After the release of their latest killer single –Brother, I thought it would be good to chat to the four piece from Hartlepool about all things music. Read our conversation here:
Tell us a bit about the band? Where are you from? How did you meet?
We come from a little old town called Hartlepool in the North East of England. Beautiful place with a rich musical culture. Myself (Luke) and Sean went to school together and have always been jamming. We met Tom at a New Years eve party and it was not long after that we started playing with Dave. It’s been a blast so far.
Where does the name Leopard Rays come from?
So, i was in Florida a few years back and enjoying my time around some of the theme parks when i came to a Sting Ray pool on the day we went to SeaWorld and there was this massive fucking Sting Ray thing at the bottom of the pool. I noticed it was called a Leopard Whip-Ray. Kinda just came to me then and I made a mental note and when the band formed, that was it.
Have you played many shows before lockdown? How were they?
Oh god, yeah. I can’t remember fully but off the top of my head i think we have played like 50 maybe since the beginning.
You recently released your latest single Brother. Tell us a little about it?
This was the very first Leopard Rays song to get put on the table, I wrote it years back and it worked perfectly for us. It rarely left our set too , we love playing it. It’s one of them songs that we can really channel our energy, crowds seem to dig this one too!
Is this a hint at more songs on the way?
Absolutely, we have the release of our Debut EP which is coming later on in the summer. Got more music after that to which is ready to go.
Who produced this music? How was it working with them?
Chris McManus from Blank Studios in Newcastle Upon Tyne. A righteous dude and a real craftsman in the studio. We always worked with Chris and everytime its a pleasure.
How have you been keeping busy during lockdown?
The standard really, binge watching series’, gaming, baking, drinking. For the most part anyway. Been getting a lot of new songs demoed too and we have done a live stream or two.
Which artists are you currently listening to?
The Amazons, Tom Misch, Marketplace, Venus, R.E.M, Smashing Pumpkins.
Where can we find out more about you?
We are starting our own Podcast called “MIGHT AS FUCKING WELL” that’ll be available via our facebook and Instagram and hopefully Spotify too, you will see our true selves in that should you all decide to tune in.
Our website is a good place to start – https://www.musicglue.com/leopard-rays/
Anything you would like to tell us?
Stay safe, look after yourselves and others, it’s a weird time for us all.
I’d like to thank Luke for taking the time to answer my question and I want to wish him and the rest of the band all the best for the future. I hope to catch them at a show one day!
TrueStyleMusic 