What is a Ten Eighty Tree?
Or, more to the point, who are Ten Eighty Trees? Well, they are a three-piece band from Newcastle upon Tyne. I first heard them supporting the mighty Dunes at Think Tank where I was floored by them. A band so early into their career has no right to sound that good! It was a mixture of Biffy Clyro, the sound of The Wildhearts and a little piece of Freddie Mercury flamboyance. They have been wooing people up and down the north of England, creating a large amount of hype all of their own doing.
Their last single, “Lip Service” is one of the best songs of 2018.
Seriously, it has a riff and drop that will stick in your mind for days. Don’t believe me? Check out this video!
Now, the band has to follow up that gigantic moment with something that is equally attention-grabbing. But how should they do this? As a new act, they don’t want to release all their gems too quickly. But they’ll know themselves which tracks receive the best reactions. It’s a fine line that they are currently treading, one which is so easy to slip from. I was lucky enough to have Nathan Newton from Ten Eighty Trees agree to an interview.
B.G.M.: Firstly, for people who are not overly familiar with Ten Eighty Trees, how did you get together?
NN: The band was actually born out of necessity more than anything. A band of mine I was in was forced to pull out of a gig on St. Paddy’s Day that I had organized. Struggling to fill the now vacant slot at such short notice, I decided to see whether it would be possible to bring some people in to play some leftover songs I had been working on.
Knowing Michael as a solid energetic drummer from our days at Uni, I asked him if he’d be up for doing the show and if he knew any bassists. That was essentially how I was introduced to Lewis. Three quick rehearsals and a short five-song set later and Ten Eighty Trees came into being. The energy from creating and performing music together just felt so intense and liberating. It quickly became apparent we were on to a winner with the band.
The standard question here – who have been the biggest influences on Ten Eighty Trees?
NN: That’s a very board question haha!
Our influences are so wide-reaching as individuals let alone as a band. I’d say, sonically, I’ve never really been able to shake the sound of those first three Foo Fighters records from my aural pallet. That sugar rush you get from those big guitar parts and intense and melodic vocals have definitely informed my style of writing from excessive listening in my formative years.
A less apparent influence would likely be an act such as Thee Oh Sees. I find John Dwyer’s ability to maintain such a level of creativity and eclecticism whilst being so prolific is truly inspiring. We definitely attempt to maintain the stylistic traits synonymous with Ten Eighty Trees whilst toying with what can be adjusted around those sounds, much like that of Thee Oh Sees writing style.
I mentioned this in my other interview with you guys on my other blog, but it’s such a great story in my mind that I wanted to post it again. The first time I saw you live was supporting Dunes at Think Tank in Newcastle. I was standing next to Ade’s from Dunes and we were both gobsmacked. His response (and I quote) was “Jesus, these guys are good”. So, it’s fair to say your live shows are punchy. How much pressure do you guys have when you go on stage?
Those lads in Dunes flatter us something rotten!
I think the reason our shows pack such a punch is down to just how relaxed we tend to be before we go on. We’ve all gigged for long enough to be aware of the pitfalls associated with the experience and know that you just have to ride that wave sometimes and take everything as it comes. I think if we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform a certain way or be void of imperfections the whole show would suffer as a result.
We all know what is expected of each other and thrive off each other’s professionalism. I think knowing you’re part of a band like that who are all pulling in the same direction really takes a lot of the pressure off.
Looking at the people you’ve supported, I must congratulate you on a very impressive list (with the likes of We Are Scientists and The Virginmarys standing out). When you support touring bands, is there any difference to how you approach the gig? Also, what has been your best show to date?
Ah thanks, it still feels pretty surreal to have played with some of these bands especially given a lot of them we grew up listening to. When it comes to supporting other bands, we might perhaps play a slightly heavier or more melodic set depending on who we’re playing with. However, that normally only involves swapping out one/two songs if that.
We want to give as much of an honest account of ourselves as possible.
We want to do this without too much compromise. I know when I go to gigs I don’t expect the support acts to sound like carbon copies of the headline act and I think we try to carry that mentality over into how we approach supporting other bands. We always go in assuming we’ve been booked because they want Ten Eighty Trees and not some band that’s going to tailor themselves to a certain audience. Obviously, we are going to drop the 7-minute psych grunge epic for the gig supporting an Indie band. However, we try to keep our set as true a representation of ourselves as possible.
