Page 35 - 367639 LP248834 NE Volume Magazine (170mm x 245mm 52pp) October 2022

TANKUS THE HENGE
NEXT NE GIG
Friday 28th October
VENUE
The Cluny, Newcastle
Cult British band Tankus The Henge keep up a hell of a pace. Fresh from a new album release, and a tour of Europe, they’re about to head out on a UK tour before working on their next album. Damian Robinson caught up with Jaz Delorean to find out what it’s like to be a pacemaker.
Your socials are loaded with content from your current European tour. How's life on the road? And where are you today?
We've just finished 34 shows in two months,
across France, UK and Italy, so we've covered a lot of miles. We tend to tour in quite a full-on way, with five shows on, one night off...that kind
of thing. It's a DIY operation, so right now we have band members drivingthetourvan-andwedon't really stop.
Although we're a busy touring band, we don't see ourselves as part of the music 'industry', so that frees us up to make whatever we like. My aunt and cousins have run a travelling fair for many years, which I've worked and lived on, and the sound of the band is supposed to feel like you're on a funfair ride, with all the sounds and out-of-control sensation that brings. It’s loosely based on rock ’n’ roll, with big inspiration from psychedelic music, soul, and funk.
The visuals on the vinyl are stunning. Visuals seem to have always been an important partofTankus.Wheredidtheideafor these visuals come from? And who
created the imagery?
We believe the whole album experience doesn’t just mean listening to the music - it’s all about seeing the artwork too. We
worked with artist Adelle Gough (@greenbowtieworks) to come up with a visual depiction of the story, the characters and the world. There’s a ten- page visual adventure for you to drift into if
you get your hands on the vinyl LP or the CD.
And finally, what does a good rest-of-the-year look like for Tankus?
We’ll be going from Newcastle in the north to Falmouth in the south west, and many places in between. If we could sell out some of these shows again, that would be very cool. Times are weird, but really, when haven’t they been?
Tankus The Henge play The Cluny, Newcastle on Friday 28th October. Tickets, priced at £17.50 in advance, are available from thecluny.com.
Your new release, ‘Luna Park’, is out
now. How satisfying is it to see the
album released?
‘Luna Park’ was such a labour of love: it took
three years to write, three months to arrange, and three weeks to record. It's a metaphorical story of what happens when the corporations take over a city, all the venues close, and the artists, musicians and their community set off on a journey to find a groovy place. It's great to have it out in the world. And we're writing the next one.
There’s an interesting sound to the record. Tell us a little bit about the type of music you were looking to create...
We're in the band we would want to go and see, and we come from different musical backgrounds.
“It took three years to write”
Bri Focals I N T E R V I E W // N E V O L U M E M A G A Z I N E // 3 5