Speaker 1: Oh that is so good. I love that. I love that.
The name of.
Speaker 2: The track is my prettiest mistake. The band is Ath
and we've got Adam Hughes from Ath with us. We're
gonna speak with him in just a second. Welcome everybody.
We are, of course enjoying our number two. We're about
a little more than halfway through our number two, Numaradosa
Matt Connerton unleashed on this Saturday. If you are listening
live November twenty second, twenty twenty five, here from the
studios of WMNH. And let's go go ahead and get
that mic up and get Adam on the line with us. Adam,
can you hear us?
Speaker 3: Hey?
Speaker 4: How's it going?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 1: Good? Good, Welcome to the show. Now. Is anyone else
from the band with you or is it just you?
Speaker 2: Sadly, that's all right, No, we're happy to have you here.
I love that song so much. That is so good.
And I did listen to some other stuff too from
the band, great great stuff, thanks man.
Speaker 4: Thanks.
Speaker 2: By the way, so i'm looking at I was gonna
ask you where the name Ath comes from, and I'm
looking at your name and have seen your middle name.
By the way, you and I have the same middle name, Thomas,
And I'm wondering is that yeah, yeah, so we have
something in common. I'm wondering, is that where the name
comes from? At you are at H in effect?
Speaker 3: Yeah, something, it's yeah, along those lines. He started off
as a solo project.
Speaker 1: Ah, yes, that seems.
Speaker 3: When when the lads joined in, that's that's when we
decided we're going to put it down to a H
instead not just me.
Speaker 1: Oh, I got you. That seems to be a trend lately.
It's funny. Uh. I don't know if you heard.
Speaker 2: In the previous segment, I talked with Jamie Higgs and
other great artists from from the UK, and yeah, he
was telling me about how, you know, he started out
as a solo artist and now he's you know, he's
put a band together. He's still performing as Jamie Higgs,
but but he's got a band with him. And that
that seems to be the trend, you know. Uh, the
sole artists songwriters, they yeah, get a little lonely and works.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think I think there's usually one person who
starts it off yep.
Speaker 4: On you bring people around you to help you play live.
Speaker 3: Usually and then and yeah, I'd turned into such a
collaborative process that I thought we should just be a
band and we're better as a collective rather than me
just on my own.
Speaker 2: Well that's that tells you too, that you've really got
something there, right when you when you have something that
sort of happens organically like that, you know, you put this,
you put this group of people together to play your songs,
and then it ends up being so good you're like, oh,
we should just make this a band.
Speaker 1: I mean that's pretty cool. So was that not your
intention originally?
Speaker 2: Like, like, had that not happened, had that not gone
as well as it was, do you think you'd still
be a solo artist?
Speaker 3: I don't Yeah, maybe, I don't know. I wouldn't have
given up on music.
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, never give up on music.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you never know where life takes you.
Speaker 3: But out of hope that was in a band. I
always think, I always think the process of music is
but as a collective rather than a singular person. Yeah yeah, yeah,
so I'd always like to be with other people.
Speaker 4: Coluse, I'm not that good?
Speaker 1: What was it? Was it easy? It sounds like for
you because some people struggle with this.
Speaker 2: It sounds like for you, though, it wasn't that difficult
to kind of let go a little bit and open
yourself up to that, because some people can't do it.
Some people say, you know, I've got these songs that
I've written, and these are my songs, and if you're
coming in, you're going to perform them my way. But
these are my songs, and and people are some people
are very protective sort of their work that way. But
it sounds like for you it wasn't really difficult to
open up.
Speaker 3: No, absolutely, no, I mean that takes for like great
pride and all the stuff that we're doing right now,
especially that it's all written by me. Yeah, but there's
there's an element of I don't care. I don't care,
I couldn't come. I'd like I'd like people to hear
my ideas and projects. Yeah, that I couldn't care if
it's my face on it or if I stood at
the back of it.
Speaker 4: No, that's like making music.
Speaker 1: Man, that's excellent. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you don't have your own ego getting in the way,
which is good because.
Speaker 4: Some definitely do.
Speaker 3: I definitely do, probably do let where you go take
over a little bit sometimes really Yeah, Yeah, I mean
I think everybody in music.
Speaker 4: You've got to have a bit of an ego. You've
got to have a bit of pride about it that
you're doing.
Speaker 1: Yeah so throwing but but but it's not. At the
same time, it's not getting in the way.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's not. It's not getting in the way. I'm
just I let it. I let it do his thing.
Speaker 4: I guess.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, absolutely absolutely So how long how long has
ath officially been a band? It has it been less
than a year? It seems like it's kind of new, right.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I guess it would be the first eighty
h gig.
Speaker 4: It's been about eight.
Speaker 3: From maybe Oh no, sorry June, okay, oh yeah, so
really really not that long headline gig when we decided
we're going to cement it as eighty Hates the Band
rather than Adam Thomas Hues.
Speaker 4: And the band.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you're off. You're off to a very strong start,
that's for sure.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Thank you man.
Speaker 1: Absolutely.
Speaker 2: Now, as as these members have come into the band,
are they also contributing to the songwriting as you go forward?
