Suzuki Method (Interview)

Suzuki method is the process of teaching how to play an instrument by ear and to copy others using this basis. It is also more importantly to us, and I hope to you, the name of the next big musical export to come out of Manchester.

I must start off by amending a small detail; the band aren’t technically from Manchester, they are from the neighbouring city of Salford, which itself has a rich heritage of great musical talent including The Ting Tings, The Fall and New Order to name just a few. Consisting of Adam Leishman on vocals and guitar, Glen Leishman on synthesizers, Mike Matthews on bass and Dave Boyd on drums, Suzuki Method are undeniably very proud of Salford which is clearly apparent when meeting up with the band in their local haunt; The Kings Arms in Salford:

“The Kings Arms is sort of like our home from home for us and the guys that run this place are really interested in bands. There’s a really great scene of artists in Salford and not a lot of it gets trumpeted about. You never know whose gonna walk in here. It’s got a bit of a cheeky buzz about it. It kind of represents Salford as a whole having the ability to meet like minded people. We are immensely lucky to be right next to Manchester but it’s the Salford side where we grew up and it’s everything that our band is about.”

It was through the small community of like minded people that the band found its members. Having met each other at house parties, with no alteria motive to start a band, the lads jammed together playing instruments just for the pleasure of the music.

Now they find themselves on the cusp of becoming something really big. Having been mentioned as the sound for 2010 by BBC Introducing, playing in front of 15,000 people at Wickerman festival and even headlining the Fresh Meat Live gig at Night & Day Café on 10th April for 4Q magazine (ha-ha, sorry had to be said). Can we expect to be listening to them on the radio and buying their music from the high street record store in the coming months? Well you already can now, in part, as Adam explains:

“It was great when BBC Introducing got hold of us, there are so many bands out there, when you’re out playing you wonder if you’re getting any real recognition, but they have given us a lot of support. The BBC are always playing us on the radio, whether it’s live at a show or recorded. Sam Walker from BBC Radio Manchester is always asking when the record is out.

So when is the record out?

“Well, we started off recording a demo at Airtight Studios which helped get us noticed. We then signed with Factory Foundation Records in December after recording some more demos. We met up with Esther [OCallaghan OBE] and signed up right there and then. Now we have just finished an EP with Blueprint Studies which has been mastered and will be out at the end of April. The best part is not worrying about getting gigs as the label sorts all that out for you.”

The important bit though, and the bit that will make you want to see them live and go out and get their music is… What do Suzuki Method sound like? Like many of the best bands, and the bands you will read about in this issue, the link between old school rock ‘n’ roll and old school dance is meeting in the middle. Its producing a style that Suzuki Method is at the fore front of and some might say is the next direction of popular music.

Adam: “When we first started out we wanted to be a really tight band, a band like Queens of the Stone Age or Nirvana. The only problem was we knew it was saturated with this kind of music, especially after the success of Oasis in Manchester. We got synths and more electronic stuff involved, which was not like a new thing, we always had a synth we would mess about with. We didn’t consciously follow any trends to make the band more electronic. When my brother joined the band he was into his dance music. It all amalgamated from here.”

“The way our music is produced kind of reminds me of the Run DMC video with Aerosmith, ‘Walk this way’, when Aerosmith and run DMC are breaking through walls fighting over the music. We are kind of like at odds when I will write a rock ‘n’ roll song and the other two guys might say, yeah; let’s just use a drum machine instead of the drums… But if you can get the different parts to work, strike a balance and make compromises it ends up sounding better than it ever would.”

So what is the final verdict of Suzuki Method?

Suzuki Method are a fresh and exciting sound growing out from the end of the hacienda ‘dance music’ house party days to firmly mix with the eye catching appeal of great live indie and rock bands, while throwing out 80’s synth beats as they go along. They could probably well be one of the best live acts you can see at the moment shaping the way for new bands and new ideas to emerge from the other side. Just try and stop your head from bobbing up and down when you hear them.

Look out this year for festivals they will be playing at in the summer, a tour around Europe, video releases, a single release and of course the live gig with 4Q Magazine at Night & Day Café on the 10th April.

Suzuki Methods EP is out at the end of April, available for download and special edition Vinyl at all good record shops. Visit www.myspace.com/suzukimethodmusic now to wet your appetite and find out more.

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