The Night Café are quickly gathering popularity and pace with their upbeat indie and big ambitions. Clubs Editor Amelia Whyman spoke to Sean from the band about inspiration, resolutions, and massive plans for 2018.
It’s a story that many wannabe musicians aspire to. The Night Café boys met in school in Liverpool, and ever since they were thirteen have wanted to be in a band. This is exactly what they are doing now, and exactly what they are doing well. The band have had, in Sean’s words, “a mad year.” Going from touring to writing and touring to writing again, the boys have been working hard to get their EP out in January or February, and have been making progress with a “massive” album coming out this year also. In terms of touring, Sean says the bands “bucket list venue” is Alexandra Palace with the Wombats in March, it’s an impressive venue that the band are buzzing to play. They are set to play two nights there also, which makes the booking even more exciting. But, then again, their tour, for the band is a ‘bucket list’ moment in itself. Sean says that they have seen organic growth of people going to gigs, and starting to sell out venues and see crowds grow is even more motivation to keep working hard. After selling out Church in Leeds, they can’t wait to get down and play the venue. Sean has heard good things about Church and is itching to get there. The band love a night out in Leeds and have spent some time in the city before, so are eager to get back again.
“[We’re making] anything, RnB, we don’t want to stop at a genre.”
Far from Jazz, The Night Café, have previously supported Sundara Karma on tour, and are set to support The Wombats this year. Keeping those links in mind, the bands biggest inspiration came as a bit of a surprise. The bands collective favourite is Brockhampton: “have you heard of them? They’re really cool.” But, their love of Brockhampton, a 15 strong boy-band that Sean likened to Odd Future in their heyday, isn’t entirely random. It’s the idea of a creative collective band that appeals to the boys. Some of Brockhampton are graphic designers, some vocals, some mixing, but together they take the form of the self-acclaimed “worlds greatest boyband.” This seems to be an aim for The Night Café, to expand into a band on the road to world domination. It’s this motivation that seems to be pushing the boys to keep working hard and enjoying every moment.
The Night Café, in reviews and interviews, have been previously described as Indie Rock. Sean is keen to drop this label. Admittedly, the music they have out at the moment does fit into this ‘Indie Rock’ sound, but Sean tells me that the music they are creating behind the scenes is strikingly different. “[We’re making] anything, RnB, we don’t want to stop at a genre.” Similarly, to that of Brockhampton who dip from rap to soulful RnB, to acoustic guitar seamlessly, it seems that The Night Café have no plans to be put in a box. In Sean’s words, “if it sounds good, it sounds good.” The band want to structure their albums “properly,” but seem excited about having a mix of genres across albums. This creativity and genuine excitement about trying out new music, and new styles, is a testament to the love the boys seem to have of what they do.
When asked about New Year’s goals and resolutions for The Night Café, Sean emphasises that plans are looking big. In short, the band want to make the New Year as successful as it can possibly get. “This year has had ups and downs, but our goal for 2018 is to do it properly.” They want to “switch it on” and make their next step towards becoming what they want to be: “as a whole, the resolution is to smash it.’ This seems like a good resolution to jump onto. But Sean also emphasises the need to enjoy the moment and have fun with what they are doing also, as well as being ambitious. The band want to “touch into the fact that they are living the dream already, and haven’t even got to the point they want to.”
But, what is the point they want to get to? According to Sean, it’s not just to be a “pure famous band,” but they want everyone to have their music. More than fame, the aim is to be influential, to start a movement, to become a brand. “We don’t want to stop, ever,” says Sean, and I wouldn’t be surprised, with the energy the band have, that they want to keep going forever. Sean thinks that you won’t ever be fulfilled if you have a “point” you want to reach and “that’s where you will be fine […] You should always want more,” says Sean. ‘More’, it seems, is to be the “biggest band in the world.” It’s a motivational idea, to always strive for more, and never stop just because you’re comfortable.
After all that, I’m feeling inspired, and perhaps more than that, excited to see what The Night Café have in store. The Night Café come to Church 26th January; tickets are available via Dice, Jumbo, or Crash Records.
Amelia Whyman