December 27, 2025 • 29 mins
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/matt-connarton-unleashed--3109245/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh what a great track.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
That is Mountain Song from the Far North, and we
have the man behind the Far North, Lee Wilding, on
the line with us via WhatsApp.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Hello Lee, Hello, that you all right?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, welcome to the show. It's I love that so much.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
We've we played that recently and we played another one
of your songs too, and that's that's just really really good.
I love that song. I love the vocals and everything
about it is just perfect.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Oh that's really kind of you.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Thank you so much, absolutely absolutely so. I really curious
to know.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So you you spent fifteen years as the lead guitarist
and vocalist in The Fireflies.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Correct, that is correct.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, so that's a long time.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
So what what drove you to, you know, to kind
of start fresh, because that's you know, obviously you put
a lot of equity into that project and then you
started you started The Far North in what was it
twenty twenty, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Around twenty twenty.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Yeah. It's funny you though, because I haven't considered it
really so being you know, in the Fireflies we did
like seven albums, and we did loads of tours and
we did show a lot of supports, lots and a
lot of headline shows and it was a pretty full
time kind of gig. And towards the end of it,
we did one last tour with Radio one's Coffee House
Sessions in I think it was a summer of twenty nineteen,
(01:20):
and there were six of us in the band, and
I just thought, I don't want to do this anymore.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I just want to, you know, be acoustic.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I'm a huge fan of like City and Color and
Neil Young and Uncle Tupelo and all those bands, and
I thought, you know, I want to do some acoustic stuff.
And it wasn't until halfway through recording the first album,
Songs and Dental Souls, we had someone come in and
do backing vocals for us, a wonderful friend of mine
called Susie Potts, and she said, why have you like
(01:46):
kind of discredited the Fireflies after fifteen years you're starting
a fresh like, you know, you might not take any
fans over with you. And it had never occurred to
me until that moment. She said, I thought, it will
be fine. All the Fireflies fans will still know it's me,
you know, And of course they didn't, and it's not.
It was very, very much the long way round and
it had never occurred to me for like six months,
(02:07):
and it was like February and February twenty one. I
think it might have been on twenty twenty, okay, and
she was like, she just was like, this might not transfer,
and yeah, she was right.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
But you know, I've worked it up against it all good.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So I'm curious too because so the Far North obviously
you know, it sounds like the name of a band,
but it's really your solo project, right.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Yeah, I got you know, I rope in friends to
help me out, and you know, very talented musicians from
like the local area and stuff to play, you know,
piano and percussion and fiddle and guitar.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
On my new album, a lot of it's me.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
A lot of the guitar and the bass, and you know,
the how monica and a lot of it it is me.
You know, obviously vocals backing vocals, but sometimes you just
need a better help, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I guess I'm curious too, because you know, your friend said.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
To you, you know, and again I refer to it
as the equity that you had in the fireflys. Yeah,
headed A heard to you at any point to just
because I think you probably would have had. I mean,
it doesn't matter now because you're obviously having a lot
of success with this, so it all works out. But yeah,
if you had just used your name instead of calling
it the Far North, you might have had a better
(03:15):
shot at pulling those people over because obviously people who
are big fans of the Far North, they probably knew
your name. So I mean, I'm sorry, big fans of
the Fireflies, rather, they probably knew their name.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So curious think of that.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, to think of that with me being such a
Neil Young Springsteen and City and Color fan and no
Gallagher fan, I just thought that, like, obviously those those
bands all had you know, it was someone and Someone,
so I didn't want it to be Lee Wilding in
the Far North. But obviously with me being City in Color,
it's like his name's Dallas Green obviously, so City and Color.
