"Everything rode on the support of our fans so we could gauge a true representation on how many people actually a fuck about this album," life long While She Sleeps guitarist Matt Welsh tells about how their new record, 'You Are We', which came together with the help of fans through Pledge Music. "It's already done better than any other record and that's without a label."
While She Sleeps have seen their records take them to bigger venues, bigger festival stages and attract a whole new audience. While they may have had to had resolve issues regarding vocalist Laurence Taylor’s throat problems they made a stunning comeback in the form of ‘Brainwashed’ and are now ready to let new record ‘You Are We’ take them to all new heights on their career trajectory.
They are looking for the new album to cement their status as one of the UK’s Melodic Metal heavyweights and are doing this with no record label. “We never really loved being with a record label. When we first got an offer from a major label we were swept off of our feet.” tells Welsh. “I don’t regret doing it at all because we needed to learn from it. We learned that we were a very small fish in a massive pond.” It’s refreshing to hear a band being so honest and open about difficulties with record labels as it isn’t uncommon, just look over the A Day To Remember lawsuit and you’ll see why. But While She Sleeps carried their own momentum forward and learned from mistakes made.
This new approach to releasing music has allowed the Sheffield Metallers to venture into unknown territories, this includes their new project called ‘Sleeps Brothers’. “We’ve been talking about this for ages and have never had the opportunity. We love so many different styles of music and a lot of what we listen to is quite ambient and clean orientated. We’ve always messed around and made new versions of our songs. We’ve called it ‘Sleeps Brothers’ and it’s like Explosions In The Sky meets Ryan Adams,” Welsh tells with glee in his voice. He admits that they would love to put out a full record of alternative versions of the songs but has never had the time. “It’s basically us becoming a new band.”
With all this change falling around the band (and all of which being incredibly positive) there isn’t much free time as the UK tour which began this month has taken off the beaten track and to plenty of different corners of the British Isles. “It’s great doing four shows in Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester & London but we can take the people who have come to those 2000 and split it up in 500 capacity rooms, we can do everywhere.” It’s a testament to how While She Sleep’s treat their fanbase, they understand not everyone lives in four main cities in the UK and are able to spend time taking their new record to a variety of places. “We completely understand the importance of a local music scene.”
New record, tour, Sleeps Brother’s. While She Sleep’s are making hay while the sun is shining and taking their record all over the UK, ensuring that they can leave behind their message for the world to see. By making their music more melodic than the previous albums they are allowing themselves to become more palatable to a wider audience without sacrificing their integrity. “Anything can be heavy if it’s played with passion and conviction. I think we can play any type of music and it will sound like While She Sleeps. We’ve never tried to sound like anyone else or put on an accent. We can play anything we want and be musically free but you’ll know that it’s While She Sleeps.”
Their ability to adapt, whether musically or in how they put out their records, will pay off for them in the long term as they will be able to bring new projects and new sounds to the table through sustainability. This record is in no way, shape or form the last you have heard of While She Sleeps, they’re in it for the long haul.
‘You Are We’ is available now on all digital platforms.