With the 2024 launch of their electrifying debut album ‘I Marvel If The World Is aware of?’, British indie/rock outfit The Okay’s swiftly grew to become one of many international locations most fun, and profitable new bands.
Made up of 12 exhilarating tracks – together with the singles ‘No Place Like Residence’ ‘Black and Blue’, and ‘Lights Go Down’ – the extremely emotive document served to replicate the trials and tribulations of contemporary life, by tackling prevalent points and themes together with youth tradition, small-town struggles, love, and self-reflection, making it each a private, but broadly relatable affair.
Debuting at #3 Official UK Album Chart, the LP not too long ago grew to become BRITS Licensed after promoting over 30,000 models.
Hailing from Earlestown in Merseyside, The Okay’s – made up of Jamie Boyle (vocals/guitar), Ryan Breslin (guitar/keyboards), Dexter Baker (bass) and Nathan Friends (drums) – initially gained traction by their impartial releases, and word-of-mouth buzz from their electrical stay performances. Hype surrounding their early singles ‘Sarajevo’ and ‘Glass Cities’ helped to additional set up them as a ‘band to observe’, resulting in slots at main festivals and help excursions.
Musically impressed by basic British indie bands like The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, The Courteeners, and Oasis, the tremendous gifted four-piece mix driving guitars, punchy rhythms, and singalong hooks, with impassioned lyrics and raw-storytelling to create an genuine and evocative sound that continues to resonate with followers all over the world.
12 months on from the discharge of their debut, the lads at the moment are primed and able to take every part one step additional, with their sensible second album, ‘Fairly On The Web’.
Forward of the data unveiling this summer season, we caught up with band frontman Jamie to speak new music, profession highlights, coping with self-doubt, and the way he manages to discover a sense of calm in and amongst the entire every day chaos the comes from being in one of many UK’s most promising new bands…
Hey Jamie! How are you right now?
I’m very effectively thanks! I stayed on our tour bus final night time, which normally means my sleep sample goes to shit, however surprisingly I slept fairly effectively, so I’m feeling good.
2024 was an EPIC yr for The Okay’s! Regardless of all the time being so busy and on the go 24/7, have you ever and the lads managed to take inventory of every part you’ve achieved over the course of the final 12 months?
Yeah I undoubtedly assume we’ve! Such as you say, issues have been fairly full on this yr, and at some factors we’ve not identified whether or not we had been coming or going, however I feel regardless of the entire chaos, and the way psychological issues have gotten for us, we’ve all the time made an actual aware effort to acknowledge and have a good time the issues we’ve achieved, each on stage and off stage.
Let’s record a few of these achievements we could? Your debut album ‘I Marvel If The World Is aware of’ debuted at No. 3 on the official UK album chart, you received Breakthrough Act of The Yr on the Northern Music Awards, you signed a long run publishing take care of Notting Hill Music, accomplished a headline tour of the UK, performed the primary stage at Leeds and Studying, and supported Blondie… speak to us about a few of your private highlights?
Erm… I’d say you’ve simply talked about most of them (laughs). Oh man, the place do I begin? Acting at Glastonbury was a significant spotlight for us! We’d clearly by no means gigged there earlier than, so we actually didn’t know what to anticipate. We had been scheduled to play the Woodsies tent at 12:30pm on the Sunday, which holds 12,500 individuals, however allowing for our set was occurring on day 5 of the pageant… hear, I’m not gonna fake we weren’t anxious! I truly thought we’d be fortunate if 50 individuals confirmed up (laughs). However once we walked out on the stage we couldn’t consider it, you actually couldn’t have gotten one other individual into that tent, it was packed! I nonetheless can’t get my head round what occurred that day, it was unreal!
It should be such an incredible feeling to be fulfilling so lots of your goals and ambitions?
Ah man it’s, it truly is! It’s mad to consider how a lot the band and our following has grown in a yr! We’ve put the work in, and we’ve grafted to get to the place we at the moment are – has it all the time been straightforward? No. Nevertheless it’s undoubtedly all been value it.
Sustaining success is not any straightforward feat! How have you ever coped working such lengthy and relentless hours?
It’s humorous as a result of personally, I discover calm in the entire chaos that comes from being in a band like ours. Having a full on schedule, and being on the go on a regular basis helps retains me stimulated. I form of like the truth that we’re right here, there and in all places, and that no at some point is similar. Each time we’re not busy working, that’s after I discover myself going slightly stir loopy (laughs). My dad and mom will typically say to me that I must decelerate and take a breath, however as bizarre because it sounds, I truly discover myself getting extra careworn once we’re not as busy!