(03:48):
So I just thought, what kind of evokes like, you know,
a log cabin with a fire burning with acoustic tunes
in the middle of nowhere.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
And I thought, you know, the Far North is a
great a great you know, a ban tire. But yeah,
I mean, looking back at it now.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Maybe I should have done to me recently though, you know,
like new fans of the bands that I picked fans
up all around the UK and all around the world,
and a lot of people say, why don't you just
say Lee wilder Man, because like people knew who you
were in the Fireflies.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
It's like, oh my goodness. So yeah, you know, that's
not the first time I've actually heard that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, but it did work out, you know, I mean,
your your instinct. Ultimately, I think it's proven correct and
you're having success with this. So and this is the
third album correct, Songs.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
For Wirtstorms, Yeah, that's right. Third album.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Yeah, we did song for Healing Hearts about two years ago,
and then Songs for Gentle Souls just in the peak
of COVID. You know, we never obviously no one saw
that coming. And if you have the time again, maybe
we would have waited till it was kind of over
a bit. But you know, it is what it is,
and it did what it did, and I'm pretty happy
with it all.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Really.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, now, how is your approach different? So I will
confess I have not gone back and listened to the Fireflies,
although I will now because I am very curious. I mean,
is your your approach in terms of songwriting, is it
Is it different when it's just you or maybe you
were the chief songwriter in the Fireflies.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
I don't know, but.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, I was the only person that only ever wrote
the song.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
So for me writing the songs in the Fireflies, they
all I mean, some of the songs I've taken out,
you know, I've taken with me and just kind of
like rehask them, put a bit of, you know, a
new look, a paint on them. But really my songwriting
is so effortless. I don't know what it is, but
they all just appear almost fully formed out of the sky.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I put the guitar up and just I'll play G.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
And I've played a million g's, but one time it's
like different, and then the G to the E is like,
oh my god, I've never played this before this way,
and then you know, the vocals just come out. I'm
writing stuff for the new album now, for the next album,
and it's just all comeing to me really really quickly.
So I'm not sure whenever it will dry up. But
I'm quite lucky at the moment because a lot of
people ask how you know, how do you write songs?
(05:53):
Or you know, can I maybe coach some of my
friends to write songs or whatever? And it's like, the
truth is, I don't really know I'm doing. I just
write them and they and they happen.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
You know. That's kind of where I'm at with it,
really a bit of a hack.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
But has it always been like that? Like was it
like that throughout your tenure in the Fireflies or is
this something that's come out more as you've done this
on your own and have it, you know, having the freedom,
the liberation to be able to do it on your own.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
No, it was always like that, really, So whenever I
wrote stuff for the Fireflies, I'd write it on acoustic
guitar and take it into band practice and people would
just kind of start playing their own thing. So I mean,
obviously with this though, the songs, I don't deviate from
the structure much because it's me, it's written it, and
it's me it's going to play it. But with the
Fireflies it was a bit more of a democracy really.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
But but you know, the bare bones and the verse,
chorus versa all be the same, and a lot of more,
you know, lots more people will kind of getting on it, really,
but now it's way more streamlined.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Okay, okay, good good.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Now did any of the material from the Fireflies make
it into the new project?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
You still play some of those?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
So on the first track, I think first album, Sorry
that like this House is Ours and I think Grace
and My Heart and When we Were Young. The second
album I think unplayed Guitar and hollow and this album. Yeah,
if you haven't made it, there was Hummingbird, there was
Sailor in the Sea, all the things you did. So yeah,
there was maybe maybe two or three off each album
(07:18):
was a Firefly song that was like a complete rock
out really, you know. They were just pure rock songs
or yah, you know, kind of big maybe psych songs,
you know psych, you know. So with this stuff, I
just wanted it to be like, just give those older
songs a new liquor paint. But I'm writing the new
album at the moment. I don't know when it could
be out. It could be a year, could be two years.
But I'm rescuing maybe three more Firefly songs. Wow, that's it. Then, yeah, okay,
(07:43):
that'll be the Firefly songs done. Then I think the
bag is empty at last, did.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
You uh was that when you started this project? Was
that your intention from the beginning, because you know a
lot of people they you know, if they have a project,
you know, they're in a band, and then maybe they
do their own thing. They don't want to necessarily you know,
some artists they like to have like a clear delineation
and they just want to uh not look back at
(08:08):
older material.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
And some artists do, but a lot of artists don't.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
And and to me it's always been kind of like, wow,
how do you just how do you just leave all
that behind? If you had some great songs in your
previous project, how do you just leave that behind?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You know? But but some artists will do that.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Was that a hard decision for you whether or not
to revisit those songs?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
It was not really.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
I kind of like thought about it for a little bit,
and I thought, is this going to be completely new?
