Connecting with waverley. we instantly fell in love with their sound. The Scottish folk/indie/rock band hailing from Edinburgh tell us about their latest single 'Shore' and the plans ahead of them. Make sure you connect with them and keep an eye out for their music.
Hi! Welcome to the blog! Could you introduce yourself and where you are all from?
Hey Music from Me! We are waverley. and all come from the lovely city of Edinburgh.
The name of your band is waverley., can you talk us through how you formed?
Many years ago, before waverley. had officially formed or had released anything, we had an upcoming gig in a pub and had to think of a name. We were driving through town and saw a sign for Waverley train station and so thought it was good enough. We never bothered to change it. However, our pretentious answer is that we are named after the Walter Scott novel.
The band formed over many years. The two singers and songwriters, Donnie and Ewan, have been playing and writing together since they were 12. The rest all met at a council run music project and over the next few years the band came together. Our 3rd guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, Leo, only joined in December!
How did you guys each discover your love for music? Did you grow up surrounded by musicians?
A few of us definitely grew up around musicians and this influenced our love for music. Donnie’s dad was in a band in the 70s and has written songs for other artists. He taught him his first guitar chords and meant he was always surrounded by music. Our drummer’s (Rory) mum is a bagpipe teacher, so Rory grew up drumming in a Scottish pipe band before moving on to jazz. Other than that, we all grew up with a love of music, although in differing genres. Jake (our bassist) was a huge pop punk fan and adored Blink 182. Leo has a very eclectic taste but is a U2 man at heart (sorry Leo). Donnie and Ewan grew up on classic rock and whatever was in the charts.
You’ve recently released an indie/folk/rock single ‘Shore’. Is this single influenced by anything? What’s the story behind it?
Yeah, we just released Shore and we are super proud to have it out in the world with it reaching people! The original basis of the song was a lovely fingerpicked demo written by Ewan that was inspired by the likes of Adrianne Lenker and Elliot Smith with some very Scottish lyrics recalling a road trip around the North West coast of Scotland. The song was then passed on to the rest of band who added layers building it up, attempting to give it a Fleet Foxes and Pinegrove feel, indie with folk influences. Leo added the final touches with his beautiful slide guitar playing to complete that indie folk feel. Hopefully people can hear the Scottish and folk influences on the track.
Sometimes songs come overnight and some come in an instant. Was ‘Shore’ an overnight concept or a continuous project?
I think, as said, it was a continuous process to create it but it had very strong foundations in Ewan’s demo. I think that is how most of our songs go. A strong start in a demo and a direction the writer wants to go. Then, the band will come in adding layers and more feeling, ultimately taking it in a slightly different direction, giving it our own sound and making it a truly collaborative process.
This is your first single in 2022, what does this year have in store for you?
2022 has been great so far except a few cancelled gigs at the start of the year due to Covid. After Shore, we plan to record a brand new EP in the summer. Hopefully, this EP will be the most creatively sincere and united approach to our music so far, highlighting exactly how we want to sound. Other than that we have some great gigs in the summer that are yet to be announced. Hopefully we can perform, write and record as much as we can!
A question I like to ask upcoming artists is what do you think is the biggest misconception about being a musician?
That people find you instantly attractive!
Have you got any upcoming live shows we need to look out for?
We have none that are yet announced but I believe we are planning to play with another local Edinburgh band, Swiss Portrait, who are fantastic dreamy indie bedroom pop. We don’t have many finalised yet but we will certainly be playing plenty of shows. We may even be making a voyage down south to England which should be great fun!
Since this is a music blog all about discovering new music! Can you suggest us three songs we need to hear?
We are going to suggest some great local bands that we love. Firstly, May Was Warm by JR Green. They are brothers from the North West of Scotland and play the most amazing indie folk with guitar and accordion. We have been following them for years and this new single is a cracker with some fantastic lyrics. Another we suggest is Peaks of Wreck by Mt. Doubt. They are a fellow Edinburgh band and are amazing. They write great moody indie music in a similar vein to The National and Nick Cave. Leo, the mastermind of Mt. Doubt, actually painted the cover to Shore. Very talented guy! Finally, we suggest Today by Swiss Portrait, who we’ve mentioned. Great indie dreampop and we can’t wait to support them in July!
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With thanks to waverley.
Written By Amy James
20th May 2022
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