Adrenaline-fuelled alt-rockers Where Fires Are recentl released their new single I’ve Got The Time, taken from their brand new EP One Four Six One.
Combining huge guitar riffs with melodic hooks I’ve Got The Time is a stadium-sized rock anthem, bursting with power and driven by frontman Robbie’s striking tones and harmonic vocals. The track has already seen support from both Kerrang Radio and Amazing Radio.
This is the first taste of their new four-track EP One Four Six One, which is available to stream online from February 2nd. A fiery collection which showcases the band’s expertly crafted sound, it balances their explosive energy with emotionally charged melodies and expressive lyrics.
Hailing from Leeds, the five piece have turned heads with their previous 2015 Orange EP, which saw them championed by the likes of BBC Introducing’s Alan Raw and BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson gaining them their first taste of national airplay.
A veritable whirlwind on stage, Where Fires Are have secured slots at some of the UK’s biggest festivals including Reading and Leeds, Tramlines, Live at Leeds, Kendal Calling and Willow Festival while establishing an ever-growing loyal fan-base across the country.
In support of the new EP, the band are heading out on the One Four Six One UK tour next month, kicking off on the 2nd February at Edinburgh’s Bannermans, taking in London’s 93 Feet East on the15th before concluding in their home town at Brudenell Social Club on the 24th. You can check out I’ve Got The Time below!
We managed to catch up with vocalist Robbie Gillespie as he talks about the upcoming EP, latest single, music scene in Leeds and more!
So how pumped are you to be releasing One, Four, Six, One?
We’re very excited. We’re all really proud of this EP and we started planning it almost 7 months ago, so it’s great to finally be unleashing it.
What is your favourite song from this release?
My favourite song from the EP is ‘Die or Survive’. I think it shows the full spectrum of our sound while also giving a slight nod towards a subtly different direction that we might head down in the future. Of course we might not. Who knows. I know that a couple of the guys would pick ‘It Feels Right’ as their favourite because of how enjoyable it is to play live. The large instrumental section in that song is easily some of the best music we’ve ever recorded.
Tell us a bit about the EP.
Our original plan for 2017 was to just release a single. Then, when we were in the midst of the writing process, all this stuff kept coming out that we were really getting into. We decided we had too much material that we wanted people to hear for us to justify just releasing one track. So the EP was born. There’s a lot of music that didn’t make the cut… almost enough for a full album actually. Last year we played a show over in New York. That was a significant moment for us. It was also around that time that we had started to put the tracks that would end up on the EP into our live set – so we wanted to link the EP to New York somehow. That’s where the name came from… our apartment number in Brooklyn was 1461.
Would you say this is different from previous releases such as Orange?
The Orange EP was great for us. It was the first time this band had spent a good amount of time in a studio, which was exciting. It was the first real chance for us to put our writing under the microscope and I think it taught us a lot about where we wanted to take our music. One Four Six One is different and yet intrinsically linked because it’s sort of… the by-product of those lessons. It’s a far more mature record. I think it’s also a little more daring, more interesting. There are less tracks on One Four Six One than there are on The Orange EP but there’s more quality.
How has the lead single ‘I’ve Got The Time’ gone down with fans so far?
So far people seem to be enjoying it. It was the obvious choice for lead single because we think it’s a little more accessible than the others. It’s simpler and sort of breaks you in gently for the rest of the EP. All the songs carry little pieces of the same vibe though, which allows the EP to run really nicely. It’s been a feature of our live set for longer than the other three EP tracks so some people are already kind of familiar with it, which is cool. It’s catchy and if you’re the type who likes to dance a bit at gigs, you can definitely dance to this one, so that’s cool too.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
This question would probably be answered differently by every band member. For me, it would be Incubus. That band have been making incredible music for well over 20 years and are the absolute masters of subtle reinvention. Brandon Boyd is by far my biggest influence, vocally. I think the stuff you could learn by spending just one day in a room with those guys would be invaluable.
What has been your proudest moment to date?
For me, it was the New York trip. We’ve been fortunate enough to have had a few proud moments since the band started, such as Reading and Leeds in 2015 and getting our first radio play on BBC and Kerrang! was great. That New York trip though… none of us had ever been to New York before so to be going out there to play music was just an incredible feeling. I’ll never forget the taxi journey from the airport to our apartment. It was about 45 minutes long and all five us just sat in silence almost the entire time, in awe of what was around us. That was a big moment for this band and one we are hoping to build upon in 2017.
What is the music scene like in Leeds?
The music scene in Leeds is great. It seems very healthy. There’s quite a mix of genres out there and a lot of really high quality acts. None of us are actually from Leeds but we’ve all lived here for almost 7 years. It’s definitely the spiritual home of our music. People are receptive to Alternative Rock, which is awesome. More importantly though, people enjoy seeing bands trying things a little differently. I’d definitely say Leeds has the best music scene of the Northern Cities. Every time I’m in Manchester it feels like people just want another swaggering guy in a duffle coat and in Liverpool they want another bunch of guys in tight-fitting suits. Credit where credit is due – Manchester and Liverpool have made a gigantic and everlasting mark on the worldwide music scene, let alone the British scene. I just think at the moment, people in Leeds have less patience for artists who are just regurgitating something that’s already been done. It keeps the musicians in the Leeds scene on their toes.
What venue are you most looking forward to be playing in February?
Brudenell Social Club in Leeds for the final date of the tour. That place is iconic. It has a real cult appeal to it and some of the names who have graced the stage there in the past are ridiculous! Playing there is a big deal and we can’t wait to cross it off the list.
Where Fires Are presents ‘The One Four Six One’ UK tour
February
Thursday 2nd – Bannermans, Edinburgh
Friday 3rd – Gullivers, Manchester
Saturday 4th – Plug, Sheffield
Thursday 9th – Facebar, Reading (headline show)
Friday 10th – The Underground, Bradford (headline show)
Saturday 11th – The Tubman, Hastings
Wednesday 15th – 93 Feet East, London (headline show)
Thursday 16th – Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow
Monday 20th – The Joiners, Southampton (headline show)
Friday 24th – Brudenell Social Club (Games Room), Leeds (headline show)