Because we had Nigel Stonia produced the first album, and
we were like, you know, I don't know, I don't
really know what approach and the heat. So I sent
him a load of songs and he was like, some
of the Firefly songs were greatly like we should definitely
redo these. And I had a bit of reticence. At first,
it was a bit quiet about it. I thought, I'm
not sure, and then I thought, well, I wrote them,
(08:49):
so you know, why not. So as long as they're
acoustic and as long as they've got a lot of
heart and soul, I kind of have no problem with it.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And some of them are pretty.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Much verbatim, you know, hold Me Birds pretty much the same.
We just put a fiddle on it, and we've kind
of really restructured like the Sailor in the Sea and
all the things. You did, you know, they were completely
different songs in the Fireflies.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, but I just thought, you.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Know, I wrote them, and I never really have writer's block,
you know, I'm always writing, you know, as Bob Dylan said,
you know, write ten songs a day and throw nine away.
So I'm always you know, I'm always writing. But yeah,
I didn't think about it too much. But I'm kind
of glad I've carried you know, a lot of them over.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I think, okay, excellent, excellent. So the album the newest
one in our songs for weathering storms? What does that
mean to you? And I assume, you know, in terms
of weathering storms, And I assume and I did listen
to the whole thing. I really like it, But is
there a theme that you're presenting sort of a almost
like it feels like there might be a story, but
(09:47):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Okay, it's I think it's a concept album.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
Yeah, I mean I wrote all the songs, you know,
I obviously carried about three or four over and wrote
the rest of the song kind of around the weathering
storms kind of gam up really and it was like,
I don't know, everyone's going through so much stuff right now,
and I mean people always have, but I don't know
if it's because of social media.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
It always seems very prevalent.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
It seems to be right at the surface right now
that everyone just seems to be going through potentially the
worst time of their lives. But yet life couldn't be
any easier in a way, right, So it was just,
you know, it was just about hold on, man, it'll
be all right, Like everything will be okay, you know,
in the end, and if it's not the end, then
it'll be all right, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
And it's like I just think you've just got to
keep going.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
You've just got to have faith, you've just got to
have hope, and pretty much every song is like formed
in a bit of heartbreak.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
There's always about of heartbreak there.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
There's always a bit of loss, but ultimately everything's going
to be all right. All you need to do is
make it into tomorrow, you know, just take things day
by day.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
It'll be fine.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
So it's kind of like my nine tracks of like
It'll be okay. And I think there's a there's a
song called release Repeat, which is obviously about animal rights
and you know all that kind of thing as well,
you know, But really the most of the song, the
bulk of the songs on the album, like it is
gonna be all right. And I know it's been done,
and I know it's been done to death, but I
guess it's not been done with these songs in my voice,
(11:09):
you know, right right Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Mountain song.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I was reading that that was written about a particularly
painful breakup, and it's it's pretty evident in the lyrics,
you know, because obviously when you're a listener, you hear
lyrics and it's it's somewhat subjective. Everyone's going to interpret
things a little bit differently, but there's there's really no
misinterpreting that one. To my mind, I'm listening to it
(11:34):
and it's like, okay, you know, you know what it's about,
and it does clearly describe a painful breakup.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Yeah, there's a few really, there's a few on the
on the album that kind of deal with that, and
it is quite it is quite clear. And I don't know,
I think writing about breakup and that breakup and particularly
I always find the kind of catharticism with it.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
It's always like it kind of gets the pain out
that's there. It kind of rinses it, you know, like
a like a towel, like a wet towel. It just
rinses it all out and I can just kind of
deal with it and kind of move on, you know.
