Jade and Jordan

Interview by Jade Knox

Kamara guitarist and vocalist Jordan Fearnley managed to find the time before his gig at the old Grindstone last Friday to give music-loving Sheffield Live listener, volunteer and gig correspondent Jade Knox an interview:

Jade: Which contemporary artists would you most compare yourself to?

Jordan: definitely Foals, just because we have a lot of melodic riffs – we haven’t got like a solid rhythm going with the guitars it’s all melody, that and a lot of atmospheric effects behind the guitars and we have been compared to Foals in the past!

Jade:  Would you say that you are “indie” or do you dip into more genres than that?

Jordan: We like to change things up, in between songs or even during the same one.

Jade: So your appeal stretches further than just the stereotypical indie fan?

Jordan: Definitely yeah! We often get put on stage with Arctic Monkeys copy-cats. Indie is such a generic term and we are a DIY band – that’s what I like to call it, we do everything ourselves, we write, record, produce all on our own.

Jade: If you were to get signed, which would be the record label you’d want to sign you?

Jordan: I personally, would love to be signed to Witchita. My all time favourite band The Cribs, Los Campesinos, FIDLAR and Those Dancing Days are all signed to Witchita. You can tell that the label gives the bands freedom within their music and if we were to be signed we’d still like to do a lot of the things ourselves.

Jade: For yourself, who are your main musical influences ?

Jordan: Like I say The Cribs are my all-time favourite, they’re only from Wakefield which isn’t far from me in Leeds. As a teen I did listen to a lot of Arctic Monkeys and as artists they have developed massively, they didn’t stick to the sound of their first album they changed it up every time which is what I want to do, it’s a new album, a new era, you can’t just keep reproducing the same sound you’ve already made. I’m also really into 50s rockabilly, motown, disco, synth-pop and new wave, I have a hugely broad musical taste.

Jade:  In terms of fashion, you change your style an awful lot, you were sporting a very 90’s bowl-cut at one point, do you get your influences from anyone in particular?

Jordan: If I see something and I like it, I’ll just do it, regardless of what’s in fashion at the present time. I do like to wear very classic never-go-out-of-fashion things, skinny jeans! I don’t think they’ll ever go out of fashion, plimsolls on my feet and denim jackets.

Jade: How did the band get together?

Jordan: Well Dale went to the Leeds College of Music where I graduated from and I actually posted on a forum saying that I wanted to make an indie band – but not a generic one – with some talented musicians. Dylan got in touch with Gav on there as well and Matty was just sorted of plonked together with us.

Jade: You seemed to have a bit of a hard time finding a drummer at first, what was happening?

Jordan: We seemed to have a bit of a curse with our drummers. Dylan was originally the drummer but he wanted to sing and play guitar as well, so we ended up changing him and having two drummers with us for about two weeks each and it was coming up to about a week before our first gig and we decided to get Gav’s mate Matty on it and he’s a phenomenal drummer.

Jade: What sort of position would you like yourself and the band to be in about three years from now?

Jordan:  Definitely on our second album, what we’re doing now is we want to release EPs until we get signed, we don’t want to make an album while we don’t have a label, I don’t think it’s a good idea to do that. A lot of labels look for bands that have got everything prepared and ready to release but I want to get our sound and songs perfect ready before this. In a few years’ time I’d like us to be playing decent slots in festivals. I think our band are a summery band and we want to play festivals.

Jade: It’d be ignorant to not notice that you are an attractive fella, would you say that you’re single at the moment?

Jordan: At the moment I would say that I’m seeing somebody – sorry!

Jade:  Your job as a music teacher means that both your work and play is consumed by music on a practical and theoretical level, does it ever get a ‘bit too much’?

Jordan: I’ve admitted to myself that I am addicted to music, for some people it’s drugs or drink but for me it’s music. I get a real buzz if I’m in a charity shop and I find a record that I really like. I wake up on a morning and I listen to the radio and then I teach music which I’m so passionate about and then when I get home I put one of my playlists on depending on my mood, I go to practice or write a song, it’s just something that fills my entire day. I can’t even imagine what I would do without it to be honest.

Jade: Who is your favourite up and coming artist at the moment? Who should I be looking out for?

Jordan: I’m still in love with Happy Daggers – I played their first gig with them in 2010 and they’ve got a real disco vibe but in an indie band – three of them are teachers as well and they absolutely love their music and have such a good stage presence, I completely recommend seeing them if they have a gig coming up. I heard that they were played on Hollyoaks lately – I’d love that, or an advert!

Jade: Are you looking forward to the gig at The Old Grindstone tonight?

Jordan: Yes I am! I know it’s not in the city centre but from what I’ve seen it’s a pub set up which seems absolutely buzzing. The music starts about half 8-9 and there’s five bands on I think, so it should go on quite late!

Jade: Do you like the steel city?

Jordan: I do indeed you’ve had some amazing artists come from your city and I expect more to arrive in future.

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About Jade: “I am a tiny, twenty-two year old with a big love for music and radio. Fuelled on caffeine and forever changing the colour of my hair I’m going to be on the hunt for local gigs and talent in and around the steel city!”

What next?

• Kamara on facebook
• Follow Jade Knox on twitter at @Morrisseyknox (& Sheffield Live’s Twitter address is @sheffieldlive)