- Author: Rick and Tom from ListentoManchester.co.uk
- Published on: Monday, 26 Oct 2009
This
Morning Call, the brain child of Ben Heyworth has been described as
"Portishead on anti-depressants" and "LCD Soundsystem with a hangover".
He has also been described as "one of the most wonderful acts we
have heard this year" by Channel 4 and is set to release his debut
album "All Quiet at 4AM" in January 2010.
We caught up with Ben to have a chat about his future and music in Manchester.
Hello Ben, how are you? Introduce yourself to us.
Hi. I’m Ben Heyworth, better known as singer/songwriter/producer “This Morning Call”
(Obvious question number 1) How did the band get together?
Well, its just me actually, when I set about working on the album it
became pretty clear that it was going to be more of a solo work with
collaborators rather than working with a full band. When I play live,
it’s a full band, but the line-up can change. So I am “This morning
Call”
(Obvious question number 2) Where did the band name come from? Why This Morning Call?
Well, there was this newspaper in America called The Morning Call
who printed a controversial photograph from 9/11 of a chap falling to
his death. It was an incredible photo, very beautiful in terms of
composition and colour, but also very shocking because it was literally
a man caught in the process of jumping or falling. A lot of people felt
it should never have been printed, it upset them, and caused major
controversy. I thought that was a brilliant juxtaposition and wouldn’t
it be great to make music that was both beautiful and structured, but
also packed a similar emotional punch if you peel back the layers and
investigated the story behind it, just like that photo.
(Obvious question number 3) Your sound is pretty eclectic, who are your influences?
There’s a variety of stuff really – quality European pop and dance
music, electronic music of all descriptions, classic songwriters – that
sort of thing mostly. I guess there are particular tracks or albums
that have been very influential – I’d cite “homogenic” by Bjork, or
“hunting high and low” by A-ha as examples. Also, I’m never far from
the influence of Britpop in my music because that’s when I first got
into music – my favourite album is “modern life is rubbish” by Blur!
The band has been receiving some encouraging reviews with
Channel 4 calling you "one of the most wonderful acts we have heard
this year". Has that opened any doors for you?
A great review is always welcome. I was “band of the week” on
Channel 4 online and I’m still getting milage out of that review. They
do a lot to help new acts.
Your debut album is called "All Quiet at 4AM" . How did you record it and who did you work with?
The album is out on 11th Jan 2010. I recorded it at home by myself
on a laptop. You can do that sort of thing these days, the technology
is there. Various others contributed bass, guitar, cello, drums and
even bassoon – these are the people who also come and play live with
me. It was a great way to work and cost nothing. Rob Cross (Orphan Boy)
is on one of the tracks playing guitar, Dave Lilley (Diesler, Double
Yellow) plays bass on most of the album.
Tides will be first single released off the Album. Was it an obvious choice for you?
Its out on 23rd Nov so I’ve no idea what the response will be yet!
Hopefully good. You’ll download it, I hope!? The label (Substream)
wanted it to be the first single and I thought “why not”! People seem
to like it.
How did you attract the attention of your labels Substream (SE) and Pearl Diver (DE)?
Well, through MySpace really. Pearl Diver are a German dance music
label and they wanted to do a 12” remix EP – and they have sometimes
worked with Substream so there was a connection there. Substream are
based in Sweden and work across pop and dance music styles and were up
for doing the album with me.
How are they helping you?
Substream are well placed to market the release in Europe and they
specialise in working with international DJ’s so that’s what they will
be concentrating on.
You stated in your blog that you think that the process of buying music on the high street is dead. Whats the future?
I just can’t see any reason why you would want to shop in HMV
anymore! I prefer to buy online these days. One click and you’ve got
the track straight away. Brilliant. There’s no question that is how
most people will buy their music in the future.
Do bands need the music industry? Has the internet opened
opportunities for DIY bands, or is it as hard to break through as it
always has been?
Well, undoubtably you can be a DIY band with a quality tune and the
internet will help you get it out there and more people will hear it.
On the other hand, we are now so saturated with stuff that it is just
as hard to “break through” as it has ever been! Although you don’t
necessarily need a major label anymore, you still need perseverance and
some good marketing ideas to make it work.
What local bands have you played great gigs with? Apart from This Morning Call, who should we be looking out for?
There’s loads of great acts in Manchester really – too many for me
to name here! My advice would be to get out there and go to some gigs!
A good place to start would be the BBC Introducing nights – they always
have good people on. Another favourite are the Green Bohemia events at
the Green Room run by Stuart Avery.
What’s the best Manchester venue you’ve ever played?
I really enjoyed playing on one of the stages at Manchester PRIDE,
but that was a temporary erection, if you’ll excuse the pun, so if I
was to pick a regular venue I’d say I enjoyed our recent show at the
Green Room the most and therefore that’s my favourite venue right now.
Most bands experience the shit gig? Usually in Macclesfield, or a pub just outside Bolton. Where was yours, and why was it bad?
The worst gig I ever did was at the Head of Steam pub in Newcastle.
The sound was awful, we’d had a big argument the night before so no one
was in a good mood, and I played badly. Fortunately that was a few
years ago and it was a different band! But it does stick in the mind
somewhat!
What one thing should happen to make gigging in Manchester better?
Bands should stop playing shit gigs and think more carefully about how and when to present themselves.
Rockrobotrock described you as "one of the most remarkable
singers to emerge from the indie deadzone of Manchester in recent
history".
Manchester has recently being getting a hard time with the
NME claiming we’ve lost direction and spirit. Why do you think
Manchester is getting so much flack at the moment?
I don’t agree that we have lost direction and spirit – there has
never been such a fantastic and diverse collection of artists in this
city. NME talks shite most of the time these days anyway. Although I do
think people need to stop going on about Manchester’s musical legacy
all the time. It was great back in the day but can we move on?? The
Stone Roses, The Smiths, The Hacienda, New Order, Oasis – enough
already!
Daddy or chips?
I have no idea what you are on about so I’ll say chips because I do like a nice chippy tea.
