By Daffs (TwoDaff)

Having gained recognition from Sky Sports soccer AM and Radio X, Leicester band Gazelle are back and set to  release ‘Clementine’ YouTube. It’s the 2nd of four tracks recorded at Hope Mill Studios, Manchester.

Whilst there,  Gazelle spent a lot of time time crafting a new sound first previewed on ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ and then expanded further with ‘Clementine’. “Clementine was written very quickly” says songwriter Ryan Dunn. “Within a few minutes of coming up with the melody I had the bulk of the lyrics written out.. it didn’t change much in that respect from that point onwards until we spent a lot of time on the jangly 60s inspired but fresh sound we were after when we went into Hope Mill and we came out with a track we were all very proud of.”

Clementine is a breath of fresh air, a real 60’s inspired sound brought forward to the modern day, it’s a track that sticks in your head, I found myself humming this all day. The opening guitar strums followed by a lovely lead riff is clean, melodic and uplifting. fantastic vocals and a reference to “Lucy in the Sky” give it a jangly Beatles feel.

“A breath of fresh air”

The vocal really cuts through, the chorus is rousing, anthemic, and true to form delivered perfectly by Ryan. You can here that Indie brit pop vibe with a 60’s backdrop, but its their own sound. One thing that impresses me is the variability in their tracks such as previous tracks like ‘Guilt Trip Gun’  or ‘Diamond High’ and of course the aforementioned ‘Magic Carpet Ride’. You cant pigeon hole or compare these lads to any particular sound or band, its not formulaic or a set sound which, I feel it makes them pretty unique in my opinion. they do have one thing in common, a great sound, full of melodies, great guitar riffs and a fantastic vocal.

“The chorus is rousing, anthemic”

All in all it’s a song fit for the summer, full intricate little melodies, a great drumbeat, clean accomplished guitars and a fantastic vocal, it’s a song that will have you playing over and over again, I did and still am. Set to be a firm favourite, amongst fans and newcomers to the band alike.

I caught up with singer songwriter and guitarist Ryan Dunn for a quick chat about the band.

Thanks for speaking to Awayday Radio, can I start by asking you to introduce yourself, and the band?

No worries! I’m Ryan, singer songwriter and guitarist, then we have Ben on guitar and Backing Vocals, Sorbi on Bass and Backing Vocals and Danny on the drums

Where are you from and how did you get together?

Two of us are Leicester lads and the other half from Peterborough and Stamford. We’d all been in bands previously and as luck would have it our previous bands came to an end around the same time so the timing was right to get together, we went for a beer and a rehearsal and it clicked straight off.

What made you get started in music?

I can’t speak for the other lads but from a personal perspective, my mam and dad are into the scooter scene so I was always around live music growing up.  But it was my grandad buying me a Guitar at  a car boot when I was about 13 that really started it for me. He showed me a few little Rock ’N’ Roll riffs that he knew and I was hooked from then on. I started to go to gigs with my mates bands across the country and knocking about at places like The Charlotte In Leicester, then I thought its time to have a go myself.

How did the name Gazelle come about?

We’d been after a name for ages. We knew we wanted a one word name as our previous bands had started with ‘The’. I Think it was Ben that looked down at his shoes one night at rehearsals and the name just stuck. To be truthful it had been so long coming I think anything would have done at that point! Haha.

What are your influences, where do you take your inspiration from?

We all like a range of different stuff which I think makes the bands sound more interesting. We love a lot of  50’s Rock and Roll and 60’s stuff. But also Punk, 00’s Indie… Danny is even a Ricky Martin fan but I’m not sure about that one myself!

Can you describe your sound?

I think its changed a lot over the past couple of years. We’ve made a conscious effort to refine our sound which I think is massively important. We wanna be as original as we possibly can. I’d hate to be compared to a specific band’s sound and I think ours changes from song to song.

Who writes the songs or is it a joint effort?

I write the songs. Usually I write on the acoustic at home then once its ready I’ll take it into rehearsals for the lads. I may have a riff or a drum fill in mind but we all put our stamp on it and sometimes it can take on a completely different direction that I originally intended especially when we go into the studio.

In a couple of your videos there are performances from Stephen Graham and Danielle Watson, how did that come about?

Stephen lives in Ibstock, Leicestershire so he’s fairly local to us. Hannah, his missus, emailed us saying they both loved the music and would be up for doing a video. He was a class act and we learnt a lot from him in the process. Danielle was a mate of a mate who suggested we got her onboard for a video.. we can’t thank them both enough.

You already have a string of great tracks, whats next…any hints?

We’ve recorded four tracks at Hope Mill Studio in Manchester last year. Magic Carpet Ride was the first single from those sessions and we’ve just released Clementine.. The other two will be released in the coming months. All four tracks sound completely different from each other and its our finest work to date.  We’re proud of them.

Where have you been gigging and what gig has been your favourite so far?

We did a mini tour recently which went down well. Hometown Leicester shows are always entertaining!

Any future gigs planned?

We’ve got a few dates to be announced very shortly.

Where/what  would be your dream gig?

Never really thought about it, you just want them to get bigger and bigger don’t you. But

Danny’s would definitely be co headliner with Ricky Martin, he’s mentioned it a few times

The Uk  independent music scene is thriving at the moment, what other bands have you been listening to or been out to see?

To be completely honest there’s not too much new music out there that I listen to. I’m not really up to date with it. The Jack Fletcher Band  are top lads. Always enjoy playing with them .

What are your thoughts on the future of British music, what changes would you like to see happen?

Maybe a change from everyone looking back to the 90’s and clinging onto Liam Gallagher ect. I’d love for some sort of new subculture to explode but sadly it looks like those days are gone.

How important are radio stations such as awayday radio for getting bands out there?

Yeah, I think it’s vital that stations like this exist. I can’t listen to mainstream radio in the car. It’s all the same annoying shit and all sounds the same.

If you could have written any song from the past, what would it be?

Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade just cus it would be nice little earner every year around Christmas time wouldn’t it haha.

And now a tricky one…Football and clothes…what you into?

Half Leicester City and half Peterborough United. I don’t watch too much football these days but I grew up watching Leicester. I know Ben follows Peterborough and England home and away.

I love 60’s style’s and Teddy Boy stuff but I wear owt that catches my eye really. Usually something a bit flashy haha. I don’t really follow Fashions. If I like something i’ll wear it. Sorb likes his mod stuff as well and Danny tends to like the ‘casual’ look.

Finally, what would you like to say to fans and the people out there?

Nice one to everyone that’s gave Clementine a listen so far. They can hear it like when we play The Soundhouse in Leicester (6th August) Tickets still available!

Many thanks for talking to us and good luck with everything

https://twitter.com/gazellebanduk