Veins Talk New Album, Their Hometown And More

UK alternative rock trio Veins have released their debut album ‘A New Forever’ and we caught up with them: 

Who is in Veins, how did you meet and what do you play?

Stevie Rees (Vocals/Guitar), Scott Warner (bass) and Dan Appleyard (drums). 

Scott: We’re all from Corby in Northamptonshire originally and met through the local music scene. I was in a Nu-metal band called Defenestration and Stevie was in an Indie/Alternative band called The Junket, who shared a manager so that’s how we originally met and then ended up in a different band together before eventually forming Veins. Me and Dan met when he joined another band I was in after Defenestration and I introduced Stevie and Dan when we were looking for a drummer to start Veins with.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Stevie – I think it was either hearing The Small Faces or Led Zeppelin or maybe even Cliff Richard Wired For Sound. No idea what year that was, but my parents loved those. My dad was a drummer, so I think that’s why I love big loud rock drummers so much. 

Scott – my uncle was a drummer in bands when I was really young, so from a very young age I would go to his gigs, so that would have been my first exposure to music. I’m noticing a drummer theme here.

When did you begin songwriting?

Stevie –  I was writing guitar riffs at school at 13ish, but I think writing actual songs was later when I was in a band called The Junket. The singer Rik Flynn was/is a great songwriter and I kinda learnt from him and then eventually we were writing full songs together. He went on to form a band called Captain afterwards who had more commercial success than our band at the time.

You have your debut album ‘A New Forever’ out now. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

Scott – Stevie is the main songwriter in the band and quite often he’ll come with a song and me and Dan will add our bits and help develop it, or sometimes me or Dan will come up with a riff or idea that sparks the song. However, I think a key goal was for the album to feel like a cohesive piece of work rather than just a bunch of songs. I think we’ve managed to achieve that.

Dan – The tracklist flows really well.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

Dan – We started the album a long time ago. We initially started in January 2020 but then the pandemic happened so a lot of it was recorded in isolation. Literally.

We tracked the drums in a local studio but everything else was recorded at home and then I mixed and mastered it. It became a DIY project and it was a big learning curve with some bits taking a few attempts to get right but we got there in the end and the production has been getting some positive feedback.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Scott – I remember we had fun in the studio when we recorded the drums but then everything else was done separately so we didn’t have much opportunity unfortunately.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

Stevie – The drums were recorded with decent gear at Parlour Studio in Kettering but other than that we just used our standard gear. Somehow Dan managed to record it all on to an old laptop that was threatening to burst into flames at any minute. 

Scott – it was so old he had to wind it up before each take.

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

The angriest is Everlasting Game for sure. That was a bad time in my marriage. 

They’re not really many happy songs on the album. I kinda use songwriting as therapy and I feel like that in itself brings out something positive from a bad situation. So that would be a happy part of the process. If that is self indulgent then it’s probably true. I don’t write songs for other people to like, but if they do like them, then that’s a bonus. I do kinda keep the lyrics open to interpretation for others to put in their own experience/meaning, along with keeping it more artistic in expression. Writing to please others doesn’t work for me. Lots of people are great at it and I have written for others in the past, but my bands are me. I’ll try for a happy one on the next album.

Reflective wise I think Champion’s Fall. It’s kinda a split the blame type reflection. We’re both as bad as each other. There’s a fix, but you can’t get there. 

Was it a difficult album to write?

Some of the songs were difficult to write, but the ones that are more emotional kinda write themselves very naturally and with ease. Some others you have part of a song for months and then you eventually find something that fits. But yes a couple of tracks still give me a little choke here and there.

Who designed the album artwork?

Stevie – that was me, I’ve worked in graphic and CG Motion design so I create all the artwork for the singles and albums.

One of the tracks is the single ‘I Keep Falling’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

Most of the songs are inspired by personal experiences but coincidentally that one was inspired by a short film I discovered through my work, called Nuit Blanche by Arev Manoukian. It captures a fleeting, magical moment between two strangers, revealing an intense yet brief connection in a hyper-real fantasy world. The film’s beauty and intimacy make it unforgettable. A recommended watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vub4R_MBG5U&t=1s

The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind it and who directed it?

Stevie – that was me again, I’ve made all our videos. Four of the tracks on the album have videos, Ambi, Reign Down, Sunlight and I Keep Falling. We’re a pretty self-sufficient band in terms of recording, artwork and videos. 

Scott – everything is done on a budget haha. Somehow for Ambi I managed to borrow an aircraft hanger which made it look pretty pro. I just emailed them and asked if we could film there and they said “yes” and just let us in there for a full day.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Scott – We’re kind of spread out around Northamptonshire and Leicestershire but Corby in Northamptonshire is our base as it’s where we’re all from originally.

Describe it in 5 words, er, ‘it is nicknamed little Scotland’.

It was a big Steel Works town during the war so lots of people moved to Corby from Scotland so there’s lots of Scottish people and lots of people have Scottish heritage. Corby sells the most Irn Bru outside of Scotland haha.
There’s been a few bands of note over the years; Bill Drummond from KLF is from Corby, Raging Speedhorn hail from here and more recently Jake Crawford from unpeople is a Corby boy too. It’s always been quite good for live music compared to other towns in the area,

How do you look after your voices?

Stevie – I just try not to talk too much before a gig.

Scott – Which is really difficult for him haha

Stevie – ha, yeah, that and making sure I warm up properly before. I never used to warm up but it makes such a difference.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026?

Scott – We’ve been doing a few gigs this year, including our first trip to Europe in March.  We’re playing Roadmender in Northampton as part of TwinFest in July and in August we’re playing a festival called RoseShire Festival which has the likes of The Charlatans, Cast, Embrace and The Bluetones on the bill. Not sure how our moody atmospheric rock is going to go down but we’ll see haha.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Stevie – played and sang well.

Scott – I guess played well and sucked people into Veins’ little world for a while. 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Stevie – I love a Gretsch as my guitar of choice and use a Helix for all my effects.

Scott – I have a year 2000 Fender Precision that I got new. It’s been everywhere with me. I use Ampeg for my rig and have a Darkglass Anagram which has been a game changer.

Dan – HighWood drums for me.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Scott – I’m not much of a fiction reader, I read a lot of books about music. I’m currently reading John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie and the Beastie Boys Book by Mike D and Ad Rock. We can’t really soundtrack them haha.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Stevie – a lot of the atmospheric guitars are influenced by Sigur Rós and especially the album Takk… It’s pretty old now but I would recommend it if people haven’t heard it.

What makes Veins happy and what makes you unhappy?

Scott – Despite the dark and moody music we’re quite a happy bunch. We have fun just hanging out, talking rubbish and making each other laugh. That was one of the highlights of our gigs in Europe earlier in the year, spending some time together having fun, escaping the real world.

So I think the answer is the real world makes us sad and escaping it makes us happy ha. 

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By San PR

Veins debut album ‘A New Forever’ is out now. 

Official LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/veinsbanduk