Sheffield is giving Yorkshire, and the north in general, a good name. Creativity seems to be a necessity for young folk around those parts as of late and the emergence of Slow Club from Sheffield’s bustling acoustic plantations is proof of just that. Having started to write songs during their respective gap years, Rebecca and Charles who make up the exuberant two-piece came together almost by-accident feeding off the city’s rich and diverse music scene. “We both went to different schools,” Rebecca reflects timidly, “and the fact is we were both music geeks I guess cos we kept on bumping into each other at these workshops. Charles went out with a girl at my school and it just went from there really.”
It started slow but now we’re getting requests to play loads of places, we can’t really say no yet
In-fact it went super-motion-high-speed from there. After a few collaborations together at the infamous Boardwalk club, some knitting together of songs and the invention of standing-up drumming, Slow Club were officially creating a buzz. So much so that uber-cool label Moshi Moshi snapped them up for a single release via their Singles Club. Their debut ‘Me & You’ is a joyous tale about two lovers trying to resolve their issues without relying on outside support. “We don’t know how, why or where this all came from but we’ll see how this single goes first of all. It’s pretty exciting though.” And it’s not hard to see why. Some people in the industry have tagged them as a new, teenage northern White Stripes but that, in reflection, maybe too much to expect from a group who hasn’t written enough songs for a full album yet.
As Clash catches up with Slow Club, they are taking time from their gruelling schedule just off the motorway on their way down to Tamworth to play yet another gig. “It started slow but now we’re getting requests to play loads of places, we can’t really say no yet.” Good then that all that hard work is gradually paying off. Later in the year they are set to play with Mercury nominated Ffion Regan, a particular hero of Rebecca’s, adding to the list of top acts they’ve already played alongside, namely Eugene McGuiness and Emmy The Great. “I can’t wait to play with Ffion Regan, it goes beyond our wildest dreams and caps off a great year.”
But for the time being the band’s feet are firmly grounded. Slow Club are, through their own choice, currently manager-less and prefer to organise pretty much everything themselves, including their videos. “Everyone in the [‘Me & You’] video is pretty much our mates and family. We get loads of support although it’s a bit of nightmare at times but at least we’re in control.” So what should we expect in the near future? “Well, we’re happy to let things take their natural course. We didn’t start doing this for a career so anything, in our own eyes, is a bonus.” More specifically, the debut album is penned in for January 2008 with more singles in the pipeline. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.
…the fact is we were both music geeks I guess