I have been joined by Ellis and Thom from the band H.U.M.A.N who have answered some questions about their band so you can find out more about them!
Welcome to Totally Music would you like to introduce yourself?
Hi, we are Ellis and Thom from Manchester New Wave Indie Band H.U.M.A.N”
How did you meet and decide to make music together?
Myself and Thom met each other around ten years ago while we were playing together in a different band. We lost touch for a while, but the idea of H.U.M.A.N brought us back together. We then gathered together the rest of the lads and we were off.
How did you come up with the name H.U.M.A.N?
The name of the band comes from a culmination of things really. We wanted the name to be bold and memorable, but to also house within it everything that our music is about. We write music that comes from all kinds of places and emotions. We right songs about the human experience. The highs ands lows of life and the growth that comes with it.
What is your favourite song you have written and why?
I think our favourite song right now is a track called Hey! Which will be released later in 2023 but is in or live set right now. It’s such a snappy, fun song to play that it’s pretty easy to see how much we love it while onstage.
If you could choose one set of lyrics from one of your songs that mean the most to you what would you choose and why?
Oooh that’s a good one. I think it would probably have to come from our last single The Backwall. The tracks opening line is “it takes some time to figure out, how your going to live your life now, while your standing in an empty crowd.” It basically refers to that moment in life where you experience big change, and the loneliness which can follow. The song is about the transition that soldiers face when leaving the forces and the bumps in the road .
What was the most memorable show or tour you ever played?
This would have to be a festival we played in North Wales late summer 2022. We turned up to an overflowing car park and the sounds of a huge crowd. As we made our way to the stage we were told that 6,500 people made up that crowd. Pretty safe to say that made electricity run down our spines. We took to the stage and it was amazing! The crowd had a great time, we had a great time, and we’re really looking forward to this years festival season.
What was the most difficult obstacle your band has ever faced and how did you overcome it?
Lockdown! Without a shadow of doubt. We started the band just as covid hit and it just made the process so much harder. I (Ellis) live in North Wales and Thom lives in Preston so not being able to travel was tricky. But we found our flow and soon enough figured out how to write and record from home and remotely. It was a blessing in disguise as it enabled us to work on our recording and producing skills and we still do our own recording and producing today.
Who are some of your musical influences – and how do they figure into your sound or songwriting approach?
Wow, there are a lot! But there are certainly some main ones. Firstly Phil Collins is a big one. Our track Paradise really shows this, and there are more tracks coming this year that will show more of that side to the band. We take a lot of influence from the likes of A Flock of Seagulls and U2, using that delayed guitar to really build into different sections of songs. There’s also the side of us which is influenced by bands such as The Cure and Gary Newman. The darker, synthy side to H.U.M.A.N.
Do you have any rituals before a gig? If so, what are they?
Rituals before gigs, hmmm. We’ll usually get to a venue late afternoon and unload the gear, then either sound check or wait for a while until it’s our turn. This is where we do vocal warm ups and have a beer. We tend to get quite fidgety and eager to get on stage at this point so I’ll usually start jumping round and have a cheeky little stretch. Then it’ll be stage time so we’ll head on stage just as Jamie turns up to the venue. That’s become a ritual of its own now haha.
What’s next for you?
Next up for the band will be the release of our next single “Mondaze”. We also have a couple of Manchester gigs in February and April. Our last show in Manchester was in December for This Feeling and we had an amazing night so we’ll hopefully get some more shows with those guys this year.
If you would like to check out 'H.U.M.A.N's' Music you can find all their social media here:
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