Speaker 1: Or is that is that still more just you? Or
how does that work?
Speaker 3: There's there's no rules, there's there's no rules, man. There's
We've got to the backing guitarist Paddy. He He's wrote
a song that I think will end up being one
of an an eighty hate song. And I've got no
wells or anything, you know what I mean. I'm not
going to let that bother me because I want to
be a song right.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: If it's a good song man, we're going to do it.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: But so far it has just been me who wrote
the lyrics and melodies usually. Yeah, but I don't care
going forward.
Speaker 1: I noticed.
Speaker 4: I guess I'll just bring some ideas.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: No, that's great. I noticed too. Now tell me if
I'm if I'm right about this. Uh looking at looking
at the backgrounds of the members of the band, are
you guys all like, uh, majors in music at university?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 3: Uh, kind of kind of okay, kind of We've got
I think most of the lads are studying or did
study at university something to do with music.
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, that's what I thought. Yeah, so that's interesting.
So you're all, I mean, you all know what you're doing.
Speaker 1: You know you're not.
Speaker 2: You're not You're not just dabbling in this like you
you know you're at a young age. You're you're all pros,
like you've got some some actual education in music, which
is great.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I definitely don't flaunt that about that. I know
what I'm doing.
Speaker 3: I'm a very basic intermediate player myself. But we've definitely
got two or three of the lads in the band
classically they know what they're on about. Yeah, so that
really helps me.
Speaker 2: No, that's excellent. Yeah. And then so in terms of
since you've played your first show as a band, you
said that was in June.
Speaker 3: Right, Yes, as a under the Ah collective. Okay, we
did play a few shows before.
Speaker 2: That, ohta, So now since then, I mean my impression
is you've you've got a lot of momentum in a
short time.
Speaker 1: Are you Are you playing out a lot? Are you
doing a lot of shows?
Speaker 4: We have been.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we've been been shows every week every week, which
our size and at the start of a musical project.
I guess that is a little bit unheard of that
you could be playing every week. But yeah, no, we're trying.
We think live music's our favorite the music. Oh yeah,
playing in front of people?
Speaker 1: Did you perform it?
Speaker 2: Tell me if I'm saying this correctly. Wigan or Wagan
Warriors Rugby Wigan.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we played at that stadium once for
that wasn't no longer will.
Speaker 4: It was to open up a big match for them,
which was a really big moment for us. Oh wow,
one of the best cakes I've ever played, No kidding.
Speaker 1: How many people were at that? That must have been
a big crowd, right for something like that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the it was twenty to twenty two thousand,
Oh my god, yeah the tickets sold.
Speaker 3: I think when we were playing it was more like
fifteen or sixteen. Yeah, but definitely it was still and
you know what's crazy, man, it's I was far less nervous.
Speaker 4: For that than plenty of the other gigs that we've done.
Fifty people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I think I kind of understand. I mean, obviously,
you know, that's a you know, playing in front of
thousands and thousands of people at an event like that's
a big deal. But I can kind of I can
kind of guess. I mean, I'm curious to hear what
you say, but I can kind of guess that maybe
because when you're in a when you're in a in
front of fifty people, that's just such a much more
intimate thing.
Speaker 3: And uh, yeah, I think every art is so no
matter how big or small you whoever you talk to
will say the same thing. When you play to fifty
or one hundred people, it's so much more intimate and
you focus in on all the stuff that you doing
even more than when you playing in front of thousands
of people.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Uh, you know, and obviously you know there's people, like
if you're on stage, you look out into that into
a small crowd and you can see people you actually know, and.
Speaker 4: You see the eyes looking at you. You see the
eyes yeah.
Speaker 3: In and it could just be a bit of a
like a blur. It's just like a wall of stuff
is in front of you.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I remember a long time ago reading an interview with
Don Henley of the Eagles. He was talking about how
when the Eagles first got really big, he would get
terrible stage fright. So when because he was afraid of
being in front of these big crowds, so he would intentionally,
you know, he never really wore glasses, but he wouldn't
put his contact lenses and because he was nearsighted, but
he wouldn't put his contacts in before they went on
stage because he didn't want to be able to see
the crowd of people, so he'd be behind the drums
and and to him it was like, yeah, he could
hear them, but he couldn't actually see them.
Speaker 4: So awesome. That's that's awesome to be honest.
Speaker 3: That is something similar when I did most of my
eyes are closed for most of the most of the show.
Speaker 1: Oh, there you go, Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 4: It just happens.
Speaker 3: I think it's like a subconscious thing that it did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it just closes because that's not.
Speaker 3: Thinking of about the music, I guess, and thinking about
my playing and singing rather than thinking about who's staring
at me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense. Also, see something here
about the Deaf Institute in Manchester. Obviously that's Manchester, UK
where in so no one's so none of our listeners
are confused. We're in Manchester and yeah of course. But
and did you sell that out the Deaf Institute in Manchester?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, the first iconic venue you sold that. That
was the first gig we've first headline gig we did
is a band and it was the best moment of
my life so far. Wow.
Speaker 1: Oh that's incredible. That's incredible.
