ACCORDING to The Guardian, All We Are, a Liverpool-based three piece (and one third Irish) band are one of the ‘15 things to look forward to in 2015’.
Their single Feel Safe also landed them on Spotify’s list of artists to watch out for in 2015, so all signs point to a good year ahead, not that the ultra-laid back trio seem to be feeling the pressure of being tipped for greatness.
The threesome’s multinational line up consists of Norwegian singer and bass player Guro Gikling, Brazilian singer and guitarist Luis Santos and Irish singer and drummer Richard O’Flynn.
Despite the disparate birthplaces, All We Are define themselves as a Liverpool band. The city has been their home since they started studying music at the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts(LIPA), the talent-producing hub based in the Georgian Quarter.
LIPA was where they met and “made some tunes” but also where a strong friendship formed between the three. The course, says Gikling, gave them “the freedom to hang out and jam.”
“When we finished we decided we still want to hang out with each other and we started the band”, adds Corkman Richie O’Flynn.“We’ve really been embraced by the scene there.”
Having played in various formations in college, O’Flynn says they knew they had something special as a three piece. “We really quickly realised the three of us together was best and it’s really worked out”.
Santos adds that Liverpool was the perfect petri dish for an up and coming band. “There is opportunity and lots of places to play — good venues, good bands and a good art scene.” Coming from Brazil, he says the Merseyside weather was the biggest shock to his system at first.
For Gikling, it was perfecting her “school” English and getting her head around the Liverpudlian accent that took some time. O’Flynn says he didn’t have culture shock, but was struck by “how Irish Liverpool was…It’s a port town and fiercely proud. It’s hugely welcoming, we’ve all put roots down there to some degree.”
Their debut single Utmost Good was self-released almost two years ago, but since then they have been singed to indie label Domino.
Inking that deal was a “dream” says Santos. “They are really supportive… we like the ethos of the label, it’s is a really good fit” but as Gikling adds, record deal or no record deal they would still be making music together.
The self-titled new album, recorded in March 2014 is due for release next month with a headline tour in Ireland, Britain and the rest of Europe to follow.
Made in Liverpool over one month, the new album was produced by Dan Carey who has worked with MIA, Bat for Lashes, and Kate Tempest. All three are happy with the finished product and itching to get it out.
On Twitter, they describe their sound as “Bee Gees on diazepam”, but O’Flynn adds that a promoter in Germany best summed their style up as “psychedelic boogie” and the phrase has stuck.
“We have loads of different influences, but we have a shared love of hip hop and that groove based [sound],” says O’Flynn. In particular ’90s hip-hop, West Coast rappers like Tupac, Snoop, Dre have been a “contrast thread”, but other wider influences like TV On The Radio, Kendrick Lamarr, Metronomy, OutKast and Broken Social Scene also feed into their groovy atmospheric disco sound.
Not surprisingly, since the digital music giant Spotify have tipped their cap at the band, All We Are are pro sharing. “Listen,” says O’Flynn, “there’s huge debate around it but we all firmly believe that people don’t specifically stream or buy. There are people who stream and buy, so it’s all just about getting your tunes out there, we’re pretty sure Spotify is artist friendly, but the industry has changed and so has the way people pay for music.”
Having already toured with Jungle and London Grammar and played Glastonbury, All We Are aren’t worried about hitting the road together.
In fact, as O’Flynn and Gikling, point out they love playing and being on tour together. “We love the live gigs and we’re really good mates, a real unit. There have never been any bad vibes,” says O’Flynn, and listening to the harmonies on the uplifting, clap-happy I Wear You, you’d have to take his word.
All We Are's eponymous debut album is out now
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