But you know, everyone's going to go through three or
four heartbreaks in their life, you know, and this is
basically my heartbreak opus, you know, and ultimately you know
that that you know, we split up like what three
(12:17):
years ago, and you know, everything was all right, but
at the time, I was like, oh my goodness, I've
never felt pain like this.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
This is awful.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
And you know, three three months down the line, you know,
you kind of all right, six months you're like, hey,
I'm healed. This is fine. So I was in a
place where I could actually write a song about it,
and it's very very real, Like the lyrics are lyrics
that she would say, you know, things she said to
me and things had said back and how I felt. So,
I mean, I don't know if she's heard the song, really,
I assume, so I haven't been in touch, but you know, I.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Was going to ask you that if you know, if
she's heard the song.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
I felt like texting me, you know, I just felt like,
like when it came out on Halloween, you I was like,
should I text her?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (12:57):
But I didn't obviously, and you know, knowing her though,
maybe she's heard it.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I don't know. He's not come at me though, So
that's cool.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Okay, okay, good?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And what about So I'm really curious about the production
and I'm a bit of a recording nerd, so uh so,
so of course I am. But there's a so the
lack of the lack of drums is really interesting. It's
a very it's a very sort of a strip, stripped
down sound, which I really like because I think a
lot of things are are overproduced. Yeah, and I don't
(13:31):
even mean just you know, in these times that we
live in. I mean, just going all the way back
to the eighties, there's a lot of things that I
think are overproduced and sound sound you know, really a
little too slick and polished, and you know, I like
a certain rawness and I think you've captured that with
this album.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeh.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
But but I'm I'm curious about I mean, is that
something that you're very intentional about or does that just
sort of come naturally that approach or.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I think, you know, being in the Five Flies, a
lot of our albums were quite underproduced, really quite raw,
and a lot of the reviews and a lot of
people listening were like, oh, no, obviously this has been
made in a budget blah blah blah, but it wasn't
and we aimed it to sound like that. So with
The Far North, I wanted a certain level of polish,
but also that like the raw beauty of an acoustic.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Guitar, you know. So my co producer John.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
O'tringen, like we in June twenty twenty four, we were like,
sat in a local kind of place having breakfast and
we were like, how do we make this album? Because
like I did the second album with him, and it's
a bit more rocky, a bit more college rot, a
bit third eye blind, bit match Brooks twenty Yeah. You know,
we kind of turned the guitars up on that album,
and I found myself in like, you know, fireflies kind
(14:41):
of territory again.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
I thought, I need to get away from this.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
I keep just going back to that tried and tested
my favorite sound, you know, just being in a.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Band, I guess, and we were like, how do we
do this?
Speaker 4 (14:51):
So we just listened, like I say, to a lot
of you know, December Rists and Uncle Tupelo City and Color,
early early Neil Young like Harvest here and Young and
then obviously Nebraska era Springsteen, and we're like, we need
to we need to make you know. We it was
a conscious decisions and not of the drums, and there's
only based on one track and all that, and it
was very it was very planned, but I think a
(15:15):
lot of it was came out like a happy accident.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
It was like, Okay, this sound sounds because the production's massive.
It sounds like really well produced. It's hugely produced, yes,
but the sounds are still quite sorry, the songs are
still quite direct and quite you know, down that funnel
of like you know, heartbreak and loneliness.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
They're not, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
And it was funny because I had a review from
someone and the reviewed Mountain Song, funnily enough, in a
local magazine, and the reviews are usually pretty good, like
I've been lucky this last like twenty years with reviews.
And this guy was like, so, this guy who's from Newcastle,
and he just said, oh, the fanals back again with
another one of his massive anthems. And I was thinking, okay,
(15:56):
and he goes, he's desperately trying to be Fleet Foxes.
Comes right, and the thing is, I've never listened to
Fleet Foxes. I've never They've never like turned up on
my you know, my thoughts for ever.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Really, I mean, maybe I should. And he goes he
sounds desperately wanting to be Fleet Foxes, but.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Comes across as the drunk old man in the corner
hater walling a song on the karaoke.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Right, That's what he said.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
Yeah, wow, So I like so and he was like
and then he sent me a message personally and said,
I'm really really sorry that that was like personal, but
that's how I feel.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
About your music.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
And I was like, I was like that that's okay,
but I've never listened to Fleet Foxes in my life.
