WILL AND THE PEOPLE – RELEASE FRIENDS ALBUM 12TH OCTOBER

Shane | 8 October 2012 | Reply

Since WILL AND THE PEOPLE were last in Australia (March 2012), they have had a very eventful year. The DIY outfit have continued to sell-out headline shows in the UK and Holland, whilst maintaining their ever-growing Festival cult status with recent appearances at Secret Garden Party, Beach Break Live and Green Man in the UK.

They’ve been blowing up in the Netherlands and headlining a big chunk of the major festivals there on the back of a Top 10 Chart Hit. Recent sell-out shows in the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht lead to appearances at Lowlands (for a triumphant headline gig aside the Black Keys), and a headline slot at Holland’s biggest free festival Appelpop in front of 40, 000 people.

Now Will And The Peoples second album Friends arrives. It was recorded in their barn in Berkshire, UK. The band filled the 17th Century barn with an array of hired outboard studio equipment and recorded all 12 tracks in a week.

Commented singer songwriter Will Rendle; “We thought we needed to get our live sound down so that was how we started recording. After we had done a week in the barn we went to Fishmarket studios in London to mix it, and we also recorded a few tracks completely live; Yellow and Lifeline which were recorded live onto half inch tape to retain an old warm feel. To be honest this record feels like our first, in that its the first time we have managed to capture our real sound,” he continued.

With 12 songs on the album, it takes you from knees-up ska (Holiday) to the sexy chilled reggae love of Sensimilla, to a more psychedelic and progressive sound seen in title track Friends, Masterpiece and the ever so eccentric Dreamer.

Songs like Birds and Cape Town Blues happily meander through heavy chilled reggae and 4-to-the-floor house; like the two styles were created by the same people. In short, Friends is a far more progressive record and Will And The People obviously aren’t following a simple formula.”

“This band and this record are fresh as f*ck,” commented Rendle.

You can see WILL AND THE PEOPLE all through the first half of the Australian Summer, with appearances on Mullum Music and Peats Ridge Festivals, in between headline shows down the East Coast. More dates and Festival appearances to be announced.

FRIENDS is released Friday, 12th October on Baggy Trousers Music / MGM