Meet New Build. Made up from components of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, their first full album, "Yesterday Was Lived And Lost", was released on Monday on the band's own label. Before heading out to America and Europe to headline sold out shows the take to the road on a modest sized UK tour.
We caught up with Al Doyle earlier in the week ahead of the Leeds show. To read the interview click HERE.
We caught up with Al Doyle earlier in the week ahead of the Leeds show. To read the interview click HERE.
Having only
played five live shows prior to this tour, some may say that we could expect to
see a less than perfect performance by the super group. However, that was not
the case. After speaking to front man Al Doyle pre-performance he promised us,
firstly and foremost, “A lot of
people on a small stage”. He also disclosed that “it'll
be really loud, and tight. Our rhythm section is really on point.” And we
weren’t disappointed tonight here in Leeds . Al
Doyle (Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem), Felix Martin (Hot Chip) and Tom Hopkins,
aka, New Build were joined on stage by four more musicians and a plethora of
instruments including numerous drum kits and a steel drum. Al was correct when
he admitted the stage “looks pretty exciting before we even play a
note, there's so much going on.”
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| New Build on stage at Leeds Cockpit |
“Mercy” perfectly opened the set here tonight; its long
building intro working to incorporate each member on stage, giving the audience
time to take in their surroundings before the song fully kicked in. Each song
is different and catchier than the previous. “Medication”, a “shorter pop-y one”
Al admits, displays the impressive coming together of sounds and multi-layered harmonies
that New Build encapsulate. After listening to the album over the past few
days, seeing the songs live brings a new life to them and a three dimensional
quality. New Build work to bring in diverse and, at times, unusual sound
elements; the opening to single. “Finding Reasons” would not sound out of place
on a computer game, while “The Third One” is extremely rhythmic and percussion
based.
Al, who is a Leeds native,
worked to bring everyone on stage together to work in perfect harmony. Acting
as conductor the occasional nod or discreet look would set his band into motion
with big build to the end of a song, or to end a track perfectly in-sync. With
seven people playing a range of different instruments this was no mean feat,
however was executed with perfect simplicity; the seven piece here tonight were
rehearsed, tight and creating an impressive stage show. “Behind The Shutter”
holds the place as crowd favourite this evening. Blending 80s anthemic style
electro-pop with melodic rhythms and catchy lyrics it is the perfect song from
beginning to end as it builds and builds. The entire set stirs the crowd to
dance and you can’t help but move along to New Build.
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| Al Doyle on stage |
From the first note to the end, the performance was rousing
and eclectic. From upbeat melodies incorporating disco rhythms, to more sombre,
slower tunes the band clearly have a firm hold on music and musicianship. New Build
are a band that need to be experienced live. Playing in the intimate Cockpit
their sound echoed through the room, much fuller and larger than the venue. With
the band selling out these smaller shows both over here and in America
*COMPETITION*
We have a SIGNED copy of New Build's album “Yesterday Was Lived
And Lost”" to give away!
Here's how to enter-
1. Follow us on Twitter HERE-
2. Tweet us the following statement " New
Build signed CD giveaway www.est1987.co.uk "
3. We will select one winner at random when the
competition closes on Tuesday 13th March at 6pm [GMT] and they will be announced
and notified via Twitter.
terms and conditions
-you must follow Est.1987 on twitter
-the cd can only be sent to a UK
-multiple entries will only be counted once
-The winner will
be contacted the day after the closing date via twitter to send us their postal
address
-there is one signed cd to be
won
