Balancing Act - it's 'All Yours'...
- em bowen✨💞
- Oct 13, 2023
- 12 min read
If you're looking for some 'cinematic hot shower' music, then you've come to the right place..
Article and Interview by Emma Bowen
Photography - Isy Townsend (@isytownsend)
Features - Line Thomsen, Lilly Sonntag, Grace Davis
With Special Thanks to Indy Brewer (@indyebrewer)
If you haven't already, it's about time you got to know Balancing Act. Navigating the challenges of their rise to stardom, the new indie band have received a huge amount of support since starting their journey early last year.
Originally from Manchester, the music capital of the UK, the quartet have already made their mark on the music scene - releasing an EP titled 'Malice In Tone' as well as three new singles and a recently successful UK tour, selling out infamous venues Deaf Institute (Manchester) and Oslo (London).
I saw they were coming to the Midlands, and so couldn't resist taking a trip into the city to catch their set at Sunflower Lounge (Birmingham) with supports Sunbalm and Andy Goodwin. I'd seen their name popping up in all sorts of places as well as having the band recommended to me personally. Although I'd got into their music, I hadn't found the chance to see them live until now, but believe me it was worth the wait.
Despite the soaring temperature in that sweaty little basement, the band gave every song their full energy - the lead singer Kai reminiscent of two very iconic Alexs - Turner's vocals (Arctic Monkeys) and Rice's stage presence (Sports Team). I was truly encapsulated throughout the whole set, despite not knowing many of the lyrics. The rest of the crowd were also completely in the palm of their hands - hanging on every word that came out of the mic. Although a huge advocate for pit-worthy songs, my particular favourite of the evening was the slower, more indulgent tune titled 'The Saddest Song I Ever Did Write', which was performed in the heart of the crowd.
'It was a brilliant atmosphere, and the band was so high energy and had a great presence! They really connected with the crowd - it was really intimate. Each song was a change of pace too, which was refreshing. I will definitely see them again!' - Grace Davis
I expect very soon we'll be seeing them on the big stage, so I highly recommend grabbing a ticket to any intimate upcoming shows!
I was lucky enough to have a chat with the band about their journey so far..
1. Hi guys! Thank you again for agreeing to answer some questions for us! Can you start by introducing yourselves?
K: I’m Kai n I sing n that.
J: I'm Jackson and I play guitar.
D: Hi, I’m David and I slap the bass.
G: I’m George and I play drums.
2. How did the band start?
K: So I worked at this bar right. A proper little hideout for kids in leather jackets. Jackson was a regular there and as you can probably tell, he was the it-boy of the town. His band were signed, he also worked as a guitar tech for quite a lot of cool characters. After a few
interactions, it was clear that we both really got on, we both hated the same things. At this bar we also met David, who’s band used to play in and out of the scene all the time. The best dressed man we ever met. He joined after we met George though. Then after moving to London to find a new thing to grasp onto, we found ourselves in front of the fittest lad we’ve probably ever seen. George. What was really weird is that not only did we all kinda know each other, but we all in previous years had played on the same bills with each other in our old bands.
J: The band started with me and Kai in Manchester. We had become slightly disillusioned with our current projects and we wanted to find something a bit more exciting. We moved to London not long after and that's where we first met George – he came to play on ‘Cold’ and he fitted in perfectly so he decided to stick around. David came to stay with us for a weekend, we played him what we were working on, he was super into it and we all felt silly for not thinking of him sooner.
D: By chance I had a week off work and noticed Kai had moved to London. I came for a visit and the guys took me out, got smashed and asked if I wanted to play bass.
G: The lads poached me from another band I was in.
3. Congratulations on the release of your EP ‘Malice in Tone’! We’re loving all the tracks! Can you talk a little bit about your journey to creating this EP? What sort of things inspired the music? Do you guys have a favourite song?
K: ‘Malice in Tone’ was all of us sussing each other out. Trying to glue all of our ideas without it sounding too Frankenstein. At the time (and still to this day) we were all really sucked into the likes of Portishead, Can, Deftones and Iggy Pop’s ‘The Idiot’, we think this really shows in the music. I think we all may have different favourites on this but I know I love ‘Gift Shop’, it's just such a heavy turn from the other tracks.
J: Thank you! It's almost a year since it came out now which has flown by. We all wanted to release something early on that felt like a cohesive body of work, rather than just releasing single after single. We chose what we thought were the strongest group of songs, but also we made sure there was a variety of sounds on there so it felt at least a little bit like a journey from start to finish. My personal favourite is ‘Gift Shop’.
D: My musical background is predominantly in playing guitar so I brought a lot of movement and melody to the bass parts. Has made the songs harder to play live though. Damn. ‘All Yours’ is a belter to play live. But ‘Gift Shop’ is one of my favourite songs I’ve been a part of writing, period.
G: It was very collaborative. We each added our own musicality into each song which took the EP in a very different direction than we expected. My favourite is ‘All Yours’.
