Press release: Tuesday 4 January

SEA FEVER BAND

A new band on the scene made up of musicians from New Order and Jonny Marr’s Band

DEBUT ALBUM ‘FOLDING LINES’

Manchester’s breath-taking new band Sea Fever formed in 2019 is a five-piece collective fronted by Iwan Gronow (Haven, Johnny Marr) on vocals and guitars, alongside singer Beth Cassidy (Section 25), the collective also features New Order’s Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham – with Tom on bass, guitars, synths and programming and Phil on guitars, while powering the band’s pulsing beats is Elliot Barlow. They will be playing at The Old Courts in Wigan on Thursday 27 January as part of their tour.

The band will be supported by a DJ set from BBC Radio 6 Music presenter and The Old Courts Patron, Chris Hawkins followed by support act Dirty Circus– a Wigan band respected on the music scene.

Iwan Gronow the frontman of Sea Fever explains that their coming together as a unit felt inevitable: “We’d wanted to work with each other for ages, so when we finally sat down in the studio, the band just seemed to come together naturally. It felt like we were really free to explore the kinds of music that have always inspired us, we dug right through the record crates of our minds to shape the sound of Sea Fever.”

And what a sound it is. Upbeat pop makes waves alongside wistful descending minor chords and surf guitars. Teutonic rhythms kling and klang their way against echoing layers of melancholy and hope. It’s a combination unlike anything heard before.

The result of this collaboration of talented musicians is a debut ten-track album that represents the sound of a band instinctively working together; effortlessly exciting and equally timeless.

The opening track ‘Crossed Wires’ mixes a classic Mancunian melody with futuristic, soaring sounds and dark escapism. While second track ‘Under Duress’ Sea Fever is a multi-layered orchestrated sonic earworm about unrequited love. Elsewhere the driving indie electronic cut ‘De Facto’ effortlessly blends sounds that have helped define the electronica genre with innovative song writing. Whilst in the title track ‘Folding Lines’ Sea Fever exhibit their strong lyrical content delivered by Iwan and Beth on equal vocal duties on the track and wrapped around the band idiosyncratic sound; the band wanted it to be distinctive sounding, like a cross between a spaghetti western soundtrack and early 80’s New York dance music, the. Born as an instrumental written by Tom and Phil around the time of New Order’s release ‘Music Complete’, indie anthem ‘Built to Last’, was the first piece of music Tom Chapman played to Iwan Gronow who built the around the lifting chorus; “it was the outset of Sea Fever,” they say.

Fusing intelligent electronics and clanging guitars, underpinned by soaring and hypnotic strings, the band has already picked up early support from the likes of Chris Hawkins from BBC 6 Music, fellow band mates from New Order and a whole host of others from the music scene.

ENDS

For more information about the band visit their website https://seafeverband.com/

Tickets https://www.theoldcourts.com/shows/sea-fever/

For media interviews & review tickets, contact:

Sofia Cann – Head of Marketing & Communications