Jeff Gascoyne - Bass, violin, guitar, vocals
Martin Hanbury - Guitars, vocals
Mark Sweeney - Keyboards, vocals
Martin Hanbury - Guitars, vocals
Mark Sweeney - Keyboards, vocals
Fine Soft Day was formed on the back steps of a house in Rusholme, Manchester. It’s the summer of 1996 and, at a party in the suburbs of the city, three friends take their drinks into the warm evening air and, being nowhere else to sit, they settle on the old stone steps. The conversation is about music, about the bands they are in and the band they would like to be in. And soon, it’s there; the band they want to be.
We had met through mutual musical acquaintances a few months before, having gigged round the North West of England in various guises and groups for a few years. We had all gravitated towards the folk rock scene.
We shared a passion for music that was original, welll crafted and authentic. We wanted to move beyond the rut we felt we were getting stuck in. So we had a few drinks, spoke some more and then agreed.
Some days later, the first writing sessions start and the first gigs are being planned.
And so begins the Fine Soft Day story with a roller coaster ride through many gigs, recording sessions, festivals, personnel changes, escaped trailers, dodgy agents and flying ashtrays.
The early years of the band saw us play around the North West, with occasional visits to London, where we played in the Rock Garden in Covent Garden a couple of times, as well as Camden Town. We were still influenced by folk roots, with Jeff’s Swarbrick-esque fiddle playing and Mark’s Jethro Tull inspired flute featuring prominently in our live sets as we combined our original material with traditional songs and tunes. In truth, we had a wide range of influences, including a particular love for all things progressive and we were pretty hard to categorise or define. A bit indie, a bit folky, a bit bluesy but with a yearning to expand our musical direction beyond what we were writing at the time.
Playing live enabled us to hone the songs into a unique blend of the familiar and the strange. Our sets would often combine improvisation and a tendency to swap instruments for almost every song. We would all play bass at some point during most sets. Guitars were always passed between us, mandolins, flutes, whistles and violins always within arms reach. It was a bewildering experience at times. Even for us.
We recorded the eponymous debut album, Fine Soft Day during 1998 which enjoyed some airplay on local radio and even lead to us featuring on TV, recording 3 songs which were featured on Sky 1. We won’t mention the host of the show, but suffice to say it was a knockout.
But, gradually, Fine Soft Day faded into the background. As families formed and workloads increased, the time we devoted to the band lessened. Soon, Fine Soft Day was a fond memory, a dusty CD and a drunken song or two at a party.
Then, for no apparent reason, it seemed a good idea to get together and try some new material. Martin had been writing again and wanted to test his new songs. We decided we would record some songs to see what would happen. We recorded some of our old songs which had never been recorded at the time. But it quickly became more than that. This time, it was just three of us. We would record everything ourselves. No time pressures, the only limits were our technical ability and our imagination.
It felt natural to push the boundaries in our writing. The initial idea was to write a suite of 3 songs which would revolve around a concept. We felt that we couldn’t fit the idea into 3 songs, so we settled on 5. Then 11. As we wrote, arranged and recorded, we were shocked at the sound we were producing. Very different to our previous works, but probably closer to our beloved progressive rock influences. Instead of shying away from those influences, we embraced them. Channels were labelled “Gilmour” or “Hackett”. 4 minute songs were expanded into 14 minute works. We realised we could take our listeners on a journey with us. Just like we felt when we used to listen to Close To The Edge or Selling England By The Pound.
And that’s how You Are Here came to be.
It’s a significant departure from our earlier sound in some respects but then again, it’s the album we were always going to make.
So we hope you enjoy what you hear, now that you are here.
We had met through mutual musical acquaintances a few months before, having gigged round the North West of England in various guises and groups for a few years. We had all gravitated towards the folk rock scene.
We shared a passion for music that was original, welll crafted and authentic. We wanted to move beyond the rut we felt we were getting stuck in. So we had a few drinks, spoke some more and then agreed.
Some days later, the first writing sessions start and the first gigs are being planned.
And so begins the Fine Soft Day story with a roller coaster ride through many gigs, recording sessions, festivals, personnel changes, escaped trailers, dodgy agents and flying ashtrays.
The early years of the band saw us play around the North West, with occasional visits to London, where we played in the Rock Garden in Covent Garden a couple of times, as well as Camden Town. We were still influenced by folk roots, with Jeff’s Swarbrick-esque fiddle playing and Mark’s Jethro Tull inspired flute featuring prominently in our live sets as we combined our original material with traditional songs and tunes. In truth, we had a wide range of influences, including a particular love for all things progressive and we were pretty hard to categorise or define. A bit indie, a bit folky, a bit bluesy but with a yearning to expand our musical direction beyond what we were writing at the time.
Playing live enabled us to hone the songs into a unique blend of the familiar and the strange. Our sets would often combine improvisation and a tendency to swap instruments for almost every song. We would all play bass at some point during most sets. Guitars were always passed between us, mandolins, flutes, whistles and violins always within arms reach. It was a bewildering experience at times. Even for us.
We recorded the eponymous debut album, Fine Soft Day during 1998 which enjoyed some airplay on local radio and even lead to us featuring on TV, recording 3 songs which were featured on Sky 1. We won’t mention the host of the show, but suffice to say it was a knockout.
But, gradually, Fine Soft Day faded into the background. As families formed and workloads increased, the time we devoted to the band lessened. Soon, Fine Soft Day was a fond memory, a dusty CD and a drunken song or two at a party.
Then, for no apparent reason, it seemed a good idea to get together and try some new material. Martin had been writing again and wanted to test his new songs. We decided we would record some songs to see what would happen. We recorded some of our old songs which had never been recorded at the time. But it quickly became more than that. This time, it was just three of us. We would record everything ourselves. No time pressures, the only limits were our technical ability and our imagination.
It felt natural to push the boundaries in our writing. The initial idea was to write a suite of 3 songs which would revolve around a concept. We felt that we couldn’t fit the idea into 3 songs, so we settled on 5. Then 11. As we wrote, arranged and recorded, we were shocked at the sound we were producing. Very different to our previous works, but probably closer to our beloved progressive rock influences. Instead of shying away from those influences, we embraced them. Channels were labelled “Gilmour” or “Hackett”. 4 minute songs were expanded into 14 minute works. We realised we could take our listeners on a journey with us. Just like we felt when we used to listen to Close To The Edge or Selling England By The Pound.
And that’s how You Are Here came to be.
It’s a significant departure from our earlier sound in some respects but then again, it’s the album we were always going to make.
So we hope you enjoy what you hear, now that you are here.