HEAVY WAVES Interview

Heavy Waves is the brain-child of one man bedroom-band Luke Morgan. Secret Admirer caught up with Luke just before he played his first ever live show.

Interview Date: 9/04/2012
Interview Location: The Rainbow, Birmingham
Vibe Report: Informative

How did the band start up?

I came to Uni and wanted to make music and I used to be a drummer so it’s kind of hard for me to make music. So I just picked up a guitar and started writing tunes and wrote one that we are going to play tonight. I kind of thought that I really wanted to play it live because there was a bit of interest in the recording I put up. So I asked the other two if they wanted to play in my band and it started from there.

Who else is in the band with you now?

Ed Taylor and Matt Tucker, I found them because they do my course at Uni. I found them online; which is a pretty weird way to find your band mates.

Like online dating? It does work!

It’s a bit weird.

You didn’t try the method of putting up posters around Uni requesting drummer and guitarist for awesome, shiny new band?

That’s old school man! Not interested in that.

So you are very much a band of the future then.

Yeah!

What’s the idea behind your name Heavy Waves?

I had a few ideas and words and I kind of liked the sound of the sea, ocean kind of theme. We thought that was kind of going somewhere. And the first song was called ‘Tides’. So it’s all a nautical kind of theme. So we just went along bouncing around a few words and it just came out as Heavy Waves.

Is that what inspires you then, the beach and stuff like that?

Yeah.

Do you go to the beach a lot to write?

No. Do I fuck! (Laughs) It’s the fake-beach-rocker scene in Birmingham isn’t it? I’m just jumping on the bang-wagon a bit. I’d like to think we are a bit different, as you’ll hear tonight hopefully.

Are you a fan of any of the bands in Birmingham then?

The first week I got here, you were there actually! You were there. It was that gig: Troumaca, Peace and Swim Deep. All on the same night. That was the first week I got here, went there and then…

It blew your mind!

Yeah, fucking blew my mind. And then Harry from Peace came up to me and was like: ‘You’re the guy from Physics’ and I worship them at Uni and that was a huge moment for me. Like, the first week I’m here and I meet my favourite band. Real big fans of them guys.

Do you have any more shows coming up?

We’ve got a gig in London on the 2^nd May. With a few people that have been touted as being next big things. So that’s alright.

Who are you playing with?

Splashh.

With two H’s?

Yeah, they were in NME the other week. They are pretty touted and Best Friends. Who are really good. Me and Ed sent each other Youtube videos of the kind of music we liked and Best Friends was one of them. And we are gigging with them on our second gig so I feel like it’s going to be good.

Do you feel like part of a scene in Birmingham?

I don’t know yet. This is our first gig so…

Early days!

We’ve recorded an EP the other week and I just want to see how that goes down really. Then we’ll see how it works out.

What’s the reaction to your demos been like on the Internet?

It’s been really good, yeah. Quite a few people interested in us. We are being touted as a pretty big band already and we haven’t played a gig or released any music yet. I’ve got like a few demos and stuff out, stuff that I’ve done by myself in my bedroom on Logic. Nothing else, nothing real but we’ve been touted as a big up and coming thing which is really great.

Is that how you write songs then? In your bedroom?

Yeah, literally. I have insomnia, so I’m up until 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the morning and it kind of just takes my mind of things: writing music. I’m not happy unless I write a song a day.

How many demos have you got so far?

I’ve got about 30 tracks. Some of them are just a few guitar riffs and some drum ideas and stuff but some of them are like full formed songs and we haven’t done anything with them yet.

Some people wake up in the middle of the night with an idea but you are already awake!

I’m actually up already. (Laughs) I have a stupid sleeping pattern, I stay up. Like last night I was up until six o’clock in the morning and then I fell asleep from like six till ten in the morning and that’s how I work.

It’s kind of a blessing in a way, this insomnia, it gives you inspiration!

I’m like a fucking owl. Everyone takes the piss out of me saying that I’m never in Uni because I’m asleep during Uni and awake at night. Half the winter, I didn’t see the sun!

That’s crazy! So, is that why you write songs about it? Because you miss the sun?

Yeah man, deffo.

What kind of bands are you inspired by? What kind of music do you like?

I don’t know mate. It’s kind of a lot of things. Like when I was in my other band with my brother, who is here, Physics. We were inspired by The Maccabees, Foals, just straight-up indie stuff then I got to Uni and I kind of started listening to different stuff. I wanted to change what I wanted to do. I started listening to stuff like Bleeding Knees Club, Wavves. Which is no coincidence that our band name is fairly similar to Wavves.

He’s got two V’s in it. Totally different!

Oh yeah, totally different. I really like the energy of that kind of music. It’s not about anything: there’s no deep meanings. It’s just like: “teenage girls, you’re my world”. That’s a Bleeding Knees Club lyric.

Nice and simple.

Yeah and that’s how I like to do it.

Just get the message across.

Yeah, I like to think we do that as well. It’s just straight to the point and I like that.

Is your other band Physics still going?

Nah. We’ve got a gig in Summer at Non Stop Festival in Worcester but that’s just like a reunion gig. But I really want to get this Heavy Waves EP out because it sounds amazing and I think it’s really going to shock people. We are playing all the songs off it tonight.

How are you as a leader of the band? Are you a bit of a diva with the other guys?

I’ve only been on stage once and sung before and that was at a college thing. It was full of old people. I was singing Arctic Monkeys and it didn’t go down too well with all the old people. So this is the first time I have ever been a front man. Playing bass as well. It’s hard because I have only ever played drums before. Should be interesting.

Cool man! Cheers for your time.

Thank you very much.

Photography by Jack Parker

http://soundcloud.com/heavywaves