It's just one of those bands that, like, I don't
even know who they are.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
I was like, what it was like, you.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Know, so it's kind of funny really, but yeah, it's
kind of it's annoying someone.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I guess it's funny that he actually contacted you to
tell you.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
You know, I'm sorry. Sorry I was mean, but here's
why I was mean.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Yea, literally, he thought I was like trying to The
thing is as well.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
A few of the reviews have said like, and I've
never listened to Month and some once right, I've never
ever listened to them because I've heard a few tracks
on radio and I'm like, it's not really my jam
and everyone's like, oh my godly, like it's so muffing
and sons it's so good, it's so commercial, and I'm like,
h do you know what I mean? It's like I
didn't really write it to be commercial. I write I
wrote it for people to to just enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I guess just kind of you know, there's no plan here.
I just kind of do you know, I.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Can tell you so I've I've listened to Fleet Fleet Fox's.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I I've definitely heard a lot of Mumford and Sons
is huge here in America, so I've heard a lot
of Mumfort and Sons.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I can tell you.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I kind of understand why someone would hear that, but
I don't hear it in the sense that because I
really like the album, but I find Mumford and Sons
kind of unbearable.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
So I did myself.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, so I definitely uh so again, I can understand
why someone would make that connection, I guess, but but
I don't. I don't really hear it myself. I don't
perceive it that way. Honestly, till you mentioned Mumford and Sons,
it hadn't even occurred to me. Oh that's good then,
north Fleet Foxes.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
To be honest with.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
You, yeah, I listened to them like they've got a
few good songs, and you know Fleet Foxes, and they thought, oh,
this is a band that actually they're actually good. I
quite like this, but I thought I never sat down
and sort of thought, you know what, I really want
this to sound like a cross between Munford and Sons
and Fleet Foxes.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
That it never occurred, like what right right now?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
What happens live.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Is it do you have other musicians who perform with
you live or is it just you?
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Or yeah, it's just me.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
I did an album launch here in Runcorn for the
out of the day after the album came out, and
it was just me on a stool and acoustic in
this venue, and you know, there's a couple of hundred
people that turned up, and it's just me, really, you know,
And I don't know, it's like whenever I've seen City
and Color, I've seen him. I used to live in Vancouver,
so I saw him a few times in Vancouver on
his own and that was when they sometimes and Bring
(18:53):
Me a Love albums were out, and I never really thought, oh,
you know, I hope that there's a full band, or
I hope there's you know, I've always just been happy
to hear that person in that voice. Really, so I
think I've never really said to anyone when they do
a gig, oh, it's just me. I don't know if
people are ever kind of expecting a band.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
No one's ever mentioned it, which is which is funny.
Really well, it's it's just me with an acoustic guitar.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, yeah, But It's cool that because you're you're performing
something that that can, you know, lend itself Like if
you wanted to put a band together, obviously you could,
but this lends itself to any any configuration, right like
you could it can just be you. Or if you
wanted to bring another just another acoustic guitarists on stage
with you, you could do that, or you could play
with the band. You know, you could do whatever you
(19:39):
wanted with these songs. And I've always been a little
bit fascinated by that because so I'm a musician. I
used to play. I don't play currently, but I used
to play in a lot of bands. But every band
I was ever in, it was like, Okay, it's me
and three other guys, and it has to always be
this configuration. It has to always be the four of us,
because if you take any anything out, it's you know,
(19:59):
it collaps. But you know, so I've always been fascinated
by the concept of just doing something where you can
do it in any covenfiguration you want, Like like with
jam bands, you know you can you know, if the
saxophone player shows up, great, if not, it doesn't matter
who cares.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
You know, you can you can play.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Any way you want to, Yeah, exactly, and there's a
it seems like there's a freedom that comes with that.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
What about is it ever or well, I'm sure it's
not by this point, but at any point was it
weird for you doing it that way after having played
with a band for fifteen years?
