Blind River Talk Latest Album, Favourite Instruments And More
Words by Glenn Sargeant
Photo Credit: Sally Newhouse
Five-piece heavy rock band Blind River are from the UK and their latest album ‘Bones For The Skeleton Thief’ is out now. The Dan Edwards very kindly spoke to us about the record, their favourite instruments and more:
Who is in Blind River and what do they play?
Harry Armstrong – Vocals
Chris Charles – Guitar
Dan Edwards – Guitar
Will Hughes – Bass
Mark Sharpless – Drums
When and how did you all meet?
Blind River was put together by a bunch of friends that had played/toured with each others respective bands and just thought, you know what, we should form a band together. We already knew what each of us would bring to the table both musically and personally.
Your third album ‘Bones For The Skelton Thief’ is out now. How did you want to approach the making of the album and who produced it?
Our methodology for writing has always been, get in a room together, turn the amps up, hit the drums hard and write and construct songs in a room, together. We always try to approach writing in this way. I guess it’s old school, but it works for us.
It was recorded by Peter Miles at Middle Farm Studios in Devon. We recorded live on 2” tape. There were no computers involved in the recording, it’s the sound of 5 guys in a room. I personally think we have always sounded at our best when we’re live, so it was a case of trying to capture that energy and excitement onto tape. When you record on a computer you can get caught up in tiny nuances of your individual performance. With tape, if the whole song sounds great, it’s a case of leaving tiny mistakes that you may have made in the recording alone and going for the take that captures the energy and soul of the song.
Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?
I personally like taking a Les Paul and a Telecaster to a gig. I can swap around for different sounds. I take a 1980 Marshall JMP master volume head to some gigs and a Matrix VB-800 others. Both sound great, just depends on what method of transport we’re using as to which one I’ll use.
Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
We all come from different hometowns, we live a way apart from each other. SE London, Croydon, Hampshire.
I’ll go with my hometown of Eltham, South East London. Busy, populated, suburban, bright, loud.
I don’t live there anymore. I seek solace in the quiet countryside…
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?
Hiking 3 miles in the dark through fields and woods in Devon to get to the nearest pub will always stick in my mind. No artificial light, so the stars were very bright and bold. It was a beautiful setting.
You have also released the track ‘Snake Oil’. What was the story/inspiration behind the song?
I think it’s our most pissed off and angry song yet. Musically and lyrically.
I don’t want to speak for Harry as obviously he writes all the lyrics, but my take on the inspiration is that there’s so many people trying to get your attention and sell you stuff in the digital world. It’s very immersive for lots of people. Sometimes its important to detach from that remember that there’s a big physical world out there, full of real people that you can interact with face to face and there’s plenty of beautiful natural landscapes to explore. Don’t let the temptations of the digital world obscure the benefits of the organic world.
The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?
We had booked into middle farm studios for 5 days to record the album. We were finished in 3 days, so we decided to use our time to record some “in studio,” videos. We wanted to capture that 5 guys in a room feel and film it on one camera, start to finish. Peter Miles who recorded the album shot the footage for us. It’s an honest video representation of honest music.
Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?
We have some cool headline club shows booked now and some festivals booked for the summer. Harry, our singer, is the bass player in Orange Goblin so that keeps him quite busy. So we schedule shows when he has down time.
How do you look after your voices?
I’ll ask Harry and report back as he’s the only one that sings in this band.
Which tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?
a) Acid Tongue b) Snake Oil c) Skeleton Thief
Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
As a band we each have very different influences, there’s a crossover section for sure, but we each bring something different to the table.
I think as band, there’s elements of Stoner Rock, Heavy Rock, Classic Rock, Blues, Hard Rock and Metal in our songs. We don’t restrict ourselves to one genre, we incorporate many into our sound. That way, hopefully we end up sounding like ourselves.
Was it a difficult album to write?
No, we work well together. There’s no shortage of riffs and we are all involved in the writing process, everyone brings ideas and we structure songs together. There are no ego’s in this band. We work best as a unit.
What makes Blind River happy and what makes you unhappy?
Playing live makes Blind River happy. Making music that Blind River enjoy making also makes us happy.
Listening to and watching bands that have no authenticity makes us unhappy. Naming no names. Bands that write songs they don’t believe in because they think it will speak to a certain demographic makes us unhappy, you can smell the lack of authenticity and lack of genuine meaning behind the music. It has a pathetic snarl but it has no bite!
Feature Image Photo Credit: Sally Newhouse
Blind River’s third and latest album ‘Bones For The Skeleton Thief’ is out now.
Bandcamp: https://blindriver.bandcamp.com/
Blind River will perform on Saturday 20th July 2024 on the Firestarter Stage at Maid Of Stone Festival 2024 at Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom.
Tickets are onsale now here: https://maidofstonefestival.com/
For more information and tour dates visit their official website here: https://www.blind-river.org/
