Beat the Radar

Written for 4Q Magazine.

Beat the Radar were signed up to the Akoustik Anarkhy label after bumping into its cofounder, Noel Vazquez, in a toilet.
“He said, ‘I’ll come listen to you guys’,” says bass-player Rowan Smith, “we thought he was just going to ask us to play a pub night that he runs, but he wanted to sign us. It all happened pretty weirdly!”
Despite the strange start to this relationship, it seems to be going very well. The lads describe working with the label as an “honour”, and say that Akoustik Anarkhy’s encouragement made sure their first album was completed.
“They pinned us down and said ‘why don’t you finish the recordings whilst it’s still possible or else it’s gone forever’ - gave us more direction.
“It’s like having a fifth member who gives you a kick up the arse when you need it! I know it’s quite a weird thing to say but Akoustik Anarkhy has quite a family atmosphere ‘cause there’s just so many people come along and it’s the same faces, and bands that supported us we’re mates with.”
Beat the Radar started at the University of Lancaster, where Rowan and guitarist Laurie Hulme were studying. After deciding to form a group together, the guys started looking around for a singer to join them.
Laurie says, “we knew Johnny because he was in another band, and then one day Johnny says ‘I’ll try out with you guys’ and that was it.”
After spending a couple of months in America the group moved to Manchester in order to get themselves noticed. Later on their drummer left in order to live in London and after a search for a new member, Adam Featherstone stepped in to take his place.
“When we first started we had another guitarist, so it was a five-piece and we were more grungier and that,” Laurie says, “Adam’s drumming definitely brought a different kind of context to it, a lot more dancier at times.”
Adam admits that the music scene in Manchester surprised him because it was so different to that of Leeds, which he says was filled with cliques – making it hard for new talent to break through.
He says, ““I came from Leeds and I was living in Leeds for a while before I came here and it’s completely different from the Leeds music scene...Manchester is really really spread open and I couldn’t believe it when I first came because the music scene here is really really broad and friendly.
“I did a lot of work for a couple of well-known bands there and it was just like everyone that was anyone knew everyone and apart from that they didn’t want to know.
“Before I moved here my impression was that it was a bit dead and it was ten years too late and all the music had happened. But I think the best is about to happen, really. It’s not just a wait – it’s all happening now.”
Despite owing much of their influences to Mancunian groups such as The Stone Roses, The Smiths and The Chameleons, Beat the Radar describe their style as “very US indie, but as in the actual indie indie, rather than Fall Out Boy!”
Laurie adds “but I think Jonny brought a real back-to-British side as well.”
The group’s first single, ‘Telephone Conversation’, was played by Steve Lamacq on his Radio 1 show, ‘In New Music we Trust’. It has also been remixed by Spartak - a collaboration between Martyn Walsh, Inspiral Carpets and Ruthless Producer – who decided to work with the band after seeing them live.
Rather than releasing the track solely as a download, it was also brought out on a limited edition disc, with artwork by a friend of the band.
“To me that’s what independent music is all about – being a little bit different rather than just sticking it on download or whatever. We made a big thing about it.”
The launch of the album was another big step for the band, with a launch gig taking place at the Garden’s Hotel.
“We got friends’ bands to play and stuff and it was really good. It was really grand ‘cause everyone was there just having a good time.”
So far the band has only had one major problem – security at a festival they recently played.
“They were weird people, security,” they laugh.
Laurie says “we were supposed to play unplugged but we told them we could use this amp ‘cause I had to play a guitar solo. [We were given] this little matchbox-sized amp. In the end it was so quiet we ended up getting shot down.”
Later on at the same place, “we went out and bought like a 24 pack of beer and brought it in and the security came back and said ‘you can’t have that, you got to throw it out’ and then they came back and said ‘you can have it but you’ve got to put it in plastic cups’. So they had to put like a 24 pack of beer in these plastic cups...it looked like some sort of 18-year-old’s birthday party!”
The group have an album due out in November, and are set to release another single from it – ’18 19 20 21 22’ shortly.
“When the album’s out we might do a little tour or something,” they say.
Beat the Radar will be playing The Roadhouse with Optional Wallace on 18 September, at Cafe Saki on 3 October and at The Park Hotel in Lancaster on 10 October.
For more gig dates check out their Myspace page – www.myspace.com/beattheradar