For those people who haven’t heard of For The Ages could you tell us a bit about the band and your story?
Tim: We met one serendipitous evening in Chesham at a pub called The Generals Arms. I was wandering around this local watering hole when I stumbled upon Alex, who was dressed in a selection of peculiar clothing and was staring at the sky in a whimsical way. My first words were “you must be a musician” and a long conversation ensued about our shared passion for writing and playing songs.
Alex: I was starting a band and asked Tim if he was interested in joining. A few weeks later we met up in an ‘Alice in Wonderland-themed bar in London for an official welcome into what would be known as ‘For The Ages’. We’re basically a two-piece band of eccentric multiinstrumentalists whose aim is to make tunes that stand the test of time in the genres that we love – from rock to house music, folk to electronica, and so on.
Tim: Our songwriting process varies – sometimes I hum a tune or have a guitar lick that sounds SUPER catchy depending on what works at the time. Occasionally we write together – if so we’re not afraid of critiquing or editing our sound as we want to create the best music we can and it shows.
Alex: A song usually develops while I’m playing around on the guitar or keyboard….the vocals come a little bit after the chords are established. Occasionally, a tune will come to me when I’m dreaming or daydreaming….it feels like being given a sacred gift. Songwriting with Tim is an incredible process as well – quite simply there just wouldn’t be great songs like ‘Afro Boutique’ without him. Some of ‘The Pendulum’ was written as a result of Tim coming round to cheer me up after I’d been on an abysmal date – helped along by some rum!
Who inspired you to get on stage and perform?
Tim: It was one of my Mum’s friends, Dumpy – she taught me how to do my first paradiddle. I began learning drums in school at 12 and moved on to incorporating guitar in college from the age of 16. There I began to dep for other musicians in my local area of High Wycombe – getting to play many shows and even owning my own music night eventually before starting a couple of bands. At this point, I took a break from music and, with a lot of grit, got into a Uni for music thus leading to my bachelor’s of music.
Alex: I’ve always been keen on performing on stage and on screen – I sang in choirs when I was at school in Virginia in the U.S.A. when my father was working out there for the British Army, and in musicals like ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ when I was in the West of England Youth Theatre Company. I taught myself guitar after taking bass guitar lessons and started writing songs when I was about 15 or 16. I think I’d be lost without music or acting…I was represented by Ugly Models for about 10 years when I was doing character acting. You might have seen an episode of Brainiac with me busking badly and well to see how much money I made or one of the adverts I’ve been in.
Are there any artists/albums that inspired your sound and stuck with you?
Tim: We enjoy music from artists from a vast range of genres. Gorillaz are one of our influences along with Leftfield and Daft Punk.
Alex: I’ve always been a fan of Dodgy, U2, Radiohead, and Kula Shaker’s music. I suppose I’m still a Britpop kid!
Could you tell us a bit about the writing/recording of the Syncr Music winning competition track “Afro Boutique”?
Tim: Originally it was going to be a concept song, simply based on a catchy set of chords, for my end-of-year London College of Creative Media undergraduate degree project. My teacher told me I couldn’t develop the track further due to COVID etc regarding access to the building for recording due to safety concerns.
Alex and I threw everything we could into producing a workable demo in the portable recording studio at Alex’s house in Chesham. We then set about securing some talented artists to help improve it, including Syirona Dingwall (who does some of the backing vocals) and Francesco Zacchi (an amazing bassist and producer).
Alex: We wanted it to be as memorable as ‘Uptown Funk’ (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars), ‘Dance to the Music’ (Sly and the Family Stone), or ‘Fresh’ (Kool & The Gang). It includes references to a superhero ‘Lady Luck’, a place of refuge, joy, and fairness – Afro Boutique, and the positivity, empowerment, equality, and justice required for a better world.
What have been some of your favourite places to perform?
Tim: We’re just a studio band at present, building up a decent portfolio of songs for our debut live shows in 2024.
What has been your best experience as a band?
Alex: It sounds like a bit of a flaky answer, but actually just being in this band is its own amazing reward. I spent a long time looking for someone who I could write songs with as it involves a lot of trust and emotional commitment – Tim and I work really well together.
Tim: Yeah, Alex and I share a lot of the same interests beyond our love of music from a broad range of genres…including dungeons & dragons, cartoons/anime, science fiction, good food (especially kebabs!), films with Jim Carrey, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Sometimes it’s tricky concentrating on the music.
Alex: There are a couple of instances that stand out, like doing the music video for ‘Morning Blue’ where we had to pin all of my sheets around the front room of my house to provide a clean backdrop for the video.
(Alex and Tim chuckle)
Tim: We also had an amazing time in Clacton where we came across a girl that had a tattoo of the word ‘Twat’ on her chest.
Do you have any plans for an EP or an album?
Alex: ‘The Reasons Why’, our demo album, was released in 2019. It was comprised of 8 songs including the well-received ‘The Inventor’….an electronica track that was inspired by synth-pop legends La Roux and Filthy Dukes. It’s written from the perspective of an inventor who lives a chaotic existence while trying to bring ideas to life.
Tim: It was our first concept music video – and in it, you can see Alex and I mixing chemicals for each other to drink (which were actually just tasty cocktails!).
Alex: The ten songs that we have released and will release since ‘The Reasons Why’ will be bundled into our next album.
Here at Artistic Echoes, we are always on the lookout for new artists do you have any to recommend?
Tim: Harry Quinn – I had the pleasure of playing with Harry at a few local festivals. Wonderful musician, great vibe, adored by fans and musicians alike.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
Tim: We have a pumping house track called Twilight Bay coming out this summer. It’s inspired by our love of the Cornish coast and celebrates the joy of everything beach life has to offer, from refreshing swims in the sea, surfing the waves, to enjoying boat trips and dancing by log fires. It’s released on 12th May.
Alex: Quite often we take trips out to Newquay and other beach towns in the UK just to get inspired, revitalised, and generally enjoy ourselves. The British coastline is majestic. One day I might even be a competent surfer!
Tim: I want to surf too!
Alex: You’ll have to catch footage of Tim skating in the forthcoming Twilight Bay music video.
