It’s time to start getting excited, Dear Reader. We’re just a few months out from the unofficial start of our summer festival season. That May Day Bank Holiday weekend means one thing – Live At Leeds. Packed with (literally) hundreds of the best new bands on the planet, it sees one of the country’s most vibrant creative cities turned into a mecca of buzz, hype and awesome live music.
To celebrate, we’re holding a special Live At Leeds takeover. Over the course of the day (28th January 2020, in case you’re coming to this late – Ed), we’ll be bringing you all kinds of stuff from and about the acts playing this year’s event. If you’re going, it’ll help you plan out those all-important spreadsheets. If you’ve not yet picked up your tickets – well, what are you waiting for? You can grab ’em here, right now.
It’s debut album time for Brooke Bentham. Recorded with producer Bill Ryder-Jones, ‘Everyday Nothing’ is a sprawling record penned during Brooke’s time immediately out of uni, the result of a period spent ruminating and figuring out what she wanted to do to fill her days. Brooke tells us more.
Hello Brooke! How are you? Enjoying 2020 so far?
Hey, I’m alright, thank you! Yeah 2020, I can’t complain so far.
What are you up to at the mo? Your debut album’s coming soon, right?
Mmm yes, I’m just preparing to release that at the minute. We’ve got one more single then it’s the album! It’s a really weird place to be – I’m not sure how the album’s gonna do so I’m just kind of waiting for it to come out.
Was it a challenging record to make?
In a way, yes. Considering it was just Bill and I (plus a few friends adding keys and drums here and there). It took a while for me to write all of the songs, I didn’t start out with a full album. We started with like three or four songs, and I wrote during the process. When I started writing it I didn’t really have much to write about, I was out of uni with loads of spare time, but I had nothing exciting going on, so nothing to write about really. But it turns out you can write about doing nothing! I still don’t think the songs sound like they should go together in one record, but I quite like that.
How did you come to team up with Bill Ryder-Jones?
I had a phone call with him, I didn’t really know of his work, but just as I was about to have the call, my housemate got dead excited. That intrigued me, and as soon as I was on the phone with him, I wanted to work with him. He seemed like a lovely guy.
How would you describe ‘Everyday Nothing”s vibe?
Existential and heavy. I dunno, I think now I’ve had a bit of time to step back from it it’s kind of totally centred around me in that time of my life. I wanted it to sound heavy sonically, almost lazy as well though. I think it’s a record that sounds like it’s working itself out.
Are you going to be taking the album on the road a lot this year? Do you have much in the diary?
We’ve got a headline tour booked in March and a couple of festivals. Hopefully, there’ll be more cause I love playing shows, but I also want to have finished my second album by the end of the year. I think it took me so long to write a debut that I’m now just like… I dunno; I’m on that train. I just wanna keep getting better.
You’re playing Live At Leeds soon, is that one you’ve been to before?
I haven’t, actually!
How would you rate your Yorkshire pudding making skills out of ten?
I’ll be honest; I don’t even own a cake tray. I usually buy Bessie’s frozen cause we’ve not got a tray. As a Northerner, I know that’s rank, but I can’t not have Yorkshire’s either. It’s simply not an option.
Do you have a favourite venue or spot to play in Leeds?
Brudenell, every time.
Anything else we should know?
Don’t think so. Buy my album pls.
Brooke Bentham’s debut album ‘Everyday Nothing’ is out 28th February. Live At Leeds will take place on 2nd May, visit liveatleeds.com for more info.
