Cadence Noir Interview
Cadence Noir won the North Wales Metal To The Masses Final in June. The band are no strangers to BOA, having played the festival in 2014. A complex outfit with members from all over the country, they have caused quite a stir. I began by asking the band to provide a bit of background and to introduce the current line-up
“Formed as an acoustic duo in 2010, after frequenting almost every open mic in the East Midlands, we added Emma on Violin in early 2011 before realising that the energy the 3 of us had together meant that it was obvious we were in dire need of a rhythm section. A happy meeting at a jam night in Nottingham in 2011 with Tom and our original drummer Rob lead to the creation of the aural chaos now referred to as Cadence Noir”.
The band’s current line-up is Ade – Guitar/Vocals, Tom – Bass, Emma – Violin, Dave – Drums, Nick - Guitar
I’ve read numerous descriptions of the band’s style and I’ve seen the phrase ‘Goth Folk ‘n Roll’ used. After apologising for asking a question they’ve been asked hundreds of times I asked them to describe the Cadence Noir sound.
“Our violinist Emma likes to quote a meme showing a fellow in corpse paint sporting an accordion shouting ‘I only listen to Post Glam Speed Folk!’ – A not entirely inaccurate description. Genuinely, we take all the best parts of Metal, Folk, Blues, Punk and Rock’n’Roll… and then ruin them”.
I think that probably covers it quite nicely although the proof is to see the band in the live arena and make up your own mind. I moved on to ask who are the main influences for the band? Where to start? “Well… There’s more than a few…” Emma – Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon; Ade – Limp, Korn, Deftones; Dave – Tool, Opeth, Dream Theater; Nick – Ugly Kid Joe, Alice In Chains; Tom – Ozzy, Maiden, Sonata Arctica … None of which can be heard in our music!!” So, what about the guilty pleasure? This one’s easy. “Truthfully. The music we make. It really is”.
As I noted the band hail from a range of cities across the UK and played in the Liverpool MTTM heats last year. The band obviously worked hard to get through to the final of the MTTM in Wrexham this year. Was last years’ experience helpful in planning 2018? “Last year we performed at EBGBS as our Violinist Emma is from Liverpool and as far as we were concerned at the time it was just a cool gig for us, we had no ideas of grandeur and just enjoyed performing alongside the other acts to a fabulous crowd. Believe it or not that was genuinely the plan for this year too. Ade grew up in Wrexham and had always wanted us to do a gig in his home town. We genuinely didn’t expect it to go any further than that”.
I asked the band if they felt confident that they could get to the final.
“Again, honestly no. Our bassist and his partner were awaiting the imminent arrival of their 2nd child due shortly after the first heat so our original plan was to just enjoy the gig then take a couple of months off. We are eternally grateful to Tom’s partner Lorraine for letting him back out to play the semi and to our surprise, the final”. Good on you Lorraine. Look how it turned out!
I wanted to know about the band’s build-up to the final, and how they managed to balance gaining support and avoiding saturating everyone? “Throughout the gigs we diversified our set lists, and were very thankful to the audiences whose votes got us through to the final, I think we gained quite a few converts over the course of the competition and it was truly amazing to see the crowd respond to our performances. The final was always going to be an intense affair with Redwood Avenue, Impavidus and OMV all wanting to progress and giving it their all. Our genuine belief at the time that we had no chance of winning meant that we were just honoured to have gotten to perform on the stage at Central Station, a long-held ambition of Ade’s. As such we were all relaxed and just enjoyed playing the show together, maybe that helped in the end”.
How did it feel when Cadence Noir was announced by Rob Bannister as the winning band? “When we heard our name, Ade dropped in what he describes as “horror” and Em swore rather loudly in disbelief. The calibre of the competition was so high that some of us had already decided to order our tickets the next day. We were stood at the back of the crowd ready to get the drinks in for the winners when Rob shouted us out. It took a few minutes to sink in and we were elated to have made it but felt awful for the other bands”.
Moving on to Bloodstock 2018. Cadence Noir have played the festival before but are now on the Hobgoblin New Blood Stage on the Saturday. What can we expect and why should the undecided come and watch? “Some people might remember our 2014 set on the Jägermeister stage being a raucous, bluesy, mainly acoustic affair – four years on we are bringing a louder, heavier, slightly angrier prospect to the New Blood stage. Our unique brand of folk-shred riffs, the occasional breakdown, and lyrical storytelling, ranting, wry humour and frequent strong language give us more metallic cutlery for our place at the table, but we’re still a fresh taste. We’re musically eclectic and proudly mad”.
“You have to see us live to get the full force of the delivery though - if you’re undecided, the best way to decide if we’re worth watching or not is to watch us in the tent instead of YouTube. You can expect sing-alongs and jigs to breakdowns and bluegrass. If you’re looking for something you haven’t heard before, or our description ticks even a few of your boxes, you’ll be welcome in the pit”.
It’s a bit of a Welsh invasion this year with the guys from Sodomised Cadaver, Democratus and Cranial Separation all playing. Do you class yourselves as a fifth Welsh and more importantly should we invite you to the party?
“Along with our many achievements as a band, Mr Noir boasts multiple childhood Eisteddfod certificates along with the associated mental scarring and aversion to Daffodils. Lost his virginity in Llandudno, his soul in Rhyl and has a fully complete if slightly soiled Euro 2016 sticker album entirely dedicated to Gareth Bale”.
I think that is a yes, solely on the Euro 2016 sticker book. Remember kids, Gareth Bale is god.
For anyone who has yet to experience Bloodstock, why should you go? The band are effusive in their praise. “As a festival there is truly nothing else like it in the UK. The diversity of the bands on offer as well as the range of food and entertainment make it a most unique prospect. Also, there’s a real sense of community amongst everyone, you’re never far from making a new friend, bumping into an old friend, or seeing a naked guy with a bum bag. (Seriously. It doesn’t matter where you are, he’s there)”. Not sure if that is a selling point but yes, we’ve all seen naked bum bag guy at the festival. More’s the pity!
Cadence Noir have played with some decent bands in the past. What are the highlights so far?
“Supporting Evil Scarecrow is always going to take some topping. Uprising Festival in Leicester last year was an amazing experience as well, the line-up was terrific with particularly stand out sets from Bossk, Kill II This, and Barb Wire Dolls – we shared the bill with fellow M2TM 2018 winners Pelugion from Coventry. We were also lucky enough to get to go out to the Czech Republic for a couple of gigs in 2015 and whilst it was a very tiring introduction to driving across Europe, the whole experience was amazing, and we feel it really bonded us all as a band as we had just gone through a couple of line-up changes”.
The band has UK gigs lined-up in the next few months. What does the future for Cadence Noir look like?
“As we approach our 8th year of stubborn existence, we are continuing to gig UK wide and are hoping to keep the momentum going after our BOA appearance this year by bringing our live shenanigans to as yet untouched territories of our fine nation and even possibly a bit further afield. We are pleased to already have a few dates in for 2019 and indeed a return to fair Wrexham TBA later this year along with a few shows with some of this and previous years’ M2TM Winners. Not as busy as Witch Tripper, but busy enough with luck!”
Very few bands are as busy as Witch Tripper to be honest. Diolch yn fawr iawn to Cadence Noir for their great interview. Alongside many other great bands over the Bloodstock weekend, these guys should be well worth checking out.
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