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
It was really strange at first. So, like, my first
gig as the Far North was at Old Trafford Stadium
where Manchester United play. So that was about eight days
before COVID hit funny enough, it was like early March
twenty twenty. So I got up there and they had
this huge event with like a few of the bands
on big local bands from Manchester and it was a
(20:58):
batch day. So you know, there's me on the big
screens and I'm just sat there with my wow acoustic
guitar playing to all these people, and it was I
think that the thought of it was a bit strange
because it was just me was kind of et up
by the fact that I was like, holy cow, like
what like there was so many people there. I was
like okay, So I kind of like set my stall
(21:18):
out super early with the Far North. I was like, okay,
have guitar, will travel, you know. And I think I
had a friend that sadly passed away on Christmas Day
about eight years ago, called Paul Savage, and the first
album is dedicated to him. And he used to come
to all the Firefly shows and it's saying he used
to say to me, your songwriting is so leans itself,
so much to a just acoustic guitar voice and harmonica,
(21:40):
you should really do that. And he sadly passed away
before I got a chance to, you know, form the
Far North. And he was right, you know, he was
absolutely right that it was. It was so much easier
as well, just me, you know, get my guitar in
the car, away we go.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
It's just it's awesome.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I wouldn't trade it in for anything at this point.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah, oh that's fantastic. Do you ever do you keep
in touch with any of the guys from the Far North?
I mean, I'm sorry, from the Fireflies.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Yeah, I'm going away with the basis. Tomorrow we're going
to Poland. In the morning we'll go into the Outfits. Yeah,
we're going to do the tour of outfits to pay
our respect. Yeah, you know, because like my grandfather was
a gunner in World War Two, and you know, everyone
everyone's got family that was in World War two, you know.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
So yeah, so me and Sam the basis. He was
the basis in the Fireflies for many, many years. And yeah,
so we're off to Poland in the morning. Yeah so
some of the other guys, Yeah, we speak every now
and then, and that you know, a few people from
the band that haven't speaken spoken to since since the
band broke up. You know, there was never any bad blood.
I was just like, I can't really do this anymore,
(22:45):
this thing, you know. And before that, I was in
a band called Warped for like ten years and that
was a full time as well, since when I was
like fifteen. So yeah, for like twenty twenty five years,
I've just been doing the full band thought.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Yeah, yeah, so now it's just I actually I love
it now.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
But yeah, I keep in contact with a few of
the guys and it's you know, it's all good.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
They come to the shows and stuff. Oh good, good,
it's nice. Yeah, it's nice.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Yeah. That's what I was wondering about, if if there
was any acrimony there. But that's that's good.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Old no, nothing now, nothing, that's all.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
No, that's good. That's that's very good. Now.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
So what's kind of the forward trajectory for you? I mean, obviously,
I'm sure you're focused mainly on promoting the current album,
but you strike me as someone too you're probably always writing, right,
you were kind of alluded to that earlier, that you
write a lot of songs. Uh, do you have a
future recording plans in the in the near future or
are you thinking about that yet?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Yeah, I've got quite a few good shows coming up,
you know, I got some really really good acoustic shows
and I'm really looking forward to those. So yeah, there's
one on the third third of January, and that's supporting
the guy that was in the Seahorses, the guy who
who formed a band with John Squire from the Stone Roses.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
That's quite nice.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
There's some some nice ones coming up well, because I've
been writing so much. Yeah, I actually thought what once
songs were general so sorry, songs for weather and Weathering
Stones was finished.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So we finished it.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
In like maybe maybe July, who was completely finished, and
then the single was out in October and we worked
for like fifty you know, eighteen months on it was
like a year and a half and I thought, you
know what, I'm never going to the studio again because
it's just drained me completely. Like everything about this album
has been like it was difficult to record in a
not not a difficult logistically because like you know, me
(24:27):
and John O produced it, and it was very easy
that way.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yeah, but like every every.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
Fiber of who I am was put into it, do
you know what I mean. I was so just just
drained by the whole process because it was mainly me
playing stuff over and over again. So and I thought
I would I wouldn't be going to the studio again.
But the way I feel at the moment, and I
did say this to one of my friends, was before Christmas,
I could probably see myself going back in to do
a more acoustic album in like April or May, so
(24:54):
maybe spend like three or four months just doing just
fiddle and harmonica and acoustic. It's that is it. No piano,
no percussion, nothing, just a very very low key album
and maybe have that out by October. That's kind of
the way I'm thinking, because I'm writing quite a lot
of the moment, so yeah, yeah, But having said that,
I'm a Gemini, So I might never release an album again.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
No, I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
I'm sure you will. No, that's that's fantastic. No, I
can't wait to I can't wait to hear what comes
out next.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Thank you in a moment.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Well, we'll let you go in a moment and we're
gonna play Well, we'll end the segment with Sailor and
the Sea.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
What should we know about this song?
