Following the release of their debut single ‘Where The Beaten Go’, we caught up with The Villainy.
After winning over UK crowds since 2013, the band were discovered via Twitter by Nick Stewart, the man famous for signing U2 to Island Records.
Since then, the indie pop rockers have recorded their debut release, performed shows across the UK and most recently appeared at Y Not Festival.
We caught up with the band to find out more about their recent single and their dream UK tour.
Can you tell us briefly about the formation of the band back in 2013?
Ted had released a couple of solo albums in Sweden, but was finding it all a bit lonely so he put the idea to Henrik and together they set about demoing some songs Ted had begun writing with a band in mind. Marcus had been campaigning to play drums with Ted for a while and was the natural choice when the band was formed. We went through a succession of bass players until Anton came along and the lineup was complete!
How have things progressed for you since then?
We started with a couple of gigs in Sweden and began to spread the demos we made on the net. We quickly found that there was much more interest in us in the UK than there was in Sweden and we started regularly making the trip across the channel. Sometimes flying in, but more often than not in our crappy van which we could sleep in if the temperature was above 15 degrees and it wasn’t raining. Nick Stewart discovered us through a Tweet and soon enough we were signing with his management company which then led to us signing a deal with Man In The Moon Records.
You recently released your new single ‘Where The Beaten Go’, for those who haven’t discovered the track how would you describe the release?
It’s always been a bit of a live favourite and we were keen to get it recorded. Ted is a great songwriter (although he’d never admit it!) and this showcases his skill with lyrics and an anthemic melody. A lot of people have said it’s one of those songs that grows on every listen and that pleases us greatly!
With your forthcoming UK shows and an appearance at Y Not Festival, what three things are guaranteed during The Villainy’s set?
Hmm, it’s pretty much guaranteed that Ted will crack a few jokes about the area we’re in that no-one will understand. We’ll be relying on Rosie, who plays guitar with us live, to take care of all the difficult bits and that Henrik will look more stylish than the rest of us.
If you could tour the UK with any other band, who would it be and why?
Probably Elbow as we admire the way they’ve grown in stature over the years and that they write intelligent heartfelt songs while also having a sense of humour and down to earth attitude.
What are your plans for the rest of 2016?
With any luck we’ll get to do another single and maybe make plans for our debut album. It would be great to go out as a support act on a good tour and would also be great to be played on 6Music! Further ahead, we really hope we get to play a few more festivals next year, especially Glastonbury which would be a dream come true!
Anything else you wish to add?
Just that we’re really grateful for the attention we’re receiving right now and we hope that we get the chance to continue to grow and develop!
Watch The Villainy’s music video for ‘Where The Beaten Go’ below: