Hey! The Answering Machine
When Hey! Manchester first heard about the Answering Machine, a local three-piece drawing comparisons to the Postal Service and featuring Mustafa ‘the drum machine’ Beat, we immediately thought ‘Excellent!’ And we promptly booked them to support Band of Horses at Music Box.
Plenty of positive publicity led to them playing at SXSW, D-Percussion and even Ibiza Rocks. They’ve since gained a new member – Ben Perry on drums – and have been away recording their debut long-player Another City, Another Story with Manic Street Preachers’ producer Dave Eringa. Here’s the title track from that album, which is out on Heist or Hit Records in May, and a q&a with the band.
You’ve been the subject of some hype. Have you felt under pressure to deliver an album that lives up to it?
To be honest, the best thing we did was to withdraw from the hype. We didn’t feel that we needed that kind of pressure upon ourselves, especially for a debut album, when we have so much to prove. It’s not healthy for a band to ever feel pressure from anything or anyone outside of the songwriters. We then steadily built up a strong clutch of songs, surrounded ourselves with a great team, signed to a brilliant new indie label, and did exactly what we wanted and needed to do.
And how happy are you with the end result?
Because of the freedom we experienced, we were able to take inspiration from a wider horizon and think outside of the box. We feel that the album delivers a strong message about where we are at this point in time. We’re also incredibly happy with the impact that Dave has had on the sound. He’s very experimental with recording techniques, and was very keen to keep the energy and live sound to the songs. So we literally plugged in and played, the four of us together, taking live recordings of all the songs.
Why did you feel that you needed to expand with a drummer?
We’d taken it as far as we could with our drum machine – it just wasn’t cutting through at shows anymore. In the early days, when we struggled to find a drummer, the machine allowed us to get on with things, playing gigs and demoing our songs. It was always our intention to get a real drummer. But clearly the drum machine changed the way we wrote those early songs, so we have kept it as a key feature on the album, and it appears on quite a few tracks.
And how’s the chemistry been between Ben and Mustafa?
Mustafa has taken Ben under his wing, teaching him all the songs, and all the preset demos. To be honest, Mustafa was always too good for the Answering Machine. His heart lies in free jazz.
Which has been your favourite show in Manchester, and why?
Not our best performance, but one of our personal favourites was D-Percussion 2007. It was the first gig we ever played with Ben on drums. We’d been practising with him for about two weeks and thought we’d try it out at a small show in front of a few people. But the only two gigs we had booked at the time were D-Percussion and Ibiza Rocks. So we just threw ourselves into it, and played to a massive crowd. The reception was fantastic too. Then we went Ibiza to celebrate.
Finally, which other Manchester bands should we be listening to right now?
I’m still listening to Polytechnic practically every day, even though they split up a while ago. They were an incredible band, and really helped us out in our early days. One new band to look out for is Dutch Uncles. They are fresh and exciting, and are just doing their own thing. Also check out Airship and Young British Artists.
The Answering Machine‘s new single, Clipper, is out on 9 March. The day after, the band play at the Ruby Lounge with Flashguns and Casiokids.
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Tags:
band of horses • mustafa beat • postal service • the answering machine
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