Birmingham quintet Ivory Wave have today released a new video for latest single ‘Young Blood’, the closing track from their debut EP ‘Dream Nights’.‘Young Blood’ was given its exclusive play this week on Radio X and is This Feeling’s Radio X TOTW. They play ‘This Feeling’s Big in 2020’ show this Saturday 11th January at Nambucca in London and have also been announced as main support for The Sherlocks on their UK Feb & March tour (full dates below)
Frontman George Johnson says;“This is a really special song for me, I wrote it when I was around 18 after a conversation I had with my nan who was ill at the time. We were talking about dreaming and she told me that when she dreamed she was still young and was able to do anything that she wanted to do. So the song stemmed from that, it’s a real celebration of life and a fitting tribute.”
Having already established a reputation as local heroes and recently releasing their debut EP ‘Dream Nights’ which Clash Magazine describe as“it’s buoyed by a certain swagger, a rightly founded confidence in their abilities”, 2020 is looking very promising for Ivory Wave. Their exuberant, party-starting mix of swaggering indie attitude, dancefloor-filling beats and glistening synths inspires chaotic scenes wherever they go. Their songs speak of the experiences of youth across the country, but their gigs offer pure escapism with a sea of fans singing along as smoke-bombs amplify the hedonistic vibe.
Their debut EP makes an immediate statement of intent with opening track ‘The Middle’. Kicking off with rave-tinged synths, it builds into a towering beat-fuelled anthem which contrasts its life-affirming energy with a darker tale of living for the weekend. ‘Pale Moonlight’ is just as insistent, spinning an acid house-flavoured vocal loop as if Happy Mondays were born in Brexit Britain. Current single ‘Weigh Me Down’ is an instantly contagious and energectic Hacienda-inspired hit that showcases vocalist George Johnsons confrontational and distinctive sound. Ivory Wave’s previous single ‘Uptown’ raised the game for the band, earning them Track of the Week on Radio X, plus further plays at BBC Introducing and Radio 1. They soon followed that by playing Birmingham’s most vital event of the summer, the all-star Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival.
Track ‘Uptown’ is about growing tired of endlessly living for the weekend – you spend all week planning a big night out only to wake up with a hangover and an empty wallet. The video captures that routine of spending every Sunday in lazy recovery mode, the only benefit of which is epic FIFA sessions on the Xbox. In fact, the band have been embraced by the football community, with adds to the Official Premier League playlist and Soccer AM’s New Music playlist plus match day plays at West Brom.
While Ivory Wave are natural party provocateurs, the EP’s closing track ‘Young Blood’ captures another side to them. It’s a slow-burner that gradually builds in intensity before it erupts into a wall-of-sound, with a final, rousing contribution from the Birmingham Community Gospel Choir accentuating the song’s feeling that better times are just around the corner.
‘Dream Nights’ was produced by Matt Terry (The Prodigy, You Me At Six) and recorded at VADA Studios, Warwickshire. It was mixed by the Grammy Award-winner Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse, Everything Everything).
“Three years of work have been saturated down into 25 minutes of pure Ivory Wave,” says frontman George Johnson. “It’s time for people to pay attention – this is the best Birmingham has sounded for years”
Ivory Wave are five long-term friends in their early twenties who share an eclectic range of influences – from Oasis and The Stone Roses to Bowie, Sex Pistols and Human League. Based in a lock-up in Birmingham, their mission statement was to blend those influences into a modernist sound which would connect with their own generation.
The band – completed by Connor McMinn(guitar), Luke Morris(bass), Seb Baldwin (drums) and Rob Clarke(synths) – have developed a growing but devoted fanbase with a string of independently released tracks as well as gigs with the likes of the DMA’S and The Twang. It’s a grassroots approach which has further flourished through festivals including the Isle of Wight, Truck and Y Not.
‘Young Blood’– Video credits: Director- Henry Bettany. DOP – Rob Pike. Producer -Shutefilms
Their UK dates supporting The Sherlocks are:
FEBRUARY 2020
21st– O2 Academy, Sheffield
23rd– O2 Institute 2, Birmingham
25th– Rock City, Nottingham
26th– Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool
27th– O2 Academy, Leeds
28th– Boiler Shop, Newcastle Upon Tyne
29th– SWG3 / TV Studio, Glasgow
MARCH 2020
2nd– Electric Ballroom, London
3rd– Thekla, Bristol
5th– Concorde 2, Brighton
6th– Engine Rooms, Southampton
7th– Tramshed, Cardiff