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The London outfit talk origins, working with Skydaddy’s Bathroom Sounds label and the story behind their first release. |
New on the scene, folk infused alt-rock outfit Meaner Loy delivered an almighty performance at the Social to launch their debut single ‘Stonehenge’, released via the Skydaddy-run Bathtime Sounds label. Their style is meticulously layered through a dizzying array of guitars, synths, syncopations, and all manner of other musical flourishes that left a lasting impression on all who bore witness. We caught the band post-gig to talk origins, core influences and the journey towards the single release. Meaner Loy is Joe Osborne (Guitar and Vocals), Jacob Benfield (Guitar), Henry Thompson (Bass), Arun Thava (Guitar), James Allen (Keyboards) and Ali Horler (Drums). |
To start off with some basic questions, how did you guys come together as a band? |
Joe: I met Jacob, my guitarist, on the first day of university, and he was playing obnoxiously loud music from a flat underneath me. But it was generally stuff I liked. It was a flowering friendship and now we’re housemates. Henry – our friend Skydaddy [aka Rachid Fakhre] found him outside a Cameron Winter gig he was supporting and said he was pretty good-looking and played bass. |
Ali: I met Joe at The George Tavern, great taste in music and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be in your band’. |
Ali: He was one of our Guildhall graduates, we harvest them. |
Joe: There have been so many members of this band and it’s been limping along for so long. Initially a lot of the band members were older and in a lot of different bands. We decided to go to music college and get someone younger and more available. |
Arun: I’m young and available. And the best, apparently. |
Where did the name Meaner Loy come from? |
Joe: Mina Loy is a poet from the early- to mid-twentieth century, I liked her a lot years ago. We used to be called Animal Soup, a name I came up with when I was 15. Then the label said there was a small group of people making Mario Kart covers in America called Animal Soup. |
Your single ‘Stonehenge’ is out today, what was the inspiration for that song? |
Joe: I’m a studio engineer. I was in the studio the day of Denmark vs England in the Euros a few years ago. The studio owner put it on the projector in the studio and left at half time. I was looking at my phone and seeing friends at Stonehenge, doing more interesting things with their day. It’s about being bored and fed up with London. |
Ali: We’re not affiliated with stonehenge.org, you know, Big Stonehenge, not affiliated with them. They’ve already sent us a cease and desist. |
Afraid of any ancient curses? |
Ali: Weirdly we’re into those kind of curses. |
Okay, brutally, rate your set out of ten today. |
Jacob: I’m gonna say and 8. A healthy 8. |
Am I right in thinking I heard PlayStation noises mid set? |
Joe: Yes! That was James [the band’s keyboardist who also opened the night with a solo set as Horn Player]. I met him recording his album, it was one of the best things I’ve worked on in my life. I think it’s [due to] come out The Bird records – that might be an exclusive. |
Ali: He adds so much to our chaotic big rock thing. James brings a lot of subtlety and foundation to our big rock sound. |
If there were three core influences, guiding lights for the band, what would they be? |
Ali: Barry fucking Manilow. |
Arun: Cindy Lee, ‘Diamond Jubilee’. I listened to it all today. |
How did the collaboration between you and Bathtime Sounds begin? |
Ali: I’ve known Rachid for fifteen years, we met in Bristol at uni together. The whole thing is about giving artists opportunities. Usually all-dayers at the George Tavern, but also this label thing. It’s really cool that he’s down to put Meaner Loy out through Bathtime Sounds. |
The instrumentation on the single is vast, you even mentioned it’s difficult to replicate live… |
Joe: It’s mainly because my parts are played by someone else… |
How was the recording process? |
Joe: It started with the original lineup of the band, we knew we were too busy to keep on playing together, but we had got this song to a good place. Nothing really happened for a year or so, I was trying to rope in a new band to play live and start gigging. I worked a lot with Mike O’Malley from caroline, on stuff like My New Band Believe and various other bits. We kinda knocked it into shape, Jacob and Arun came in for a day of insane overdubs, Ali came in, I was just recording it at the studio I work at. The recording took over a year and a half of different people and things. Having two drummers on it is quite gratuitous. |
Okay to finish off, apart from Stonehenge, what is your favourite historical monument? |
Joe: The Emirates stadium. |
Arun: I love the thing in the middle of Seven Dials. At Christmas it’s magical, but whenever I go there something really good happens, it feels important. |
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