The Mill Presents: We See Lights & The Fire and I

We See Lights

Who are We See Lights?

"We See Lights are from lots of places," they say, including Airth, Bo'ness, Edinburgh and Milngavie, and have been about in various incarnations for a while. It's only been the last year, though, in which they've had a fluid line-up. Over the course of these twelve months, they've gradually gathered momentum, receiving airplay on local and national radio and garnering favourable reviews from within these very sheets.

"The band started off as a three piece," explains man about band Kenny Forbes, "with Stephen, Allan and Paul coming together to write and record songs with Craig at the helm as producer. During the course of recording various others got involved, including myself, Johnny and Ross. A wee while later we all came together again and decided to start gigging and writing new material as a band and the monster was created!"

"Monster" seems like a fairly accurate description of the band. As they say themselves, "there are loads of us!" With four lead vocalists and four songwriters thrown into the mix, this aural behemoth shouldn't be too difficult to spot on the local circuit.

Who do they sound like and where do they fit in?

There's an ongoing Zeitgeist for voluminous bands, pushing big choruses and playing violins, and it seems as though We See Lights could be well positioned to capitalise. Indeed, a name so often bandied about in the press, Arcade Fire, are cited as one of the band's major influences. Other shared inspirations include Ryan Adams, John Martyn and Sigur Ros. On the local scene, the band are fans of Frightened Rabbit and My Latest Novel. "We are probably in the folk/indie bracket if anything," they say.

Back in May, we said their self-titled debut EP painted them as "a dreampop-flavoured indie band that could really blossom if they focus on that distinctive sound". However, they've helpfully updated us recently: "Our music has evolved a wee bit since the first EP and this album is a bit more rocky than anything we had done before."

Where can we hear the band?

The aforementioned eponymous EP is available from the band's MySpace for a fiver and is well worth a punt. Despite being unsigned, the band have managed to make it into the studio again, to record their first long player, too. "We are currently recording an album with help from some funding from the Scottish Arts Council," explains Kenny, "Immediate plans are just to get that finished." For a band that have only gone full slog for a year, they've covered plenty of ground: you may have seen them at T In The Park this Summer, playing the T Break Stage. They'll take to the stage at The Mill in the middle of this month to bring down the curtain on an eventful 2008.

What have been the highlights of 2008 and what are their hopes for the coming year?

"We got to do a lot of nice things this year and we hope that next year brings more of the same. We enjoy going to festivals to play so more of that would be good." The band are also understandably keen to let people hear their album, something they hope will see them really take off next year. But in a truly selfless manner that must come with membership of a sprawling, democratic group, some of their main objectives are slightly more worldly and bizarre. "World peace and a new Ghostbusters film would also be good. But only if Bill Murray is involved. And Dan Aykroyd."

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The Fire and I

Who are The Fire and I?

We couldn’t have picked a band that contrast more with We See Lights, well, aesthetically at least. The Fire and I are a duo, Hooligan (drums, synths and vocals) and Gordon Love (bass, guitar and vocals). “I’ll say him,” is Love’s response when we ask which one’s the ‘Fire’. The wonderfully monikered Hooligan moved to Bathgate a few years ago from Mexico City to join up with local boy Love. “We started as a four piece band, and then became two,” Love explains. Of course, they have been plagued with superficial associations to the only other two-piece in the world, The White Stripes, but the band confirm our suspicions by saying “the only comparison is that there are two of us as well.”

So who do they sound like and where do they fit in?

“We both have very different tastes in music,” asserts Love, so less lazy comparisons ain’t so easy. Theirs is a muscular, melodic sounding brand of rock, with a hint of electronica. The band grew up listening to Nirvana, Queen and the Manic Street Preachers, but more recently it was Biffy Clyro that Love claims inspired him to start a band. It must have been a dream come true, then, when The Fire and I were chosen to support Biffy not too long ago.

Where can we hear The Fire and I?

“We have just finished recording our debut single Just Face It,” explains Love, “it is probably coming out in March or April. We’re looking forward to a UK tour to promote it.” As with We See Lights, you may also have seen The Fire and I at T in the Park this year along with a couple of high profile support gigs with Biffy and the Dykeenies.

What have been the highlights of 2008 and what are their hopes for the coming year?

Love is understandably chuffed to have played TitP this year, as well as the Wickerman Festival. “We also had a great time recording,” he admits. “More of the same next year would be great!” Looking slightly deeper into his crystal ball, Love’s ambitions are clear: in two years, he wants to “have the debut album out and be working on the second. It’d be cool to be invited on Jools Holland too!”