An Introduction to HATCHAM SOCIAL

An Introduction to Hatcham Social

By Alexandra McLoughlin

Hatcham Social with Alexandra McLoughlin

HATCHAM SOCIAL are a trio formed in New Cross, London. They are composed of brothers Toby and Finnigan and their friend Dave.

Although they were formed in 2006, their influences are from indie pop bands from the 80s and 60s such as The Pastels, Orange Juice, and Josef K, as well as post-punk and shoegaze bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Fall .

Most fans of Indie music however will find that these guys sound quite different from any band out there as their music has a certain consistency on the beat which produces a nostalgic happy vibe. Not surprisingly the band have been welcomed by various music critics with some great reviews, The Guardian for example described them as ‘irresistible’ whilst Alan McGee (founder of Creation Records who also signed Oasis and managed the Libertines) once described them as ‘a wonderful pop group with the world’s coolest Drummer‘.

There is something special in the way Finnigan hits those drums, he actually manages to hit them pretty close to dead centre with a sharp rap. In the music business this is something that only the genius can do.

Finnigan Kidd – Pic By Alexandra Mc

As for the vocals, the charismatic Lead Singer, Toby, has an unusual melodic tone to his voice which gives an incredible smooth sound to their music and yet uplifting.

Toby Kidd - Pic by Alexandra Mc

The Bassist Dave has a pretty tricky way of combining the sound of his bass to Toby’s guitar. Unlike most bass players that have pitch problems in the upper positions, Dave has a convincing technique that stops from that to happen which proves him to be a talented musician.

Dave - Pic by Alexandra Mc

All in all, the three band members work as a unit so they all share the same energy that rev up the crowd. They are obsessed with getting the crowd to go mad and yet they have the ability of keeping everyone in calm mood however hyper they might be. It is like being in “limbo” and yet thoroughly fun to watch.

The guys have been very busy since playing at the London Calling Festival in Amsterdam and the La Fleche D’Or Club in paris and headline a show at The Borderline in London last month. They have also been recording some taster tracks which is available as a FREE download EP to members of their forum at http://www.aclearinginthewoods.co.uk

The download only EP of cover versions includes 5 songs and one of them is “Love Buzz” which was written by Robbie van Leeuwen of Dutch rock band “Shocking Blue” and later the American grunge band “Nirvana” recorded a cover version of the song for their debut single which gained a lot of popularity in the early 90′s. However Hatcham Social’s version is a little different and must be heard…

You can listen Hatcham Social’s amazing version of “Love Buzz” right now on their myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/hatchamsocial

In regards to their debut album which is called “You Dig The Tunnel, I’ll Hide The Soil” produced by Tim Burgess and Jim Spencer will be released soon (possibly in March) through their UK record label Fierce Panda and in the USA through TBD Records.

And finally, if you still can’t get enough of the boys, tune in for my radio show (Don’t Let Me Get Me Show) at Wired Radio which is the Radio Station for Goldsmiths College part of the University of London this Saturday the 7th February from 1.00 to 2.00 PM (UK time) where Toby will be talking about the band and I will be playing some of their music. The show will be streamed online so everyone shall be able to listen to at: http://www.wiredradio.co.uk and don’t forget to visit the band’s myspace on:
http://www.myspace.com/hatchamsocial

For those of you that are more comfortable speaking and reading Spanish and Portuguese I have tried my best to translate my introduction on the band in both languages on the Spanish and Brazilian Lastfm sites at:

http://www.lastfm.es/music/Hatcham+Social/+wiki
http://www.lastfm.com.br/music/Hatcham+Social/+wiki

Background Information:

Members

Toby
Finnigan
Dave

Band Introduction by Alexandra McLoughlin

Hatcham Social Myspace

By Alexandra McLoughlin