In 1975, disco fever was in its prime. Disco was the result of the domination of rock music intertwined with dance music by the counterculture of the industry. Fast forward to 2013 and the era is redefined with a unique genre of brooding art rock united with crisp electronic, dance floor R&B, and 80’s gloss pop by breakout UK band THE 1975. THE 1975 has bended the rules of modern rock in defining a new sound. The band name, originally thought of when lead singer, Matty Healy, saw it in a beat generation book at a local garage sale, speaks for a new genre. A genre distinguished without sense of definition. When asking Healy how the band drifted into their unique sound he responded, “I think partially, if not mainly, it’s a generational thing. We’re a representation of what our people are right now. We create it the same way we consume it. We write a reflection of who we are as people.” That’s just what music is right? The product of the people developed through time.
Healy along with Guitarist Adam Hann, Bassist Ross MacDonald, and Drummer George Daniel captured this revolution of music with an artistic twist. The beauty of the album, being that it isn’t defined, was the development of it, “It wasn’t written with an agenda or purpose, it was years of living with each other. It wasn’t work it was just a creation,” Matty described the process. The album, which rocketed straight to the number one spot in the UK upon its launch, was a product of passion over the course of ten years between four best friends with a common vision. Matty emphasizes, “We haven’t left each other’s sides for ten years. They are my best mates. We’re a genuine group of lads that just tour around the world.” This is what makes the album relatable to listeners, a ten-year account on friendship, love and life. “The record is the soundtrack to our formative years,” says the singer and co-songwriter, “It’s everything that I know and every single song, at some point, has been the most important thing in my life.”
The band strives for their music to be a solid representation of themselves rather than meeting any norms, “We said ‘we’re not desperate to be famous, we’re not desperate to be in a massive band, let’s do it our way, on our terms, and make sure that our projection of ourselves is controlled by us’.” Choosing to be interrupted just as they were conceived, the band wants their music to be part of everyday lives, part of our generation.
Since releasing their debut album in September 2013, named one of this year’s biggest breakouts by Billboard, the band has wrapped up a monthlong tour taking North America by storm circulating a mod-rock movement. Now finished with the American Tour, Matty says “We were really embraced in America. Next stop Paris and Australia in January.” The band is keeping plenty busy with the recent hype including back-to-back shows and the next album already in the making, “We’re currently working on the next album, and we never stop writing music. The idea of writing music isn’t contrived, that’s what we enjoy.”
In music, creation and inspiration is never-ending. THE 1975, being an already visual entity, incorporates all art forms in their movement, including fashion. That’s right Maniacs. Matty revealed a secret for potential future creations, “I’ve been thinking about starting my own fashion label for some time. I’ve been really embraced and influenced by those in the fashion world.” Imagine THE 1975’s outcome of a womenswear collection. “It would be black and drapey,” Healy tells us, “I’m really into the idea of artistic endeavoring, it’s time to express myself in different ways.”
Whether through music, writing, or fashion, THE 1975 is playing a lead role in altering the typical through all of their creations. Drifting into the new generation, the band is influenced by all that we are as people, and all that we are going to become. A life of music within a ten-year period between four band members introduced a creative turn in rock as we know it.
