bit different. If you're not quite sure what we’re all about, when you put it all together, it makes a lot more sense.
Image: Luke Keatinge
You played Left of the Dial in Rotterdam in October. How was that? Have you got any strange EuroTrip-esque tales to regale us with?
Danny: I mean, first of all, they were amazing. They looked after us so much. I think every band basically says that; it was really accommodating and was our first time playing outside the UK. We decided to go down early as well; one of Rhys’ friends actually lives in Rotterdam. So he put us up for a couple of days before we went and then we got to see all the bands, really have a look around Rotterdam and settle in.
Annie: We did accidentally get a train all the way to Dortrecht; that was a bit of a disaster. We did not read the trains properly one night and missed the last one, we had to walk about three hours back in the dark, which was quite scary.
Danny: Rhys got a bit seasick on the ferry, but we were fairly sensible. Yeah, I think I was going to bed earlier than I do at home sometimes.
Lastly, what are your future plans, any hopes and dreams for The Early Mornings?
Annie: Well, we want to probably write more songs and then get them recorded in a different way. As we said a bit more. What's the word?
Danny: We've got quite a lot of songs that are half done, so we just need to finish them all off and get them polished up and then hopefully we'll have another record or something.
Annie: Maybe some more interesting venues, maybe more festivals. Just stuff like that really.
Danny: We've not done a proper tour. We've still got that to do.
Annie: Yeah, just simple things. We're just simple people…
Danny: Do we really want to end on that line?
That's cool though. Those are nice attainable things, aren't they…
Annie: We still dream… I should stop talking now.