It’s been a minute because you final had any new music out! Inform us what you’ve been as much as these previous few months?
Okay so since our final launch, we’ve written and recorded a brand new album, and we’ve accomplished two excursions. In addition to that, we gigged just about in all places throughout pageant season final summer season, and we’ve spent plenty of time travelling throughout Europe and right here within the UK. So, we’ve saved ourselves busy (laughs).
As you start this new chapter, are you and the lads able to hit the bottom working and go at issues FULL FORCE this yr…
We’re 100% prepared! It’s all the time a very thrilling time beginning a brand new mission, whether or not that be a brand new album or a brand new tour, as a result of it offers us a possibility to showcase to our viewers how we’ve grown and developed.
The Okay’s – Breakdown In My Bed room (Official Video)
‘Breakdown In My Bed room’ is the primary single to be launched out of your second studio album ‘Fairly On The Web’, and it’s an absolute BANGER!
Thanks a lot! We’re actually happy with how out it’s turned out, and the response we’ve had from the followers has been superb. It’s all the time slightly daunting placing new music on the market, since you simply don’t ever actually know the way it’s going to be perceived. However fortunately, we managed to have create one thing that folks appear to actually like and relate to, so we’re buzzing.
Can we please speak about the important thing change within the last refrain?
(Laughs) we are able to! It’s epic isn’t it? It’s humorous as a result of though we just about had the music completed and tracked, I nonetheless felt prefer it was one thing lacking. I sat at residence with my guitar for hours making an attempt to determine the place I may add one other part, or perhaps even one other verse, however nothing I got here up with appeared to work. I did take into consideration perhaps including in a key change, however I used to be anxious it would sound a bit tacky, so I reluctant to even try it. However ultimately I attempted it, and I cherished it as a result of it simply explodes out of nowhere! You’re feeling just like the songs already peaked, and there’s nowhere else for it to go after which BAM, it hits you out! The response to it has been class.
The music has an actual ferocious vitality to it, and a melody which you can’t assist however sing-along to – mix these two parts collectively, and on a floor degree, you’ve got the final word pop/rock summer season bop! Strip away the entire music and the manufacturing although, and also you’re left with a lyric that depicts the story of an individual who regardless of their struggles, is soldiering on by life as greatest they’ll. We reckon 99.9% of individuals on the planet will be capable to relate to this sentiment, which we guess is all the time the purpose when writing music. That stated, how daunting is it so that you can be so open and sincere in music?
It’s the one method I understand how to write down a music! Severely, being sincere about how I’m feeling isn’t a selection for me, it’s a necessity – I can’t assist however pour my coronary heart out on paper. And actually that’s how I’ve all the time been, lengthy earlier than The Okay’s or this being my job, writing was a method for me to specific how I used to be feeling. If I’m down after I’m writing, then that’s the emotion I’m going to painting, I don’t shrink back from it, and I feel that’s what makes our songs so relatable to individuals. Generally it’s not till after we’ve launched a music that I’m made conscious of the truth that what I’ve written is perhaps slightly darkish. A good friend or a member of the family might be like “are you okay Jamie?” And I’m simply oblivious to all of it (laughs). Possibly I’m too sincere generally? I don’t know… I’m nonetheless gonna fucking put it on the market anyway (laughs).
Regardless of the weak nature of a few of the lyrics, there’s a tangible sense of reassurance you present the listener whenever you sing the road: “It’s your first time right here / there’s time to be taught” – how necessary is it so that you can share this message of hope along with your viewers?
I imply it’s all the time necessary to really feel however, I’m unsure it was one thing I used to be actually excited about… in the case of songwriting, I actually consider that authenticity is essential, so like I stated, I simply write what I’m feeling and going by at that second in time. The lyrics to this specific music provide a type of window into the self-doubt that I expertise occasionally, and I would like individuals to know that it’s regular to really feel that method. There shouldn’t be any disgrace hooked up to anyone who admits that they’re struggling. Just like the lyric says: “that is your first time present”, so in fact you’re going to make errors, and do some silly stuff as a result of that’s simply part of rising up and life! You may’t beat your self up for getting issues incorrect generally. You simply must be taught from it and transfer on.
Why did you’re feeling like ‘Breakdown In My Bed room’ was one of the best music to launch the ‘Fairly On The Web’ period?
