Serendipity, collaboration and an appreciation of quality footwear turns out to be the secret to a good band yet again, as Ain't's second single marks them out as ones to watch.
Words: Stephen Ackroyd.
Photos: Marieke Macklon.
In a dimly lit East London pub, a compliment about a pair of shoes spiralled into an all-night conversation. Soon, a band was born - not through meticulous planning or industry matchmaking, but through the serendipitous pull of quality footwear, exactly as the chemistry of all great music demands. This is the genesis of Ain't, a London-based five-piece weaving together the stranger threads of 90s guitar, post-punk, and shoegaze into a sound that's as unpredictable as it is captivating. In good shoes.
"Ed really liked George's shoes, so gave him a compliment at the bar, and then they spent the entire evening talking about Smashing Pumpkins," recalls lead vocalist Hanna Baker Darch.
The chance meeting between guitarists Ed Randall and George Ellerby was the spark that ignited Ain't's formation — but assembling the rest of the lineup was a blend of long-standing friendships and a touch of fortuity. "George then reached out to Joe and me, as we'd all been friends for ages," Hanna explains. Drummer Joe Lockstone was a natural addition, but finding a bassist required a more unconventional approach. "We found Chapman in the bathroom at the Victoria in Dalston. Not physically, but we put some flyers in there advertising for a bassist, and Chapman emailed us something to the effect of, 'Please, please, please let me join your band', which made us realise he's perfect - and maybe also stroked our egos a bit."
Formed in the summer of 2022, Ain't are a collaborative endeavour from the ground up - their creative process is a group affair. "Typically, George or Ed will bring a riff or idea to practice, and it's very much a communal effort to turn the fiddly bits into fleshed-out songs."