In terms of the best shows we’ve played, we are kind of hoping that the two shows we have coming up at Newcastle Think Tank and Sheffield Café Totem on 20th/21st April respectively will be our biggest watershed moments to date. (B.G.M. – I’m pleased to report that both gigs went off well). These are the biggest shows we’ve headlined and the momentum we’ve built in the lead-up has us optimistic that these could be some real Ten Eighty moments.
You have played a fair few shows around the UK. Any chance of touring further afield at the moment?
We would love to. Perhaps nearer the end of the year as we’re mainly focusing on the festival season for now with slots at Hit The North and Tramlines among others confirmed for the summer.
We’re the kind of band that’ll go wherever the music takes us.
If there’s an audience for Ten Eighty Trees somewhere, the likelihood is we’ll be striving to get a gig or two there.
What I like about Ten Eighty Trees is the noise behind your music. Everything seems to be turned up to ten. Also, the three-piece rock band seems to be making a big return too. Was this a conscious choice to go in the three-piece direction?
The idea of a three-piece band has always appealed to me, aesthetically as well as sonically. I always found the on-stage minimalism of bands like early Biffy Clyro, The Police, and Reuben very pleasing on the eye, especially when juxtaposed with the huge expansive sounds emanated.
Since forming my first band in my early teens, I’ve never actually been in a band that wasn’t a three-piece.
There is just something so pleasing about three people really going for it on stage and creating a proper racket. The feeling of making music in this manner still gives me a real buzz.
“Casual Habits” is the follow up to your last single, “Lip Service”. To be fair, there was a lot of competition there, as “Lip Service” is my current favourite tune of 2018. You went for a different direction, a little lighter, but still with a massive hook in the chorus. What is the story behind “Casual Habits”?
It was actually written before “Lip Service.” Just took a little longer to perfect. It first came into being in a cramped Sheffield bedsit and I think the anxious lyrical content mirrors those living conditions. The song generally concerns questioning whether you have the strength to break free from the most damaging traits of your personality.
I definitely think feeling trapped by my surroundings influenced these lyrical themes.
Musically, I wanted to contrast these more gloomy themes with music that was more hopeful and optimistic, hinting that the protagonist portrayed in the song could potentially reach some form of redemption. The bold, grandiose music of “Casual Habits” almost came to represent the more wide open expansive surroundings I desired to be, away from the constricted environment I found myself.
“Casual Habits” is now your fifth single, and that means you have enough to make a compilation EP. Are there any future plans which you can tell us?
We have pondered the possibility of doing an EP in the past, however, we want such a body of work to have as big an impact as possible upon release and feel this is still a little way off in the future. We have a couple of surprises planned for the next few months but we’re keeping our cards close to our chests as far as those are concerned. I guess that gives you a reason to interview us again at a later date. Hahaha!
Ten Eighty Trees are currently a highlight on the North East of England’s music scene.
This is a pretty big achievement. Truly, we are blessed in the North East of the UK, when you consider the varied amount of acts up here. They’re in demand as a support act. They’re starting to branch out and headline bigger shows (the one at Think Tank Underground was brilliant). All of this comes from their own graft and Deity/God-given talent. You can sometimes ride your luck in this game, these guys are the opposite of that. Ten Eighty Trees are coming on leaps and bounds with each release, so the anticipation was high with this one.
“Casual Habits” (as mentioned before) has put Ten Eighty Trees in an unenvious position.
As the following up “Lip Service”, the band had their work cut out. “Lip Service” felt like hearing a band capturing their zeitgeist in a bottle. They gave it a damn good shake, then released it for shits and giggles. It had a powerful effect on me, one which I still get when I listen to the track.
“Casual Habits” is a slightly different beast, which I’m glad about. Let’s face it if a band releases the same single over and over again, it gets very repetitive and boring. If “Lip Service” is the equivalent of a natural spectacular, “Casual Habits” is the feeling of walking away afterward. There is a gentler side to the band, but not at the expense of energy or style. It keeps up their momentum, giving them a little more energy and something else for their ever-expanding arsenal of tunes.