Nightbus on Touring, Authenticity and Their Debut Album 'Passenger'

Meg Parrott

Manchester based freelance culture writer and editor.

Following the release of their debut album ‘Passenger,’ out yesterday on Melodic Records, we chatted with Manchester duo Nightbus

For Manchester-based Jake Cottier and Olive Rees, their take on early electronic and indie rock – Nightbus – grew somewhat organically. Now, three and a half years and a string of rave reviews later, their next stop is here.

Born from the pleasure-seeking ecosystem of the 0161, Nightbus, as the name suggests, captures the liminal energy of the post-night out high with the pre-headache low; an identity that watches the chaos from the back of the bar whilst being the life and soul of the party. Their tracks tell a tale of two halves – a self-assured sound, by way of introspective lyricism.

Currently wading through 70 hour weeks and “a million WhatsApp messages” alongside the run up to the pair’s first headline tour, a sit down interview with CLUNK arguably marks where the band are at right now: as busy as ever but still humble. Their path for success is shaped from years of formative experiences with music that have influenced their artistry.

Cottier, who grew up with his parents “playing music in the car; flicking through CDs; going around to families and friends’ houses; watching things on music channels,” notes seeing a video of either Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix on TV and “was pretty much sold from then.” It was an arguable baptism of fire, albeit one paused till he turned seven due to his being too small for guitar lessons.

It was a seminal trip to Cornwall’s Boardmasters Festival and a guitar-wielding friend that paved the way for a then 15 year old Rees. “I didn’t think learning an instrument was a thing that I could do. I thought if you’re gonna learn an instrument, you had to do it as a kid. But after that festival, I was completely like, “what the fuck?” Then I started playing bass. That was it really.”

What started as “joining your first shit band, then going on to make some half decent music after,” plus a meeting through mutual friends and primitive jam sessions, eventually led to the penning of their first release, ‘Way Past Three’, back in 2023.

Granted, they’ve both come a long way since then.

Cementing their here-to-stay place in the UK’s independent circuit, cutting their teeth headlining the likes of Paris’ Supersonic, Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club and Manchester institutions YES and Night and Day Cafe, and signing with independent label Melodic Records back in June marked a pivotal turning point in Nightbus’ evolution.

From the atmosphere found in dreamlike vocals, low synth and their shared talent on guitar, nocturnal creatures can find their newest rush in Nightbus; as can those who choose their tracks from the comfort of their bedroom. In short, they’re the band for the feelers.

And, handling their own production and songwriting, it’s an artistry they’ve worked hard to curate.

“I’m very melody and lyrically driven,” begins Liv. “I think that Jake is great at understanding how to build a song. I’m good at understanding what people want to hear from one. Even when he sends me instrumentals, I already know what he wants to say with it. It works because when he adds really dark production to it, it just meets in the middle.”

“I won’t say all great songs have to be catchy, but there’s a familiar melody that sticks in your head,” Cottier echoes. “All of your favorite songs tend to get you like that. I think that’s the way it balances for us. I don’t really write lyrics at all, but I live off getting material that’s like the bread and butter that I can go and experiment with.”

Nightbus are inspired by slow-motioned moves with the upturn of dancefloor lights, or, as he puts it, “going out, being a bit daft, regretting it, feeling good, feeling shit, and, sometimes, the mundane aspects of life.” Fans of early Cure and Portishead, look no further.

Singing the same notes of post-punk and a seamless blend of synth, guitar and vocals, it’s a sound reminiscent of decades gone by. But, in a city forged by Manchester’s indie greats, it begs the question: how can the next generation carve their own niche?

“There’s so many genres and different styles of music. There’s obviously things that take more prominence, like acid house and punk, but there’s still other things that happen. I think that’s the beauty of Manchester: you couldn’t really define it with one particular genre. So, whether a conscious decision or not, we don’t want to be bound by one specific genre either. It’s more a feeling. There’s so many different songs, but they still make you feel the same sort of way: introspective,” Jake says.

“Nightbus is for anyone who relates to us as individuals. The music is about us in a very cryptic way. It’s just a narration on what it means to just be alive – it’s just soundtracking our lives,” Rees adds. “I’m not just writing the song for myself, I’m writing it for Jake as well.”

Her songwriting is imperative to Nightbus, “narrating the parts of myself that I wouldn’t bring up in conversation.” Often writing in the third person to comfortably detach herself from the discography she pours much of her emotion into, recent months soon honed an oeuvre too good to ignore.

“This whole album was initially a concept one, but there was such a strong theme running through the songs: the bits that are really personal,” she adds. “We’ve created a full universe around that. Ultimately, we’re travellers in our own bodies with an alter-ego nurturing our secrets, fantasies, shame, and fears – a Passenger,” explains Rees.

And so: the title of their debut album.

The score to lifting club lights, squinted eyes, and stumbling steps, the 12-track project is a long-awaited release – one laden with all the pop sentimentality and rock sensibilities now synonymous with the duo. For Rees, it’s been a coming of age. “This album has soundtracked us becoming Nightbus. The aesthetic, songwriting and the musicianship; this is raw and this is us. It feels like a big achievement.”

It’s a philosophy Cottier also shares. “Even though we’d done music projects before, doing an album was a literal metaphor of those experiences from the beginning and being fresh faced to now, where we have experience under our belts. It’s put a literal marker on that time.”

Now, Nightbus are ready to share this spirit on the road. Kicking off this November, the pair’s much-anticipated tour earmarks the band’s next step, welcoming a string of headline UK wide performances alongside a whistlestop at Brighton’s Mutations Festival.

This time throwing a drummer into the mix, the pair are ready to embrace not only a refreshed sound, but a refreshed energy. “We’re relearning the set and the songs sound so different with live drums. I feel like I’ve fallen back in love with old songs I enjoy, as they’ve just been brought to life with Ellie. So, I’m really excited for the tour,” Liv adds. “Hopefully there’ll be a lot of return fans and they appreciate this shift. I want people to feel that.”

“That’s it,” Jake echoes. “Take some of the early songs that have been in the set since the beginning… We must have played and practised them 1000s of times, but like Liv said, rethinking them makes them sound so new and fresh again. Various people at gigs have been quite forward about getting a drummer. I hope they really fucking like it.”

With songs already prepped for a second album and time over the upcoming festive period granting free reign for songwriting, imminent touring has revealed their avenue back into the more creative side of musicianship, away from the reality of trying to balance life off stage.

“It’s time consuming,” Jake admits ”But, it’s an incredible privilege to see the fruits of your labor. That’s one thing you have to constantly remind yourself of. The time that it’s taken; the effort that it’s taken to get here; feeling more comfortable in the way things are going; that self belief; it’s paying off for sure.”

Confident, driven and, most importantly, armed with something to say, Nightbus prove they can and will create their own way.

“We recorded the album before we even got a record deal. It was never, “here’s the security, now write an album.” No, the album was our next step,” Liv adds. “I feel like we’ve just been trying to catch up or keep up for three and a half years, but this feels like we’re finally grounded. It won’t stop. I’m not waiting for anyone. We’ll continue to do this because we love it.”

‘Passengers‘, the debut album by Nightbus, is out now via Melodic Records.