We sat down with rockers Ashfields recently to talk about their new video, their influences, and some of the festivals they’re playing at in the future. Catch up with the Nottingham lads below!
By Jane Howkins
You’re about to release a new video titled We Don’t Talk. What can you tell us about that, and what does the title refer to?
The song was actually released on April 27th! But the video for it is released on the 25th May and don’t worry, your invite is in the post for that one! Jokes aside, the title refers to a difficult period of time in a relationship where the two people involved just don’t communicate anymore. The lyrics have a very strong meaning and talk about being emotionally tied into something and being reliant on someone. It’s just one big head mess to be honest, but it’s a tune… at least that’s what my Dad says anyway.
Do you have any more singles up for release soon? Why did you choose that track?
We have a back catalogue of tracks recorded as demos which I do in my bedroom – believe me, fitting 5 band members into my shoebox of a room is always a laugh, but surprisingly we manage. Unsurprisingly, Dev and Boam always seem to take turns to sit on each other’s laps even though there is enough space, but we won’t go into their bromance. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, singles! We have a couple of singles up our sleeves which we will be releasing when we feel like everyone is ready for them, so you all best get practicing your finest dance moves cause you’ll be throwing more shapes than GCSE Maths. As regards to the decision behind releasing We Don’t Talk – it was either we release that or Dev’s rendition of the entire Backstreet Boy’s Discography, but I’d be a liar if I said I wouldn’t have liked to see our fans reactions if we had done that!
Are there any plans for a full length release anytime soon? If so, what can you tell us about that?
We currently don’t have any plans for an album as such too soon, but that is definitely something that is in the back of our minds and we have more than enough material for one! A second EP is on the cards for sure though and that is something we will be looking to release in the near future. I’m just hoping that I haven’t lost you all on the idea of the Backstreet Boy’s rendition.
You were first described to us as sounding like Maroon 5 meets You Me At Six. Do you feel that’s a fair comparison, and are you a fan of those bands?
Have we? Who’s said that? And what have they been having on their Weetabix? Well, whatever it is tell them I want some. I’m sure Carl will take that as a compliment cause I don’t think there’s a day that goes past where I don’t hear him try to hit those beautiful Adam Levine high notes whilst he’s in the shower – he’ll get there one day.
What sort of things are you influenced by, and what bands have you been checking out recently? Anyone you can recommend for our readers?
As a band we listen to anything from Tame Impala to Take That – who doesn’t love a bit of Patience? No one in our band actually has patience though, that’s for sure. Carl is often begrudgingly waiting for me to finish on the toilet and decides it would be a great idea to go in the sink and try and have a normal conversation with me, as if I haven’t got the Loch Ness Monster at my eye level. Bands! Influences! Sorry, I have the attention span of a gold fish. I’d say our main influences are between Nothing but Thieves, Kings of Leon, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and The 1975, and I would recommend you guys check them all out, especially NBT as they are next level. I often cry at night listening to Conor Mason’s voice and during the day… I think I just cry every time I hear his voice actually
You’re from Nottingham. What is the music scene like there, and has the city been influential in terms of writing songs?
The music scene in Nottingham is great and there are some of the best venues in the country there. Anywhere from the legendary Rock City which is one of the best sounding places we’ve played, to the intimate corners of The Bodega. Rescue Rooms is another favourite, which we are headlining on the 16th June, so get your tickets before it sells out! Jay is looking at me here like I’ve just made a shameless plug – he’s absolutely right but as much as I love my mum, I would like someone other than her shouting my name out from the crowd and cheering me on. I think Nottingham itself has influenced us in general – there are artists like Peace, Tom Grennan, and Royal Blood that we’ve seen play in venues around Nottingham and when we first started out as a band it was a dream for us to be playing those same venues, which we have since gone on to achieve!
You originally formed back in 2015. How has life changed since then, and how do you think your song writing has changed in that time period?
I’ve gone from having a nice balanced healthy diet to living off of pot noodle sandwiches and £3 meal deals, but that’s what life is like on tour – let me tell you it comes to something when we’re all putting our change together to get one pint. That’s not one pint each, that’s one pint between all five of us. It’ll all be worth it in the end when I can afford to buy my mum and dad a new house, that’s for sure. Our song writing has definitely matured a lot since we first started out, although we haven’t actually matured ourselves, we still like to have a laugh and Dev’s finally got some sense of style now in part with the help of the rest of us, so overall everything’s good!
Do you have any gigs coming up? If so, where and when are they?
We’ve got a busy few months coming up with festivals such as Dot to Dot, Splendour, Jimmy’s, Wellowfest, OSFEST, and YNOT coming up so we’re buzzing for those. We’ve also got our UK June tour coming up which is gonna be mental. All dates for those you can find on any of our social media pages, we’re pretty on it with our promo. I say we a lot but it’s definitely down to Carl being the organised one and Jay being the Dynamo of promo. We’ve also got our biggest show to date coming up supporting The Libertines! It’s as part of a brand new festival called Mansion on the Moon on the 8th September in Ipswich, and somehow we’re going to have to convince 30,000 people we’re not just a Catfish and the Bottlemen tribute band.
Why do you think people should come and see you live, and what can people expect from an ASHFIELDS gig?
Just bring plenty of milk cause it’s gonna be spicy and leave your two left feet at home cause you’ll be cutting shapes left right and centre. As well as experiencing the best band on the planet live, there is a 100% money back guarantee if Dev doesn’t crowd surf during the gig. In fact, he was gone crowd surfing for so long once we actually put a missing person ad out.
Any last words for the fans?
Please don’t set up a gofundme page for the recording of Dev’s rendition of the Backstreet Boy’s discography. But if you are gonna do something, keep up to date with us on all our social medias. Jay’s giving me that shameless plug look again, it’s shameless for a reason Jay, the people need to know!