Band Of The Week #0088 - Lakes
This weeks Band of the Week is Watford’s alternative rockers Lakes, who has just released their album ‘Constance LP’ via Friend of Mine Records. The band took a moment to talk to us about the release.
You are based in Watford, what is the city famous for and where are your favourite places to hang out?
The town of Watford is probably most famous for Ginger Spice, Vinnie Jones and Nick Leeson - the guy who bought down Barings Bank but to us it's the incredible achievements of alternative bands from here. The scene we grew up in spawned the likes of Sikth, Gallows, Lower Than Atlantis, Nervus and a whole load of other awesome banda.
Favourite place to hang out is definitely The LP Cafe - the coolest record and coffee shop in town which is also the hub of the local music scene (like putting out our record for instance!).
The album is called ‘Constance’, what is the meaning behind that? What inspired it?
It's called "Constance LP". I started naming all these demos I was writing after Lakes just as a way to remember them rather than " new riff 3" or something (I'm also obsessed with travel and geography and place names). The names stuck, we called the band Lakes and just kept that naming convention going!
Where was the album recorded? Any behind the scenes stories?
The whole album was recorded at home with 95% of it using one mic and a PC. That is no joke. We couldn't afford a studio and also the process was taking so long that hiring a studio for a week wouldn't have really worked. It took approximately a year to write and then a year to record. Luckily our friend Hyper Lion took those somewhat average recordings and mixed and mastered it all into an incredible sounding record. And we are so grateful for that! I mean one of the vocal parts was actually recorded as a WhatsApp voice note!
What would you say was the main theme behind the tracks on the album?
Roberto wrote the lyrics so is taking this one:
Sometimes it’s easy to pretend you’re ok, when really your not. This record has been like therapy, and bookends a really difficult time in my life; from the stress of unemployment, to being in a psychologically abusive relationship; from dealing with depression, to self-medicating with far too much weed, on top of anti-depressants. It was a lot at once, and at times a lonely place, all disguised by social media posts and smiles. Matt came to me with his acoustic demos at the right time. I had a lot to write about, but more so than confronting the rawness, the main theme I take comfort from is being honest with yourself and to trust your gut, because it’s usually right.
You have quite the DIY attitude as a band, do you feel it keeps you more grounded as a group? And that more and more bands these days are going down the DIY route?
I'm not sure more bands are going DIY these days, I think back to all the incredible local bands I grew up with back in the day, but I think the internet helps them reach a wider audience now. I mean our connection to Friend of Mine Records in Japan is the coolest thing ever and that is only because of the internet allowing you to build these relationships. I love DIY though, I love organising really cool small local shows in strange places like breweries and cafes and stuff.
Now the album is out there, what next? What are your plans for the next few months?
We're booking a tour for the autumn so that's next and we're really excited to travel further afield and meet loads of new people. We also can't wait to start writing again! These songs have been around for a long time to us and we're definitely ready to start creating something new. Still waiting for that American Football support slot to come in too...always waiting.