Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam. Bit of a mouthful isn’t it? Just as well, then, that Tim McIver of said band is happy for it to be abbreviated. “To be honest it was a bit of a joke originally,” he says. “But it’s kind of stuck now. We mainly use the long version to catch people’s eyes.”
And that they certainly do; Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy and Huw Stephens count themselves as eager supporters of the Manchester-based pastoral four-piece, whose gorgeous, instrumental soundscapes have been likened to those of Sigur Ros’s.
“Our original intention was to create a positive outlook on music because there’s so much stuff out there which isn’t quite so happy,” Tim says, diplomatically. “We just wanted to make beautiful music.”
Without a doubt, the seven songs on Put Your Slippers On, The Tim and Sam Band’s EP re-release (out on Full of Joy Records, April 13th), couldn’t be described as anything but beautiful. Layers of violins, gentle wind instruments, acoustic guitar melodies and percussion float atop one another to create a dreamy, musical sandwich of hope and promise. A formula which, Tim says, could lead to innumerable possibilities for the group.
“The music industry is really interesting at the moment,” he muses, “There have been a few articles lately on the importance of synchronisation in the way musicians make a living and that’s something we’d like to pursue. I’d like to have a go at doing a film score, for example. I think our music really lends itself to that kind of thing.”
With such ambitious plans for the future, then, why EP re-release? “Well,” Tim begins, taking a deep breath. “Originally I thought it was better to move on and get a new single out, which is what we’re going to be doing next. But the main reason we decided to do it is because I did everything myself last time, all the press, all the touring, so it was really low key. It was a real learning curve, and really rewarding, but at the same time it was a bit limiting because there’s only so much we could do on our own. And since then we’ve got a manager and a booking agent and a press company who can hopefully make a better go of it.”
A good move, as the band now has 25 UK dates lined up for the foreseeable (plus a number of festival dates still to be confirmed) and more time to concentrate on the forthcoming album, due out in the autumn, which could see the band working with a number of acclaimed artists.
“We recorded 19 songs last June. Seven are on our EP (originally released in November). The remaining 12 will make up an album and about half the songs will end up having guest vocalists, which will be great as we’ll get to create different remixes and work with different producers.” Can he tell us who these vocalists might be? “It’s still very early days so I can’t say anything just in case it doesn’t happen!” he laughs. “But hopefully it’ll all come together. It’s just a really exciting time for the band.”
Words: Rachel England
Rachel England is the editor of Buzz magazine
For more info about The Tim and Sam Band, tour dates and to buy Put Your Slippers On, see www.timandsam.com