A Chat with The Way After (04.10.23)
Earlier this year, UK-based trio The Way After introduced themselves to audiences with the acoustic single ‘Hear The Bird Sing’. Since then, they have turned heads across the globe with rave reviews and critical acclaim – and that’s after only one single. Combining elements of indie-rock with slivers of pop, Tim O’Conner (vocals and guitar), James Houston (guitar and production) and Dave Houston (drums and percussion) have been described as “absolute class”. We speak with Tim O’Connor and Dave Houston about their sophomore single ‘You Built A Wall’, tattoos, weird facts, music videos and more.
OSR: Very cliché, but what made you decide to become a musician?
O’Connor: I saw a video of ‘Teenage Kicks’ by The Undertones on MTV – this was back when MTV still played music videos – and that was it for me. They were just ordinary-looking young lads, and at the time my voice was a bit tremulous like Feargal Sharkey’s so I really identified with them.
Houston: Our Dad played the guitar when James and me were kids. He often sang folk songs, like ‘Streets of London’, ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘Danny Boy’, etc. I remember being in awe of his ability to play and sing, and I wanted to do the same.
OSR: The Way After is a relatively new band formed in 2020. This was at the beginning of the pandemic, so surely lockdowns must have affected you. Why begin a band when it’s almost impossible to rehearse or gig?
O’Connor: We never meant to form a band, it was originally meant to be a solo project. I’d been in a band with James and Dave before, and they’re my oldest friends, so when I asked James if he’d produce it seemed natural to get Dave on drums.
We were working on the album and were in the kitchen having lunch, talking about the possibility of it becoming a band thing, and the news on the radio was about this Coronavirus in China. We didn’t know then it would be over a year before we were all in the same room again!
Houston: We’ve been mates since primary school. Lockdown was certainly an obstacle but it wasn’t so much of a problem. If we didn’t know each other I think it would have been much harder.
OSR: You are about to release your second single ‘You Built A Wall’. What can you tell us about it?
O’Connor: A lot of people hear the title and assume it’s about Donald Trump. It’s really about the walls between echo chambers. It’s written in a persona, which isn’t something I normally do.
Houston: I thought it was about Donald Trump. I stand corrected.
OSR: What do you hope people take from ‘You Built A Wall’?
O’Connor: There’s no great insight in the lyrics, but I hope people like the tune.
Houston: I hope people like the melody and chord progression as much as I do.
OSR: ‘You Built A Wall’ follows your debut single ‘Hear The Bird Sing’. Are you at all worried that it might not meet expectations?
O’Connor: The first song was very personal to me, it’s about my daughter and the fear and vulnerability of being a parent. Some people really responded to that, but I don’t expect people to respond to this song in the same way, because it’s not that type of song. But it’s already met my expectations – I think James did a great job on the arrangement and it’s nice to hear Dave drumming again, so I’m happy.
Houston: I loved the first single, but the second single is a full band collaboration, so I hope people are similarly into it.
OSR: You released an animated music video for ‘You Built A Wall’. What can you tell us about it?
O’Connor: We’d actually shot a video for another song, so when we decided to release ‘You Built A Wall’ instead, I had to hastily repurpose some of the footage. That’s why it’s animated, I basically drew over the original footage. The idea is that all the shops in the background feature The Way After signs, like we’re trapped in a world of our own making.
Houston: Tim is a gifted artist and now apparently also a gifted animator! The video is witty and clever, I think it’s amazing.
O’Connor: Cheers Dave.
OSR: What were the best and worst bits of creating the music video?
O’Connor: The best bit is the results, I think I captured James and Dave’s movements quite well. The worst bit was when the song’s tempo was changed at the last minute – I had a busy weekend re-editing it! It was quite fun really, it’s good when I have something to keep myself occupied.
Houston: We spent an entire day behind a green screen shooting in sync with a different album track, but we all went to the pub later, that was pretty enjoyable.
O’Connor: That was fun.
OSR: Some random questions: what is the weirdest food combination you enjoy?
O’Connor: Not sure; I imagine chocolate and Yorkshire pudding would go together well. I imagine.
Houston: I’m partial to a “Pickleback” – a whiskey shot followed by a gherkin brine shot, if that counts?
OSR: What is the most fascinating fact you know?
O’Connor: Photons of light don’t experience time. Once observed, a photon is created and then vanishes instantaneously, be it from a lightbulb, the sun or light emitted at the beginning of the universe, almost 14 billion years ago. So, there you go.
Houston: Did you know that cats are terrified of cucumbers?
OSR: If you had to get a tattoo today, what would you get?
O’Connor: A very small one.
Houston: The Schrödinger equation, probably.
OSR: What can we expect from The Way After in the future?
O’Connor: An album! It’s not easy, we had all that time in lockdown and I moved to the Midlands earlier this year, but we’re on the home stretch. I think. Ask James – he’s the one that’s been lumbered with producing it!
Houston: I hope we make music that people want to listen to and perhaps bob their heads to.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
O’Connor: Yes; Be kind, be happy, and check out our music.
Houston: Thanks for your time.
Many thanks to Tim O’Connor and Dave Houston for speaking with us! Find out more about The Way After on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
