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Manchester duo TenFiveSixty talk shoes, soundtracks and supporting Suede
Indie | Wednesday 22nd April 2015 | Christina
Hailing from Manchester, TenFiveSixty – Jen Bailey and Rick Hornby – have already garnered huge support from industry tastemakers thanks to their cinematic and captivating brand of indie. We caught up with the pair who are set to hit the big time.
How’s life treating you guys at the moment?
Treating us quite well..considering.
Can you tell us how you two found each other and started making music together?
We met through mutual friends, found out we both wanted the same things and it’s easier to achieve dreams with two minds.
And the band name TenFiveSixty, where did that come from?
We were looking for a name without an obvious definition, something that was quite neutral and not too band-like, and we both liked a track by The Long Ryders called ‘10.5.60’. We were “advised” to change it, by business types convinced that people wouldn’t be able to remember it. So we kept it.
Your Facebook bio states that you share a mutual love of soundtracks, 60s girl groups, 80s hooks and good footwear. What constitutes good footwear?
Clean, looked after and classic. No scuffs.
And what are your all-time favourite soundtracks?
War of the Worlds, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, anything by John Carpenter or Thomas Newman.
Your music has a strong cinematic quality. If you could score/soundtrack any film, which would it be and why?
Maybe Westworld, to try and give it all the dusty space of a western, but modernised and machine-like. There will be a film yet to be written, with our name on it. Or rather, our name at the end of it.
The theme of escapism is especially prevalent in new single ‘Dashboard Light’, why does this theme appeal to you so much? What was the creative process behind the song?
I think it appeals to anyone looking beyond their own horizon. We’d had all the parts for the track for a while but getting it all together as an arrangement that made sense took some time in the rehearsal room and studio. Persistence paid off in the end.
The video is very evocative, and you’ve established a strong visual style, how involved are you with your videos?
We've filmed the last two ourselves, and edited the ‘Dashboard Light’ video. There have been some very long nights hunched over computer screens. But we do have very strong ideas about how we want things to look so if we can do it all ourselves, we will.
You’ve been compared to The Cure and Stevie Nicks amongst others, would you say these are strong influences of yours, or do you draw inspiration from elsewhere?
Being compared to artists like that is always a compliment if not a little strange. We wouldn't say we have any strong influences, we are more influenced by details in particular songs rather than whole bands and their sound.
How was it supporting Suede on tour?
It was good for us to be on nice wide stages in large venues hearing ourselves in much more of a surround sound. The band and crew were all very welcoming. Good cheese plates backstage.
You hail from the musical hotbed that is Manchester, what is it about the city that is so conducive to the production of great music?
It’s the combination of a good musical history that you grow up with, and dodgy weather conditions that keep you indoors a lot. Throw the attitude, which is a very home-grown outlook, in to the mix and you end up with a kids forming interesting bands who intentionally set themselves apart from others. Factory Records, for one, could only have happened in Manchester, and same goes for Buzzcocks, The Smiths, etc..the list goes on.
Do you have a favourite place to play? And where is your dream place to play?
No favourite as yet but to sell out The Bowery Ballroom in New York will be a pretty special night
What are your summer plans? Any festival appearances scheduled?
We will be spending the long summer days and nights writing, preparing to hole up in the studio for autumn/winter.
Do you have any exciting projects coming up? Perhaps an album?
We are off to the US West Coast in April/May for a three-week tour.
And now for some Guestlist questions.
If you could create a musical supergroup, from musicians alive or dead, who would make the cut?
Bowie, John McVie, Debbie Harry, Charlie Watts, and Henry Mancini.
What’s the first record you bought?
War of the Worlds soundtrack.
Which song do you wish you had written?
J: ‘God Only Knows’.
R: ‘Clair de Lune’.
What would your superhero power be and why?
J: To fly, I'd love to be able to fly.
R: I’d like to be able to grant people’s one true wish, but to be honest I’d be happy with pretty much any superpower, as long as the kit was good.