Speaker 4 (25:36):
I'm glad you picked that one. That's my second favorite
after Mountain Song.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
It's a good song.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Yeah, like Sailor in the Sea is I think it's
like again, it's about the same girl.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
It's not the same girl in Mountain Song.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Yeah, but then so so Mounting Song.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Right, So you've got the first half of it where
it's a little bit kind of like, you know, melancholy,
I guess, and then it goes that when it goes
into the jig da, that's the like me. That's me
a few months later, realizing that the right decision had
been made to break up. So that was me finding happiness.
So Sailor in the Sea is almost like two songs
(26:14):
bolted together again. So the first half of Sailor in
the Sea is me feeling completely lost when she left.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
It was like how how will I ever lived? And
do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (26:22):
It's like as a as a forty year old man,
like you know what I mean, I'm like just feel
like I'm like sixteen again and just lost and just
like how will I ever cope without this person? And
it's the stupidest thing that you think of. It's so silly,
you know at the time, and you look back now
and go, what will you.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Pull yourself together for?
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Right?
Speaker 4 (26:39):
So now, So Sailor in the Sea is pretty much
it's pretty much. The first half of it is that,
and the second half of it is kind of an
owed to the person I met, like you know recently,
so like you know, so it's like all the lyrics
and you know, do you have the heart to make
it through you? And all that, and it's almost like
I was like not saying saved by this person, but
(27:00):
you know, when you find love again after a breakup,
it's like almost everything's in color and it's wonderful and
springs in bloom. So the second half of Selling the
Sea is about the faith and hope that my girlfriend
now gave me, you know, so it's so it's kind
of yeah, so that that song, Yeah, it's nice.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I bet really nice, hopeful chin.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
I bet she likes it too.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Yeah, she actually said to me, well, she came to
one of my shows in York last year and she
was like, you're going to have a song about me
because these are all about your exits, like and then
so there was the second half of that, and then
a Ship of Bones, which is the last track on
the album, was exclusively about her, you know, which is
really nice.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
You know, so she's made up about that and so
you know, so it's all good.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Oh, good, good, very good. Well, so we'll play that
in a moment.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
But before we let you goalie, what where should people
go online? Where's the best place to go to keep
up with everything that you're doing as the Far North?
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Where should people go?
Speaker 4 (27:55):
I'm more prevalent on Instagram than anything else. So I
think that Instagram is the Far North music, and the
likes of Twitter and Facebook and TikTok it's just the
Far North music.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
And I'm on there.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
I post most days, you know, I always reply to people.
There's been a massive kind of avalanche of people just
getting in contact since the album came out, really, you
know when obviously it hit like a couple of charts
and stuff, and obviously it's found its way all you know,
all the way over to the us of a your
good self, you know. Yeah, so it stuns me really,
I just kind of think, like, holy moldly, like what
(28:27):
is happening here? So it's just great that people getting
in contact. So anyone that want to wants to reach out,
you know, they're more than welcome.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I always reply excellent, excellent.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Well we will let you go. We'll hit that track
in a moment. But Lee Wilding of the Far North,
thank you so much. We will definitely have to do
this again in the future and really appreciate you joining
us today.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
No, it's been my pleasure. Thank you very much for
having me on. Mate. Thank you all.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Right, you got to Lee. We'll talk to you soon,
I'm sure, take care.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
Thanks mate, Bye bye, okay, bye bye. All right.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
That is Lee Wilding Is project is The Far North.
And here's another great track from the new album. This
is called Sailor and the Sea.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
The Far North
Oh what a great track.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
That is Mountain Song from the Far North, and we
have the man behind the Far North, Lee Wilding, on
the line with us via WhatsApp.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Hello Lee, Hello, that you all right?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, welcome to the show. It's I love that so much.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
We've we played that recently and we played another one
of your songs too, and that's that's just really really good.
