New Town are an emerging alternative band hailing from East Kilbride, Scotland. Made up of David James (Vocals), Kieran Smith (Guitarist), Rob Haggerty (bass), and Euan Mcalonan (drums), they create uplifting indie-rock tracks hung around danceable guitar riffs, emotional lyricism and passionate vocals. Following a number of shows across the country - including 3/3 sold out support slots at renowned venue, King Tuts - the indie rock outfit released an anthemic new single, ‘Spark’.
Could you describe New Town and your music?
New Town are a four piece indie/pop group based out of East Kilbride in Scotland. We combine emotional lyricism with catchy and danceable guitar hooks to make music that relates to us, and the real experiences that have shaped us as people.
SPARK is a very indie rock enthused sound - who are your biggest musical inspirations and artistic influences?
Sam Fender was a huge inspiration for this tune. We loved the idea behind Seventeen Going Under not having a chorus and using the same chord sequence throughout and put our own spin on this format.
All the boys take inspiration from different places. Dave and Kieran are massive Kings of Leon fans, Euan is the biggest Red Hot Chilli Peppers fan I’ve ever seen, and Rob definitely loves heavier music. The time we were all growing up you had the likes of The Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines really hitting it big so this definitely does play into what we know as musicians.
What’s your most memorable moments in your career thus far?
Our Glasgow gigs at the iconic King Tuts Wah Wah hut always stand out. When we got confirmation that our first ever headline gig there sold out within 2 weeks of going on sale is something we will always remember.
How has growing up in Scotland shaped your creative process?
It has certainly helped rather than hindered. When we were younger you had the likes of Franz Ferdinand and The Fratellis as examples of local bands doing well, and even now you look at what The Snuts have achieved and it’s incredible.
A lot of the songs we write do relate to real life experiences growing up and living here, and you can certainly hear a lot of Dave’s accent when he sings.
What was the hardest technicality when producing SPARK?
We made this song with Scottish producer Bruce Rintoul who genuinely makes the process such a joy.
With Spark, we were really testing ourselves to see how much we could do with this format of one chord sequence all song, and seeing how we could keep it changing whilst also not. The bass line for example only changes at the end whilst the lead guitar lines change quite a lot.