The Colonies album launch
The band, founded and lead by South African Dylan Kemlo and New Zealander Matt Eyre on Bass, also comprises of London born drummer, Tim Dansie and French trumpeter Delphine Lopes, truly an even spread between hemispheres.
Born out of the meeting of creative energies of Kemlo and Eyre through the London Record Exchange, the Colonies fuse so many different sounds in the conception of their music, when you first hear them you may find it a bit out of the ordinary. When asked about the diversity of songs in a recent interview with the South African Kemlo stated "our attitude to what we are doing is that it is strange".
If you are lucky enough to go to one of their gigs the band may start with a waltz, move on to Latin and then end with a rock number, all without sounding contrived.
It is in this style of performance that the band finds both its strength and weakness, as the need to move away from confining themselves to one genre creates, according to Kemlo, "a real problem with promoting ourselves". But this diversity also makes the Colonies extremely unique and above those pandering to the more mainstream music scene.
It is therefore unsurprising that Kemlo and the rest of the band take a literary approach to their music. In this way they can crystallize in their minds what sounds they want to generate.
Their practice space, which has been in Kemlo's loft above his bedroom ever since the band got together, serves as the ideal environment for the band to refine their songs far away from the "scene" and other distractions.
It is little wonder then that, after only a relatively short time together in music terms, the Colonies were itching to begin recording. When asked about the challenges they faced Kemlo mused, "The recording industry has changed", he went on to point out that in the 60s and 70s the recording industry took new bands under their wing and helped them develop their sound. Today however record companies expect bands to arrive fully developed.
Despite these challenges, the Colonies will be launching their debut album at Heavenly Social on Monday the 30th of January. It will be a unique experience.
Peter Barlow, The South African
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'a shipful of chandeliers'
We've alerted you to The Colonies before. Front man Dylan Kemlo explained to us that with a greater confidence in the band's own prowess, he believes now is the time to be drawing a line under the past: the caterpillar becomes a butterfly.
Kemlo jokes: "There's a certain amount of prejudice against someone with my [South African] accent... so I thought I should turn my paranoia into a moniker!" Last year, in front of a potentially difficult audience, Kemlo announced himself and his band: "Greetings from the colonies."
Until Kemlo pointed it out at the end of our interview, Londonist had actually forgotten about his accent and any negative connotations it might carry. This is due in no small part to the impressive music and Kemlo's immense likeability. Kemlo has a quiet determination about him, allied to a charming line in self-deprecation and it's impossible to speak to him about his music without wanting him to succeed with The Colonies. Actually listening to the music should convince you they're worth supporting. The sound has been compared to the likes of Pavement, The Pixies and Talking Heads. The Colonies shouldn't be embarrassed to be in such exalted company.
This is the truth that you can't ignore (Beartrap)
The play count in Londonist's iTunes shows the preview CD to be the most played promo we've ever received and it pisses over a lot of the major-label stuff we've bought recently. These weren't even the finished album tracks.
My Ark starts off simply enough with a half-spoken, half-sung intro backed with a strumming guitar before delivering a truly affecting chorus ("You could be anyone, but you're not. You're my ark.") when the keyboard and string backing rises. Despite the basic nature of the song, it's beautifully arranged with great harmonies. A more cynical band might have repeated the chorus to death in a bid to write a radio-friendly anthem, along the lines of Coldplay, but as is common with all of The Colonies' work, the song stops before it outstays its welcome, and leaves you wanting more, much more.
I Get Paid features a catchy slide guitar riff with a driving bassline, and lyrics which could be adopted by the people now in suits, who as disaffected youths took Beck's Loser to their hearts. "I check on my map, think I took a wrong turn" suggests a questioning of 'career choices', especially with the chorus of "I get paid to kill time all day long." It certainly resonates with Londonist on those quieter days in the office.
Green Is For Go is jazzier with more relaxed guitar strumming, and languid verses before the yelping chorus. The climax of "Show me the money and I'll show you what I mean" is another great lyric which could be adopted in any manner of cynical ways. Also lyrically cynical is the twisted love song Beartrap, with lines like "This ring means you can't go back" and "This heartstring attached to an ankle ring is a ball and chain to help me fall asleep, during the same, same game" it's the least poppy of the songs but no less enjoyable.
Done Got Died features a good old-fashioned rock and roll riff, with loudhailer lyrics, stop-start verses and an incredibly catchy sing-along chorus. We defy you not to join in the chorus of "I just got born 'cos something got died", especially when the guitars fall away briefly and that loudhailer vocal joins in. If you're unmoved by that, then the appearance of Elvis in the closing bars should convince you of the songs greatness.
All the songs above will feature on the forthcoming album and, if anything, will sound even better once they're mixed properly, but they're strong enough lyrically and musically to work even as rough and ready tracks. The varied styles used on the five-track promo whet the appetite for the album which should be out sometime in the Summer.
I get paid to kill time all day long (I Get Paid)
The process of recording the album was potentially frustrating. Starting last June, with day jobs helping to pay the bills, only 20 recording days have taken place between then and December. Limited to weekends and the odd day off in the week, Kemlo sees the positive side: "If we were doing it back-to-back it would have been a real balls up. We haven't come in here having fine-tuned our sound yet. By the next album we'll have a more defined sound." Kemlo's working hard on that sound, though. "Songwriting is a skill and something I do keep working on."
The songs are seeded from the music and the lyrics in equal measure. Some are inspired from Kemlo's drive to succeed and become financially-liberated from the 'day job', "obsessing about setting myself this goal and ploughing away at it". Kemlo's kept on his toes by the fact that his drummer, Henderson Downing, is a writer. So why doesn't Downing write anything for the band? "He feels it isn't his territory," explains Kemlo. "It's a compliment enough that he's not embarrassed to be playing our songs!"
Although Londonist would find the prospect of writing lyrics in this situation incredibly intimidating, Kemlo does admirably well.
"I probably wouldn't have kept Henderson for this long if the lyrical content wasn't strong enough. Lyrical content is paramount. It makes it easier to get up on stage and sing a song with feeling. It is venting your frustrations out on the audience, but we try do it with humour."
Kemlo goes on to say he feels it "selfish and vain" to be writing about personal frustrations and so he tempers it by looking to inject a level of humour into his lyrics, "even if it's only one line". What matters most to the band, though, is that the songs "have a purpose: it's got to move you on some emotional level".
Musically, there's a conscious decision to write short songs. The longest song on the album clocks in at 3 minutes, although there's great variety in the styles used. When Londonist appeared at the studio, a Latin-beat song was being recorded (not as horrendous as that might sound) and the promo's five tracks all offer something very different. Says Kemlo, "We don't have any formula 'this is what we do, this is our sound', which would be a lot easier, but I think it's also more interesting for us this way."
Kemlo offers up the example of the song Shotgun Wedding. "I'm proud of that because it's something I never thought I'd write. It's not remotely angst-ridden, which is a breakthrough for me!"
Show me the money and I'll show you what I mean (Green Is For Go)
Taking their destiny into their own hands, The Colonies have started their own 'Breadcrumb Trail' club night. Not only do they headline, they get to hand-pick the bands and D.J's on the bill, making for a more enjoyable experience all round.
Dylan Kemlo's good like that. Despite the frustrations of playing to small crowds when he surely must know he deserves much better, he remains focused on his vision. If you like intelligent, sensitive, catchy, spiky guitar-driven pop, you should start paying attention.
