W: Erin Daly. I: Holly Rebecca
A few weeks ago, ASBO magazine had the pleasure of sitting down with indie band The Slates to chat about their summer of music. Comprising of three Yorkshire-born lads - Louis, Joe and Jude - The Slates describe their music as energetic, groovy and oozing with passion. Their music is quintessentially indie, taking inspiration from the likes of The Stone Roses, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Catfish and the Bottlemen. Though, upon exploring the genre over the past year, they’ve found home in the groovy lane of indie rock.
Their latest single ‘Calling Up’ is exactly that. The groovy tune is composed of youthful guitar notes, effervescent drums and charismatic vocals. Since its release last month, it’s already earned itself an impressive 22,000 streams on Spotify alone. It’s the kind of tune that has you dancing from the get-go. Though ‘Calling Up’ is uniquely duplicitous, under its bubbly persona, are meaningful lyrics drawn from the feelings that arise with not fitting in. The “summertime sadness” aura, yet buoyant tones, are what make it the perfect coming-of-age summer tune.
The Slates recall how much they enjoyed writing the track. They explain how it just clicked and wrote it straight from the heart. After persisting through some challenges around recording backing vocals, figuring out the correct sequences and communicating with the mixing guys, everything fell into place with the tune’s climax and close. The result was an upbeat and catchy song that was fun to play and perfect upon rehearsal. It’s a song you can tell they are utterly proud of, and talking about it was the real highlight of our chat.
‘Calling Up’ is the first release under This Feeling Records, and differs a lot from their earlier tunes. Three Years on from their first EP, ‘u wot’, and its following single ‘What Have You Done?’, their growth in music is evident. They explain how now, they’re tighter as a band and their maturity has not only improved their writing, but also made the process of production faster; in short, things click better.
They tell me about how their plans for the rest of the year are to lock in - in between playing festivals, they’re working towards their goals of making good, memorable music, and also exploring the avenue of making their own merch.For The Slates, festival season is the highlight of their year. One of their fondest festival memories was TRUCK festival 2024 - beaming with pride that their set had a bigger turnout than they’d initially expected.
At the time of our conversation, they’d just returned from a weekend at the Isle of Wight festival, where they’d had the opportunity to perform and share their music with some of the industry’s most avid. They describe how the weekend. exceeded their expectations: they were buzzing to hear people sing along to their songs, and even more thrilled that their dressing room had a mini fridge!
Though many music artists would get complacent after playing a festival like the Isle of Wight, The Slates are only just beginning. The day after our conversation took place, they were preparing to head to London for a show at The Water Rats, not to mention the shows they’ve got planned through August and onwards. Their love and passion for performing is incredibly refreshing to see. To them, it’s not a chore; it’s simply an adventure with your best mates, a lad’s holiday if you like. It’s this mindset, coupled with their show day routines of warming up their vocals, playing Free From Desire before they take the stage and rewarding themselves with takeaway chicken burgers afterwards, that will take them to their dream stage - Leeds. Coming from the North, they explain how Leeds festival was where they learnt the trade and hope that one day they’ll be privileged enough to share their music with the crowds there too. It’s not just Leeds festival either. Like any indie band, they would kill to open for the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, or even just reach a level where people perform covers of their songs and remix their tunes.
Despite being in the early stages of their career, The Slates have been fortunate enough to experience their fair share of pinch-me moments, from reaching 22,000 monthly listeners to playing packed-out shows to being invited to an exclusive party with The Kooks, and I am certain there will be plenty more of these moments to come for The Slates’ boys.
Check out The Slates' music here, and don’t forget to stream their latest single ‘Calling Up’.