Cleft [Interview]
Cleft are fucking nuts. Some bands just grab your attention through sheer force of intent – and this instrumental turbo-prog duo is definitely one of them. TMMP got talking to guitarist Dan about their upcoming set at 2000 Trees – and this is what came out…
You’re due to hit 2000 Trees 2015. How’re you feeling?
We’ve had a hectic and challenging few months due to illness so it feels like it’s come out of the blue to me actually. We’ve been burrowed away writing loads of new material for our next album, so we’ve not had much time to think about gigs and festivals. It’s only now that it’s so close that I’m realising we’re actually doing this festival, playing with so many amazing bands. It’s going to be an excellent weekend!
Musically, you’re pretty out there. If an inebriated stranger were to ask what you sound like, what would you say in response?
I’d describe ourselves (to an enormously drunk and unmusical stranger) like a cross between Yes, Slayer, and Mr Blobby. But to a normal human person, we’ve been categorising ourselves as “turbo-prog,” which seems to have stuck now.
We play riff-based progressive music that we’ve condensed down to the length of an average to short pop tune due to our very short attention spans. We’re exactly the same as the Beatles – if the Beatles were an instrumental, gear-obsessed drum/guitar duo with a penchant for filthy riffs and odd groovy rhythms…
What made you decide to stick with the guitar-drums duo format? Would you consider expanding the lineup?
I think we just both thrive on the challenge of trying to fill all the gaps, sonically speaking. My guitar rig is based entirely around compensating for not having a bass player – I currently have four octave pedals on it! I feel like it’s been really good for my songwriting brain too, trying to come up with parts that sound full without overcomplicating things – hopefully.
We’ve actually collaborated with quite a few other musicians and whole bands for that matter. Our album BOSH! features vocals from the bonkers talented sod Matt Franklin, formerly of Halfling’s Leaf and now on bass and vocals for Under. We recently had a jam with Black Peaks (also playing this year’s 2000 Trees Festival) while they were passing through Manchester on tour – it was great fun. It ended up with us just exchanging new tunes we’d been working on and complimenting each other on how awesome it was all sounding. Basically a massive ego stroking session!
How did Cleft first form? What’s your origin story?
We first met in late 2011, having moved to Manchester from opposite ends of the country (John from Lancaster, me from Brighton) within a couple of weeks of each other. It was like fate or something.
John was wearing a t-shirt he’d had made stating that he was a drummer looking for a band. He’s still a drum slut to this day; I think he’s currently involved with about 8 projects of all sorts of genres. I can barely remember our tunes let alone other people’s too!
What’s your favourite part of the festival experience?
I really enjoy camping in general, so it’s always great doing it when surrounded by great music and party vibes too (I hate the word vibes, Christ…). ArcTanGent has been by far my favourite festival so far, both playing and just attending, so I have very high hopes for 2000 Trees.
It’s just nice to have a weekend wandering around listening to great bands, having a few beers in a field and know that I can chat to literally anyone about fairly obscure music and they’ll know who I’m talking about and most likely agree with me and perhaps even suggest some brilliant stuff I’ve never heard of. I wish everywhere I went was like that.
What’s the most epic thing that’s ever happened during a Cleft set?
That’s a tough one! Someone brought a hand-drawn megaface (Cleft’s sort-of mascot I suppose) frisbee along to ATG last year and chucked it on stage while we were playing. I threw it back to someone else in the crowd and had completely forgotten about it until we played a gig in Birmingham about 6 months later where it magically appeared on the merch table. I still don’t know who put it there!
Other than that, our Rage Against The Machine medley ending our set at ATG last year was pretty epic I suppose; you can’t go wrong with knocking out a cover at a festival!
Beyond 2000 Trees, what does the future have in store?
We’ve got quite a lot of gigs coming up this year after Trees actually. We’re playing the Thursday at ATG this year, Wyrd Out festival in London, our first trip up to Shetland for Heavy Metal Buffet in late August, Carefully Planned Festival in Manchester, and we’re currently finalising our first European tour in late October – so keep your eyes peeled for that!
We’ve also got the majority of a new album written now, so we’ll be aiming to start recording that before the end of the year. We have a very elaborate plan for that actually, so watch out for big announcements on all the usual social media interwebs such as Facebonk and Twatter. See you all at a gig somewhere soon hopefully!
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Image © Rosario Lopez.