Speaker 2: So what is kind of the forward trajectory for you guys,
because this is a subject that comes up all the
time on the show, is talking about strategy in terms
of releasing music and the cadence with which you release music.
And I know you've got some singles, but did I
read this correctly too, that you've you've got a lot
of things you've recorded that you haven't released yet.
Speaker 1: Is that?
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, we've got about we're sitting on. We're sitting
on a lot of music right now, to be honest
to if you that we're ready to next year, there's
going to be a bit of a refresh with at
H where we we go for a very not different sound,
but we're a sound we're very happy and proud of
and we're just waiting for the right moment to kick
that off. I think that's going to be January first.
I'm very excited for next year's.
Speaker 2: Do you know in terms of releasing that music as
you do that in the starting in January, the refresh
as you put it, Uh, do you know is there going.
Speaker 1: To be an album do you think? Or or is
there going to be another series of singles or.
Speaker 3: There'll be a series of singles? First and we're gonna
we're gonna lead up to a big EP that hopefully
will be next year. Okay, that is the plant and
I'm very very proud of it.
Speaker 4: I can't say much about the EP.
Speaker 2: Though, Okay, okay, understood, understood, Well, you gave us some clues.
Speaker 1: That's good. That's good.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And then so the single, oh me, well, actually, let
me ask you this. I'm going to kind of backtrack
a little bit, you know, because because we did play
the single, which I love, my Prettiest Mistake, You've got
other music online that I'm curious if this is actually from.
There's another track that I found of yours that I
love called left Behind.
Speaker 1: But is that is that sort of pre band officially behind?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Okay, Well, to be honest, all of.
Speaker 3: It was the last two Prettiest Mistake and left Behind
were made with the band, okay, but they were made when.
Speaker 4: It was a solo act.
Speaker 1: Oh okay.
Speaker 3: Whereas the stuff that's all been made for next year
is all the band stuff.
Speaker 1: I gotcha.
Speaker 4: So yeah, but no, a very left behind kids kind
of similar to what we're doing next.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and and thank you. I the correct title title
is left Behind Kid. I think that through the kid
the kid is in parentheses and the title, So in
my mind, I just ignored the kid part, but left
behind good. That's a great song too. I think I'm
probably going to play that at the end of our
our segment. And also also I might sneak in, Uh
you did? I found this on YouTube? You guys did
a cover of Arizona by the by Wonder Horse and
this is the Barn live session. Now that's not a
show that I'm familiar with, but is that a Is
that a YouTube show where they have musicians come in
or what is the Barn?
Speaker 4: The Barn is completely us. It's our rehearsal space. Is
the Bar?
Speaker 1: Oh no kidding? Oh okay, yeah, yes.
Speaker 3: So when we do some recordings in we like to
call them the Barn sessions.
Speaker 4: Oh you just this shed that.
Speaker 3: We've turned into a studio. We've just named it the Barn.
And then you're going to see a lot more of
the Bar next year. Definitely.
Speaker 4: We love the live stuff.
Speaker 2: That's fantastic. Yeah, because I also love this. I love
the I might sneak this in too. I might play
both of those at the end of our conversation if
I have time, because I also love this. I'm not
familiar with the band Wonder Horse.
Speaker 3: Oh man, you need to do it.
Speaker 4: Do it?
Speaker 3: Yeah, fucking when you get home tonight, put your headphones
on and listen to their out of them.
Speaker 1: Where they Where are they from? Are they? Are they
from over there? Yeah?
Speaker 3: They were UK acts, okay, from like London and Cornwall,
and I think you'll be into them if you like
you a bit more grunge, punky rock. I guess it's
been adopted into the indie scene really right now.
Speaker 4: But at the heart of it, it's it's it's.
Speaker 3: Punk and grunge, okay, and they are possibly our biggest inspirations.
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, I'll check them out because you guys did
this cover of Arizona and it's really good, really good,
really good. Well, Adam, that time does go quickly, but
we will definitely have you back on in the future.
I'd love to as Ath is releasing new music, we'd
love to have you back on.
Speaker 1: Love what You're doing to, Love to really great star.
Speaker 2: Before we let you go, Like I said, we're gonna
hit this track left Behind another great song, but before
we go, where's the best place for people to go
online to keep up with everything that you guys are doing.
Speaker 3: I'd say everybody go and check out the Instagram. We
were very on it with the Instagram. We're posting announcements
for shows and music that's coming out.
Speaker 4: Okay, so it's.
Speaker 3: Official at H on all social media platforms.
Speaker 4: Definitely check out the Instagram, guys.
Speaker 2: Absolutely all right, we'll let you go for now. We're
gonna hit this track. But Adam Hughes of at H,
thank you so much, my friend. And like I said,
we will definitely definitely talk again in the future, but
absolutely as well.
Speaker 3: Oh that would be excellently We'll jump over that side
of the pund fantastic.
Speaker 2: Can't wait, can't wait? All right, Adam, we'll talk to
you soon. Take care see him man, bye bye.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: That is Adam Hughes from the band at H and
as promised, let's give this suspend. This is another great
song from them. This is called Left Behind Kid,