Durham band Edenthorn have just released their second album Exist. Mick Burgess chats to the band

How long have you been playing music?

We've all being playing music for a long time, especially me and Dylan. We have been playing since we were kids. I originally sang in a band with my sister before I played bass. We could never get a bass player, so I asked my Mam and Dad to buy me a guitar and I would learn it. I'm learning all the time and challenging myself to become a better player; I went onto YouTube recently to look at the top ten most difficult bass lines and tried to do YYZ by Rush, but that was pretty tricky, but I'm determined to crack it.

Did you know each other before you formed Edenthorn?

We were in different bands and at one-point Kyle and Mark were in a band together and Fabia joined on keyboards. A couple of us were in a band called Hostage and also a cover band with other members, so between a few bands we already had a connection and eventually we just wanted to take things further and decided to form a new band that became Edenthorn back in 2013.

When did you start work on your latest album Exist?

We started writing the songs two years ago and then recorded them over the last year or so. We tend to write loads of songs and then we whittle them down to the best ideas. We sometimes take good bits out of song we haven`t used and use them in a different song too.

Did you feel any second album syndrome where you have your whole life to write the first but only a few months to do the second?

Not really. The ideas came really quickly and easily. In fact, we've started jamming and writing the third album already. I think we've improved and grown as musicians and our relationships within the band have developed and that`s gone a long way in helping us in the writing process.

How do you go about writing the songs?

We jam ideas together and make rough demos and Kyle adds his lyrics and melodies to the music. At the last album launch Dylan was messing about and he did this guitar melody that I liked so much that I thought we should use it as the basis of a song and that became Power. That one is getting mentioned a lot so good job we made it into a song.

What about the lyrics? Where do they come from?

Kyle writes the lyrics and he really stepped up on this album. We had a really bad time last year when our Nana died and at least three songs are based on that. I think Kyle writes really good lyrics when he has something emotional to say.

Heart's Still Beating was released as a single ahead of the album. What's that song about?

It's a positive song about being alive so you should embrace that. It's one of the songs that people have picked up on and has got some radio play. People seem to really like that one. It has that summer anthem sound to me that you can play with your window down while driving along.

Where did you record the album?

We actually recorded the album in our house using ProTools. We did the drums at the In Heart Studio, in Newcastle. We still use amps during the recording process but the vocals and guitars don't need loads of room treatment but the drums needed to be done in a studio to get the acoustics right. I'd say it took 3 or 4 months to record the album.

What about touring plans. Have you got any shows lined up?

We hope to get out and play as much as we can. We've had radio play that has had a great response but we just need to get out there and play as many shows as we can before we do our own headline tour. We'd love to do a support slot for a good band to go out and play different places around the country. Hopefully, now that the album has just been released and with the radio airplay and great reviews we've been getting, we can build up our fanbase and play as many shows as we can to as many people as possible.

  • Edenthorn's new album Exist is out now.