North East Alt-rockers Ten Eighty are back with a bang; driven by new single ‘Little Sparks’ and some huge shows planned. Damian Robinson talks to guitarist and vocalist Nathan Newton to find out more.
Before we get to the new single, Veritas festival looks amazing – are you looking forward to playing and seeing the other bands?
The line-up is so stacked it’s crazy. Hats off to Veritas for pulling it all together. They’ve not only managed to book a lot of what we would consider some of the best Alt Rock bands in the North East at the minute, but a lot of our mates bands as well, so we’re super excited for that one.
And it’s not long after Veritas that your new banger of a single ‘Little Sparks’ is released – could you tell us a little about the song and which direction it sees the band moving in?
Little Sparks is probably the most unconventional rock song we’ve done to date. Only drums and vocals for the first minute? No discernible chorus? Terrace chanting? It shouldn’t work but for me it just goes so hard! I remember starting with the beat, adding the chanting bit and after that everything just sort of flowed out of me. I know it’s a cliché but it really was one of those songs that just wrote itself. I like it when it comes together like that. I’m inherently lazy, you see.
Little Sparks is short in length, but huge in sound – do you edit anything out of the recording or was the track deliberately kept minimal?
It was definitely intentional! I like the idea of short songs and making sure every second counts. I don’t often succeed in writing them, but ensuring the finished product is as lean as possible is very important to my ears. A few sections of the song might have been a bit longer here and there but if my memory serves me correct there was very little left on the workshop floor when putting the finishing touches to this one.
In terms of the future, you’ll be out gigging the single including a show at Zerox, where can we catch you?
I think after Veritas festival, Zerox on 7th October in Newcastle might be our last North East show of 2023. So if anyone still needs their Ten Eighty Fix in 2023 that’ll be the one to get along to. We’ve got some proper spicy special guests still to be announced for that one too, so grab your tickets and sit tight for that!
And then in terms of the rest of 2023, what’s on the horizon next for you?
Let’s just say Little Sparks won’t be the last music we release this year. And in terms of gigs outside the North East we’re going to be very busy. So keep your eyes on our Ten Eighty Socials for what’s comin
Litte Sparks is released 1st September