Kieran Webber
Director and Founder of CLUNK Magazine, CLUNK Events, and other CLUNK affiliate businesses. You’ll probably find me tucked away somewhere sending emails, listening to music, and creating content.
Norwich newcomers The Danphes talk us through how they met, their latest single ‘Heartbreak High’, and more
Norwich, not just famous for Alan Partridge but also a bit of a blossoming music scene. Venues such as Norwich Arts Centre is bringing in countless touring bands and as such a strong scene is emerging. One band that has recently emerged from their is The Danphes, an 80’s infused indie band that have all the charm and elegance needed for the genre. Their debut single ‘Heartbreak High’ acts as a great beginning for the fledgling band by bringing the staples needed for that nostalgic indie sound.
We wanted to know about this newcomer so we sat down with Robin to talk through beginnings, influences, and more.
Kieran: Thanks for chatting with us.. how have you been?
Robin: We’ve been good, busy in the best way. We’ve been deep in writing, recording and rehersing, it all seemed to come at once so we’ve been trying to keep cool. But honestly it has been exciting watching the dream take shape.
Kieran: So, let’s start at the beginning.. how did you all meet and at what point did you decide to start making music together?
Robin: We are old friends, so it’s been really natural playing music together. We’re the guys you’ll always see at local gigs and the last people in the room talking about music. We’ve been threatening to form a band for years and finally made it happen.
Kieran: Do you share a collective influence or is it varied? How does this affect your sound?
Robin: It’s definitely varied, but that’s what makes it interesting. We overlap on the big things such as melody, atmosphere and energy, but we all bring different corners of our listening habits. You hear a lot of 80’s and 90’s indie in the sound and aesthetic, that’s conscious, we kinda crush on the c86 vibe so our sound ends up a blend of jangly guitars, pop hooks and heartfelt lyrics.
Kieran: You recently dropped your debut single ‘Heartbreak High’. Can you talk us through this single and what it means to you?
Robin: It’s a runaway romance song about two people in love skipping town and never looking back, with the excitement of your whole future in front of you but also a pang of sadness for what you are leaving behind. We wanted something breezy, nostalgic and optimistic to start with. It felt like the right way to introduce the band.
Listen to ‘Heartbreak High’ here:
Kieran: Can you give us an insight into the writing and recording process of this release?
Robin: We wrote most of it in a room with Jaws posters all over the walls and so it gave us a sense of impending danger, I think it motivated us to work quickly and not overthink it. Subconsciously I was thinking if we stayed in the room too long we might get eaten.
Recording it was so much fun. We recorded at there sick room which is in the middle of nowhere on the first day of spring. Lots of Norwich bands who we really admire have recorded there and so we felt really connected to them and it really felt like the start of something.
Kieran: What did you learn from this process and how do you think it will affect future releases?
Robin: We learned to trust our instincts, the bits we overthought slowed us down. The moments we followed the spark were the ones that made the sound come alive. So we need to lean into our intuition, play more, less perfectionism.
Kieran: Can we expect to see you on the road anytime soon?
Robin: We are definitely planning more shows, we want these songs to live in a room with real people. We are finalising some dates now, so they should be coming soon. We love playing new places and meeting people so can’t wait to get out there.
Kieran: Lastly, what are your goals for The Danphes?
Robin: Super simple, keep making music that feels honest and exciting to us and keep building a world people want to step into – Danpheworld! We’ve got loads of exciting stuff coming up so if we can handcraft something which lasts longer than the hype cycle and have fun doing it then that is success.
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