Sheffield indie-rock band Redfaces is comprised of four members: Harry Lyon (guitar and lead vocals), Ryan Laycock (guitar and backing vocals), Isaac White (Bass guitar, keys and backing vocals) and Charlie Yapp (drums, percussion and backing vocals). They have been signed to Sony Records since 2015 and have since evolved into the band we know today. We had a chat with Isaac about how it all began, what they've been up to, and what we can expect from them next.

How did you meet each other and when did you form your band?

“Charlie and Harry are related in a way which is not important and will only bore you, but they formed a band in school. I went to the same school as Charlie and Harry and although I was predominantly a keyboard player I sort of learned bass on the job because they needed some bass. We played around for quite a while, going from covers in the school hall to our own songs and almost every venue in Sheffield. Soon after we abducted Ryan from another band we knew in Sheffield and got going with our quest to make sweeeeett music.”

What’s the origin of your band name?

“At our first show, in school, we were all so nervous that our faces went bright red. Was it embarrassment? Was it nerves? Who knows, but it’s just a band name that stuck.”

How did you get your name out in Sheffield?

“Our official show on the ‘Sheffield scene’ was at West Street Live. We’d just started to write our own music and we were asked to play a band night. Slowly from there, we were playing more and more nights in Sheffield at places like Green Room, Leadmill, Plug, Rocking Chair (now Cafè Totem) and slowly but surely people kept coming back.”

Do you remember your first performance? How did it go?

“Our first performance officially as Redfaces again was the same day we got our name. At the time we thought it was great, in hindsight it wasn’t so great. But I guess you have to suck for a while before you get good.”

How did you get signed to Sony Records?

“I’m not sure to be honest! In early 2015 we released this song we had called ‘Katie Come Home’ – we thought nothing of it at the time, it was just a song we wanted out there just to make our presence known! Little did we know at the singles launch gig, a few A&R [artists and repertoire] scuttled up from the depths of London to see what we were all about. We took on RCA [record label] and that was that!”

How was the experience of a UK tour and what place was your favourite to perform in?

“Being on your is absolutely brilliant but is bloody tiring. It’s a whole lot of driving, waiting and then suddenly a massive concentrated 45-minute period of energy, loudness and stuff. The gigs are amazing but going from doing a huge 45-minute set, to having a three hour drive that night wreaks havoc with your head. It’s brilliant though, there wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t laughing at all the stupid shit that we were talking about.

One of my favourite shows had to be Stamford. We were treated awfully by one of the venues’ staff there and were subsequently kicked out for trying to compromise. Despite this though, we still thought we should put on a gig, so we plugged in an amp into our tour vans inverter, got a few guitars and a keyboard and did a stripped back set outside the venue to all the fans who’d bought tickets. Not the usual gig night but brilliant all the same.”

Do you have any advice for any up and coming bands?

“I think the thing that a lot of bands miss nowadays is just being themselves and writing music for the pure love of it above anything else. It’s all well and good writing anthems that you want everyone to sing, but if it doesn’t mean anything to you and it’s just a string of meaningless lyrics trying desperately to be ‘cool’ or ‘current’ then I think you need to get your priorities straight.”

What has been your biggest challenge as a band? And how did you overcome it?

“I think one of the biggest challenges is being able to take criticism. Often, you’ll write something that you’ve put your heart and soul into and to be told it’s not right really does hurt. But I think being able to take that criticism and use it to better ourselves as songwriters and musicians is something really important.”

What music are you listening to at the moment?

“We all kind of have our little niches. Charlie is hugely into Rex Orange County at the moment, he’s kind of indie but with a very strong hip hop/garage beat driving it. Charlie’s obsessed with him and it's starting to come across in his drumming.

I’m hugely into psychedelic pop and have been listening a lot to a band called Post Animal recently. (Fun fact, one of the members is the actor who plays Steve in Stranger Things).

We all love a lot of breaking indie artists too like The Magic Gang and Ratboy.”

Who are your favourite music artists of all time?

“We grew up listening to all the music from the 50s, 60s and so on. We’re all huge Beatles fans and they’re very much a blueprint for a lot of our song writing. But aside from that we love bands like The Strokes, Kasabian, Supergrass and The Smiths. Quite an indie palette.

A few years ago, we were introduced to a band called Tame Impala who opened our minds to different ways of making music. So, they’ve been very important to our song writing too.”

How are you feeling about performing at Tramlines?

“We can’t wait! We’ve played Tramlines quite a few times in different places across the city. So to be asked to play the main stage with Blossoms and Noel Gallagher is a huge honour! – we can’t wait!”

Do you have any plans for an EP or album anytime soon?

There’s a new single coming out soon, and probably a few more this year too. As for and EP or album it’s all up in the air at the moment! We have the songs we just haven’t decided what to do with them yet!”

Redfaces are releasing a new single ‘Messed Up Feeling’ on March 16th and, until then, you can check out their other music on Spotify and Youtube.