Each new year marks the start of another new band scramble to grab a seat on the hype train. With a run-up that starts well before the mince pies are on the festive table, come January, some are still left flailing to nip through the door as the warning beeps start to sound.
With a coveted slot on BBC's flagship music show Later... off the back of a couple of standout singles,
Another Sky are far better prepared than that. Their performance of '
Chillers', packed with attitude and a string section, was a genuine moment. Add to that a twenty-date tour - including two Dork Live! shows in Norwich and Reading - kicking off in February, and they're already well ahead of the curve.
We caught up with the band to find out more.
Hey, you lot. When did you first realise you wanted to make music?
Jack: I have only two loves of my life - music and BMXing. I broke my collarbone and couldn't play guitar for months on end, so that's when I sold my BMX. I knew it was guitar or nothing.
Max: I was 6 when I first started playing djembe along with my dad and brother to Radio 1 mix’s in the front lounge, proper three-hour drum and bass mixes. I was addicted. I didn't do much else except play drums and produce.
How did you get together?
Catrin: The band formed out of a mutual obsession with a Talk Talk album titled ‘Laughing Stock’ which we discovered around the same time. We ended up getting in a room, jammed together and wrote a song straightaway, then burst out in laughter like, “Where the fuck did that come from!?”
Naomi: I was in nine bands at the time. My fingers were constantly messed up, and then Jack would be like, "We’re rehearsing twice a week." I did it though - I loved it because we were just so diplomatic. There was no lead songwriter, just jams that became songs.
Are you creative in non-musical ways too?
Max: I make wooden spoons and lamps out of wood I find on the street. It gets me out of the house after fourteen-hour producing sessions.
Catrin: I’m working on some books and poetry. I used to try and write a poem and end up thinking, "Nah, that'd make a good lyric." Now I'm trying to write enough to have material for both.