12 Questions With Joe,Ten Hands High
We had a little chat with Joe of Leeds/London band ‘Ten Hands High’ ahead of their slot at the Y Not Festival
Based in London, made in Leeds, Ten Hands High’s sound has evolved drastically since their inception in 2019 and has now arrived at Vibe Central Station.
Starting in classic indie rock roots, they now explore the boundaries of their genre, incorporating RnB, hip-hop and alt-pop elements into an indie sound that focuses on groove and atmosphere. They have consistently sold out headline shows in their two hometowns and on May 1st 2022, played their biggest headline show yet at a sold out Omeara in London.
Jack Saunders of BBC Radio 1 called their debut EP’s lead single Sweet – “euphoric”, and their most recent single – ‘I Don’t Need A Lobster’ received high praise on Twitter from Trainspotting star and indie music guru, Robert Carlyle. The band have also been played on BBC Introducing: The South, 6Music’s BBC Introducing Mixtape and Radio X’s X-Posure, as well as being featured on playlists like Spotify’s Students Union and Amazon’s Fresh Indie.
NSG: Hello there and how are you today? What have you been up to this morning?
JOE: Hey NSG, thanks for having me on. I’m Joe, the lead guitarist of the band, and looking forward to having a chat. This morning I cooked some eggs and practiced some guitar for our gig at the ‘Y Not Festival‘ this weekend, that is what most of my mornings look like!
NSG: You’re bands a mix up of guys from Leeds and London and formed in 2019? How did you all meet?
JOE: Myself, Alexi and Tom met in our 1st year whilst studying at the University of Leeds. We all did different courses but met through a band society that the uni had – it was a great way of meeting other musicians who liked the same stuff as you. We immediately bonded as musicians and as mates, and it went from there really. We met Finn whilst I was in my 3rd year and from then we released our first single in 2019.
NSG: Iv been listening to your new song ‘Sunkissed’, a lot to be honest and love it. I hear a bit of funk going on there as well as the classic indie vibe and the song actually remind me a bit of Liverpool band ‘The Night Café’. Did you have a specific sound in mind when writing this song and if so what was it?
JOE: Thanks, man! I think since the start we have had a lot of funk elements in our music, I think it comes quite naturally to us and it definitely seeps into our indie rock style. We’ve been trying to write groove/atmospheric based indie rock songs recently to try and put our own spin on things, and sunkissed is another iteration of that. The Night Café were actually a band we were all listening to back when we formed the band so that’s really nice of you to say that!
NSG: You have released an EP and some singles since forming in 2019, is there an album coming in the future?
JOE: We’d love to do an album in the future for sure. Listening to an album all the way through is still the best way of consuming and fully engaging with an artist in my opinion, but unfortunately singles are the way to go at the moment for an upcoming band. I think we would only do an album when we know that enough people are going to listen to it and when it becomes financially feasible for us to do it, which I hope is in the near future!
NSG: How would you describe your band’s sound?
JOE: We are an indie rock band but we like to add funk, groove and RnB flavourings to it which (hopefully) gives us an interesting take on the genre. I’ve always been a rock guy since I was a kid and that definitely seeps into my playing style, but over the last few years, we’ve been listening to more groove-based music and other genres which have changed the music we write.
NSG: Only forming in 2019 must have been hard when the pandemic hit. How did you guys manage to get through it as a band? Like some bands who have been together for years didn’t even manage to come out of the lockdowns and still be together!
JOE: Yeah mate it sucked not going to lie, 2019 was probably the worst year to start a band haha! We made it work in our own way but obviously it was very annoying that we couldn’t play any gigs etc. Thankfully we were able to go to the recording studio and record some new songs, which kept us busy during that time. We also recorded a couple of online videos and covers which are up on YouTube, a memorable one being our song called ‘Outside’ which was basically a song about being fed up of being indoors.
NSG: What’s the best city? Leeds or Liverpool?
JOE: I’m sure all 3 of my bandmates would say Leeds here, but you’ve put me in a difficult decision as I’m a big Everton fan. To be honest, they are 2 of my favourite cities in the UK and I love both of them, so I’m going to be boring and sit on the fence.
NSG: Have you ever played in our city of Liverpool and will you be playing here anytime soon?
JOE: We actually haven’t yet but would love to! We are hoping to secure a Liverpool date in 2022 as part of a run of live dates we will be playing at the end of the year, so watch this space… My dream gig is to play at Goodison Park, so let’s get that sorted, Bill Kenwright?
NSG: If you could sit down and have dinner with three people from history, who would they be and why?
JOE: John Lennon, Marcus Aurelius and Mozart. I think this would be an interesting cocktail of people from completely different eras. I’d also love to know if Mozart would like The Beatles, so John could play him a song and Mozart’s reaction would be so interesting to see.
(Ten Hands High @ Omeara_Credit: Ciaran Frederick)
NSG: What’s been your most mental gig to date and why?
JOE: We would all agree that it would be our last London headline show at OMeara. Everything went so well and the crowd were amazing, it felt so good to sell out a show like that and I’ll never forget that night.
NSG: What music are you listening to at the moment? Like what’s on your playlist?
JOE: I can only speak on a personal note here but my favourite artists at the moment are ‘The War on Drugs‘, ‘Gang of Youths‘ and ‘Tom Misch‘. All artists that I’ve listened to a bit before but am now deep-diving into their discog.
NSG: How is the rest of 2022 looking for you guys?
JOE: Pretty stacked, which is great. We’re playing at the ‘Y Not festival‘ this weekend which is going to be nuts, then we are planning a tour at the end of the year. It will culminate in our biggest show so far at Powerhaus in London which I’m sure will be one to remember. We’ll also have a new single out by then.
NSG: Thank you so much for your time, we wish you all the luck in the world! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
JOE: Really nice to speak to you mate right back at you, really appreciate the work people like you do in promoting upcoming bands it doesn’t go unnoticed. Have a good one.
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