4. What are your biggest musical and creative influences? Do you have any favourite artists?
K: Personally I was just infatuated with Jeff Buckley and The Stones, I had cool parents.
J: Biggest influences for me are probably Neil Young and Elliott Smith. For the band it's a bit like a rock band covering Portishead.
D: It’d be a lie if I didn’t say Paul McCartney’s bass lines weren’t a huge inspiration. He plays them and sings too!?
G: Biggest influences for me are bands like Nirvana and The Strokes.
5. How are you finding the industry is treating new and upcoming/young artists at the moment? Can you talk a bit about growing up in your hometown and the music scene there? Are there any influences from your home city within your music?
K: I don’t really understand the industry. It’s a graft but we seem to be having a good kick at it. But being from Manchester there’s only two things you can ever be interested in – football and music.
J: I mean it's probably tougher than it's ever been. The industry changes so much and so often, listeners' attention spans have shortened so it can be really difficult to make an impact straight away. BUT there's such an encouraging amount of very talented and passionate people at all levels so the magic definitely hasn't gone just yet. As far as hometown and influences go – being from Manchester means you sort of get caught up in that history straight away so yeah, there's probably a bit of that going through our music somewhere.
D: I’m a country boy so there was no scene to speak of. I’ve lived in a few places now but the underlying factor is that it’s a very unforgiving industry.
6. Another congratulations on your incredibly successful UK tour! How did it feel to headline a tour and play your music live to sold out crowds across the country? Do you have a favourite memory from the tour?
K: The tour was really cool. Seeing everything grow at the moment is so rewarding. It’s not just your mates n your mah at the back of a well used venue, it’s people who really connect with what we sing about. We had the best fucking time.
J: Tour was great! I just wish it could've gone on for a month longer haha. The London show was incredible and it was equally as rewarding getting to cities we haven't played in before and still seeing people sing back to us.
D: It was ace. Other than playing sold out shows in rooms with no AC – playing the card Pablo with your pals with a beer is always a highlight.
G: It was incredible. The London show as a whole was the highlight.
7. Which artists/songs are you listening to most at the moment?
K: At the moment I’ve been listening a lot to this artist called SASAMI. She is effortlessly cool, and can take her hand to pretty much anything. Listen to ‘Call Me Home’.
J: Probably Chet Baker and David Bowie for me.
D: I adore Gretel Hänlyn. Their EP Slugeye is phenomenal. ‘Connie’ and ‘Apple Juice’ are on repeat.
G: I’m listening to a lot of Manchester Orchestra and King Gizzard.
8. What’s your favourite lyric you’ve written and can you explain the meaning behind it?
K: My favourite lyric I’ve written is in ‘Cold’:
“What's that caught in your teeth
Your callousness and greed
Tentative enemy
Rotten to the core
What you waiting for
Silver spoon wishing to be poor”
I’ll leave this one up to you to decide what it means x
J: That's one for Kai I believe!
D: Kai is the lyrical master here, but one of my favourites is from ‘A Little More Time’ – “I’m craving for sober evenings inside”.
G: I haven’t written any lyrics and to be honest, I’m not sure I know half of them ha. I play drums.
9. Can you describe your band and your sound using 3 words, for new fans who may not have discovered you yet?
K: Dark, Sexy, and Sick.
J: Cinematic hot shower.
D: George said it best. But I’d like to add the word ‘vest’ in there somewhere. If you’ve seen us, you know why.
G: Sexy bath rock.
10. What would be your dream band to support on a tour and your dream venue/festival to play?
K: I think as a band we can all agree on wanting to support Queens of the Stone Age. Glastonbury too, Friday night is my only rule.
J: Queens of the Stone Age. Red Rocks in Colorado, Glastonbury.
D: Foo Fighters – it’s what I was raised on, so that’d be pretty cool. Glasto all day!
G: Arctic Monkeys or Queens of the Stone Age. Glastonbury.
11. What does the future look like for Balancing Act?
K: Balancing Act are writing at the moment. Some really really cool music is coming out of us right now, and we cannot wait to play it live.
J: Just more of everything. More music, more shows, more touring. We're just dying to get out there now.
D: It looks bloody mint. Strap in.
G: Bright!
And next up, it's an honour as always to invite my friends Lilly and Line to talk to you about their new obsession...
"Last December, I stumbled upon the band 'Balancing Act' their unique sound immediately captured my interest. I got hooked on their track 'Cold' pretty quickly, as it fits the chilly weather during that time. I frequently search through Spotify-generated playlists to discover new songs and artists, and I’m grateful that it was that way I found out about them. Despite the limited amount of songs they have released, each one has a unique quality that sets them apart. Ever since discovering them I kept checking their Spotify and was excited whenever I stumbled upon a newly released song. I’m so excited to see what they’ll release in the future!
