'Paris Youth Foundation' is a Liverpool band comprising of singer and guitarist Kevin Potter, guitarists Tom Morris Jones & Jamie Hives, bassist Paul Bates and drummer Jonny Alderton. With a friendship that’s lasted since Kevin, Tom and Jonny met in school, bonding over music and the usual lads holiday to Greece at sixteen, and having played in bands around Liverpool, they decided to start something new, bringing in bassist Paul Bates and guitarist Jamie Hives through friends in the city’s vibrant music scene and from the performing arts school LIPA.
To say their start was meteoric is an understatement as Kevin explains, "You hear these kinds of stories when you're growing up like, 'Oh, we wrote one song and then we played Glastonbury'. And then it happens to you and in the space of two weeks you go from playing guitar in your bedroom to playing Reading and you're like wow, it does actually happen. In the space of about two weeks we went from having a song on Soundcloud – one song, no fans, no followers – to getting an email saying that they'd like us to play Reading and Leeds to getting a play on BBC Merseyside".
They had recorded their debut track 'If You Wanna / Losing Yor Love', a rush of melodic guitar, propeller drums and hook fuelled chorus, and posted it to Soundcloud where it was picked up by BBC Introducing in Merseyside presenter Dave Monks who put the band forward for Reading and Leeds. A week later 'Paris Youth Foundation' were being played next to Rihanna on daytime Radio 1.
Since their debut play by Radio 1's Huw Stephens, the band has been championed by Phil Taggart, Steve Lamacq, BBC Introducing, Abbie McCarthy, Alice Levine and John Kennedy. The band has gone on to play all the major new music festivals including Hit The North, Live At Leeds, The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City. Driven to make the most of their break, they took time to build the right team around themselves. In 2017 the NME said "Liverpool’s Paris Youth Foundation are fast on their way to joining that crop of young musicians ready to spearhead the British wave". They didn't stop throughout 2017, touring alongside Transgressive trio 'Blaenavon', Brighton’s indie rockers 'The Magic Gang', and hotly tipped grunge rockers 'INHEAVEN'. They've also toured and played alongside 'Vistas', 'The Sherlocks', 'The Xcerts' and 'The Night Café'.
Again Kevin said, "Dave Monks who heads up BBC Introducing in Merseyside, in particular, has helped us more than we could ever thank him for. He’s the reason us and many other Liverpool bands have been given the chance to have our music heard on a national level. We can’t speak highly enough of him and all involved in the BBC Introducing programme".
But when it comes to the songs, there’s a greater drive powering songwriter Kevin – heartbreak. 'The Off Button', released on Friday 4th May 2018 is a song that definitely carries on the 'Paris Youth Foundation' theme of heartache, breakups and late-night miss calls as was their last single 'London'. Kevin says, "I guess it’s something that I think we've all been through at one time so it always plays a huge part in my writing. No one wants to admit it, but you only have to look around on a night out and someone's texting an ex they shouldn't be. The songs I’m writing at the moment are love letters to this girl I don't get to see anymore, but is still managing to break my heart from two-hundred miles away."
The release of their track in 2019, 'Missing The Mark', saw a continuation of Kevin Potter's relationship tales after they had swapped 'heartbreak' for 'sexy' with the November 2018 release 'Jessica'. This new track is a dreamy indie anthem that you won’t be able to get out of your head. Full of mesmerising guitar hooks and compelling lyrics, the track describes the downfalls of falling in love and is the next instalment of the band's 'love letters compilation'. In 2020 'Late Night Lost Love' was released, recorded at Parr Street Studios with Courteeners producer Rich Turvey, which again guides you through the instant familiarity of tightly holding onto the remnants of a broken relationship before deciding to let go for good. Hopefully an album and tour will be forthcoming in 2021.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/10/pool-of-sound-hers.html
No comments:
Post a Comment