It’s by no means straightforward to select what singles you’re going to launch off an album! We put plenty of thought into it, and check out our greatest to gage the temper of our viewers, and likewise ensure that no matter we’re releasing is aligned with what we’re doing, and likewise what’s occurring at that exact second. So proper now for instance, it’s the beginning of spring, summer season is (hopefully) solely a month or so away, so we wish to put songs on the market which might be reflective of what everybody’s feeling right now of yr. No person desires to be listening to be an enormous, heavy ballad at a barbecue with all of their mates within the again backyard do they? (laughs). So we simply felt like as a result of ‘Breakdown In My Bed room’, and likewise ‘Headstone’ are each fairly upbeat and anthemic, they had been the correct songs from the album to launch first.
Inform us extra about ‘Headstone’…
‘Headstone’ is a music I wrote about the inner battle of eager to really feel like my existence issues. It displays the hope that, in the finish, it’s going to all “work out” and never be “for nothing” and I’ll have accomplished sufficient to be worthy of being remembered. I feel throughout the writing course of I had a second of realisation to the truth I typically put apart the extra significant, life-affirming facets of existence like household and relationships to as a substitute spend that point making an attempt to create one thing to make me at some point consider worthy of the love I obtain. It’s an sincere reflection of a psychological battle to try to consider that I’ve earned the proper to exist, a privilege that will get taken away from many extra deserving individuals than me, and that my life will go away a mark that lasts past me. It’s an exploration of every part that whizzes round my head from ambition to self-worth and the seek for validation.
You’ve got your entire life to make your first album, after which one shot to make first impression as you unleash it into the world! You’re working beneath totally different parameters this time round – did you’re feeling a stress in any respect heading again into the studio to write down and document new materials?
Are you aware what… we didn’t, and I feel that’s as a result of we actually consider in ourselves, and we’re stable by way of figuring out who we’re as a band, so the one stress we ever actually really feel, is the stress we placed on ourselves. Can we really feel any exterior pressures? Probably not. Although I’ll say, since we’ve grow to be a bit extra established, we discover there are much more opinions, and folks, wanting to present us suggestions (laughs). That isn’t essentially a foul factor, it could truly be actually optimistic and useful, however I feel it’s necessary that we by no means enable the opinions of others to affect who we’re, or the music we wish to make.
Did you’ve got a particular imaginative and prescient for the kind of album you wished to make?
I’m unsure we had a set imaginative and prescient or something, however as a band I’d say we had been all fairly adamant that something we recorded needed to be a step up from’ I Marvel If The World Is aware of?’ and I feel we’ve undoubtedly achieved that, I actually do – I can’t let you know how a lot all of us love this new album! There are specific songs on there which might be simply unreal, and we genuinely can’t await individuals to listen to what we’ve been engaged on. I suppose from a private perspective, as a songwriter, I feel I’ve gotten loads higher at expressing myself, and I’ve a significantly better understanding now of how one can articulate how I’m feeling by music if that is sensible? So once more, it was nearly ensuring the which means and the sentiment of the songs got here by.
The extent of success you’ve skilled so far can change issues… whether or not or not it’s the individuals round you, your life-style, relationships, the power to encourage / affect others. We marvel although, does success in any method change the methods wherein you’re employed creatively? And do you end up feeling extra assured to push boundaries in consequence?
I wouldn’t say we’ve actually modified how we work within the studio, however we undoubtedly had extra confidence in our talents. I feel anytime you’re feeling supported by individuals, and you may see first hand that they’re having fun with what you’re doing, you’ll be able to’t assist however really feel boosted by that. When you end up feeling happier and extra assured as an individual, I feel you naturally simply grow to be braver! So for us as a band, and from a inventive viewpoint, due to the help we’ve had, we’ve felt extra impressed to discover and experiment with totally different kinds and sounds… however nothing too on the market, we nonetheless sound very very similar to The Okay’s.
What does the help of your followers imply to you?
It means every part to us, and we couldn’t be extra grateful for the help individuals have given us! The suggestions and response we get from followers on-line is totally mint, and the way in which they present up for us at our reveals is loopy, and I promise you, we don’t take any of it without any consideration! It appears like we’re in a very good place in the meanwhile, our viewers is consistently rising, and due to that we’ve grow to be much more excited and enthusiastic about what we do as a result of we see how our music is resonating with individuals.
As your viewers continues to develop, how would you say your relationship along with your bandmates has developed?
This band is our life! And it’s tough to think about us all not being collectively. We actually are like brothers, and I do know individuals in bands say that on a regular basis, however in our case it truly is true. I completely adore the boys! Anyone who is aware of us is aware of how shut we’re, and the way a lot love we’ve bought for one another. My life could be garbage if it weren’t for the opposite lads, it actually would.
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