I was even more excited when I found out that they’re scheduled to play a few UK shows in September. I already decided a while ago that it’s definitely a band that I need to see live, so I booked a trip from Germany to London just to see them - it was definitely worth it. The show was nothing short of incredible. Balancing Act knows how to put on a show that electrifies the crowd. The vocals were truly amazing and the atmosphere of the venue was so electric. The crowd was captured and truly down to have a good time. It was so wholesome to see that they lit up when they noticed the crowd singing along to the songs, especially to 'A Little More Time' and 'All Yours'. Their setlist was the perfect blend of slow and fast songs that made you want to dance or cry. They had some unreleased songs on the setlist and I’m super excited to hear the recorded versions if they decide to release them! 'Cool Shoes' is one of my favourite from the unreleased tracks. Overall, Balancing Act are amazing live and I don’t regret it one bit that I traveled from Ulm to London just to see them perform.
If you ever have the chance to see them, please do, you won’t regret it. These guys have so much potential and I’m confident that they’ll become big in the future. If you wanna enjoy seeing them in an intimate setting, I'd suggest doing it now while you still can!"
- Lilly Sonntag
Balancing Act - How quickly we can connect with art...
Balancing Act – A relatively new and exciting band from England. A friend of mine introduced me to them a few months ago, and it’s taken me by surprise how fast I’ve grown to love their music. After the first few listens to their top songs on Spotify, I was immediately captured by their music, songwriting, energy, and everything in between. Normally, it would take a person like me at least a few days (if not weeks) to get properly into a new band or artist, but there’s something about Balancing Act that’s caught me completely off guard – in the best way possible. But how is it that a person can go from not knowing about a band at all to becoming one of their top Spotify listeners in merely a month or two? I’m not sure I can you give a concrete answer on that, but I’ll try my best to give you a few reasons why I think I resonate with this particular band.
Firstly, they make these “shifts” in their songs that just immediately catch the attention of the listener, or at least me. A lot of pop songs nowadays are written after a certain “formula” that makes the structure of the songs very predictable. However, Balancing Act manage to break this pattern in a way that makes their tunes more interesting upon the first listen. To give you a few specific examples of these “shifts”, I’d encourage you to listen to the song “Before I Shoot” and notice the shifts at time stamps 2:10-3:02 and again at 3:02-3:10. It’s an interestingly structured song with captivating lyrics that’s made me listen to it a whopping 256 times since I was introduced to the band on August 6th, 2023. I think I’m allowed to call it an obsession at this point. Another example of a shift in their songs can be found in “All Yours” at time stamp 1:37-1:40. In a way, I’d say the shifts make their songs more dynamic and truly catch the attention of the listener, in such a way that their songs don’t just become “another pop song” you’ve listened to. Instead, you’re tempted to go back and listen to their songs again, because of these dynamics they create within their music writing.
In continuation of the previous section, I’d like to emphasize that the band themselves have pointed out that they like to keep their lyrics up to every individual’s own interpretation. This means they’ll never tell us fans what their songs are actually about which means we can all enjoy the music, and each put our own twist on the meaning of the lyrics. It gives the band an entirely different universality as everyone will be able to apply their own life and experiences to the lyrics of Balancing Act.
Furthermore, the energy this band gives off live is absolutely amazing. Sadly, I haven’t had the opportunity to see them live for myself just yet, but I’ve been watching content on the band’s own YouTube channel and videos my friends – who have gone and seen them live – have sent me from their gigs. The vibrant character of the band’s lead singer, Kai, gives off a shocking energy that might make you want to either dance, scream or cry to their songs. I can tell you one thing for sure; you can catch me on their next tour as I’m dying to see these guys live soon.
Balancing Act Tattoos - Line (Left) and Lilly (Right)
Lastly, I’ll point out that the artwork for their music so far has been absolutely incredible. I’ve especially been drawn to the cover art for the single “Before I Shoot” – so drawn to it that I got it tattooed on me a few weeks ago after only having been a fan of the band for a month or so. Some would call me insane for that decision, but in my opinion, art is art, and when you connect with it, there’s no way around it. The tattoo has already attracted a lot of questions from my friends and even strangers at the university I attend. But like the band, I’d like to keep my interpretation of the artwork to myself, and let people look at it through their own eyes and make up their mind what it could be about. A massive thank you to the artist Louis Gilbert for allowing me to get his beautiful art tattooed on me.
I’m not sure if these things make up all of the reasons why I’ve been drawn to Balancing Act so incredibly fast. However, they sure do make up for a few good reasons to give the band a listen while they’re still relatively new and fresh on the music scene. And hopefully, just some of you will be able to recognize yourselves in a similar situation of falling head over heels in love with a band.
- Line Thomsen
You can check out Balancing Act on Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube and all the rest..
Have a listen to their newest tune 'Cheshire Smile', and don't forget to check out some 'behind the magic' footage of their recording sessions and tour diaries!
Also please go and take a look at some more shots from the incredible photographer who joined us for this article - Isy Townsend!
Instagram - @isytownsend
Thank you for reading - catch you next time ;)
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