I love that song. I love the vocals and everything
about it is just perfect.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Oh that's really kind of you.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Thank you so much, absolutely absolutely so. I really curious
to know.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
So you you spent fifteen years as the lead guitarist
and vocalist in The Fireflies.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Correct, that is correct.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, so that's a long time.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
So what what drove you to, you know, to kind
of start fresh, because that's you know, obviously you put
a lot of equity into that project and then you
started you started The Far North in what was it
twenty twenty, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Around twenty twenty.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Yeah. It's funny you though, because I haven't considered it
really so being you know, in the Fireflies we did
like seven albums, and we did loads of tours and
we did show a lot of supports, lots and a
lot of headline shows and it was a pretty full
time kind of gig. And towards the end of it,
we did one last tour with Radio one's Coffee House
Sessions in I think it was a summer of twenty nineteen,
(01:20):
and there were six of us in the band, and
I just thought, I don't want to do this anymore.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I just want to, you know, be acoustic.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
I'm a huge fan of like City and Color and
Neil Young and Uncle Tupelo and all those bands, and
I thought, you know, I want to do some acoustic stuff.
And it wasn't until halfway through recording the first album,
Songs and Dental Souls, we had someone come in and
do backing vocals for us, a wonderful friend of mine
called Susie Potts, and she said, why have you like
(01:46):
kind of discredited the Fireflies after fifteen years you're starting
a fresh like, you know, you might not take any
fans over with you. And it had never occurred to
me until that moment. She said, I thought, it will
be fine. All the Fireflies fans will still know it's me,
you know, And of course they didn't, and it's not.
It was very, very much the long way round and
it had never occurred to me for like six months,
(02:07):
and it was like February and February twenty one. I
think it might have been on twenty twenty, okay, and
she was like, she just was like, this might not transfer,
and yeah, she was right.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
But you know, I've worked it up against it all good.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So I'm curious too because so the Far North obviously
you know, it sounds like the name of a band,
but it's really your solo project, right.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Yeah, I got you know, I rope in friends to
help me out, and you know, very talented musicians from
like the local area and stuff to play, you know,
piano and percussion and fiddle and guitar.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
On my new album, a lot of it's me.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
A lot of the guitar and the bass, and you know,
the how monica and a lot of it it is me.
You know, obviously vocals backing vocals, but sometimes you just
need a better help, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I guess I'm curious too, because you know, your friend said.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
To you, you know, and again I refer to it
as the equity that you had in the fireflys. Yeah,
headed A heard to you at any point to just
because I think you probably would have had. I mean,
it doesn't matter now because you're obviously having a lot
of success with this, so it all works out. But yeah,
if you had just used your name instead of calling
it the Far North, you might have had a better
(03:15):
shot at pulling those people over because obviously people who
are big fans of the Far North, they probably knew
your name. So I mean, I'm sorry, big fans of
the Fireflies, rather, they probably knew their name.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
So curious think of that.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
Yeah, to think of that with me being such a
Neil Young Springsteen and City and Color fan and no
Gallagher fan, I just thought that, like, obviously those those
bands all had you know, it was someone and Someone,
so I didn't want it to be Lee Wilding in
the Far North. But obviously with me being City in Color,
it's like his name's Dallas Green obviously, so City and Color.
(03:48):
So I just thought, what kind of evokes like, you know,
a log cabin with a fire burning with acoustic tunes
in the middle of nowhere.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
And I thought, you know, the Far North is a
great a great you know, a ban tire. But yeah,
I mean, looking back at it now.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Maybe I should have done to me recently though, you know,
like new fans of the bands that I picked fans
up all around the UK and all around the world,
and a lot of people say, why don't you just
say Lee wilder Man, because like people knew who you
were in the Fireflies.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
It's like, oh my goodness. So yeah, you know, that's
not the first time I've actually heard that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, but it did work out, you know, I mean,
your your instinct. Ultimately, I think it's proven correct and
you're having success with this. So and this is the
third album correct, Songs.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
For Wirtstorms, Yeah, that's right. Third album.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Yeah, we did song for Healing Hearts about two years ago,
and then Songs for Gentle Souls just in the peak
of COVID. You know, we never obviously no one saw
that coming. And if you have the time again, maybe
we would have waited till it was kind of over
a bit. But you know, it is what it is,
and it did what it did, and I'm pretty happy
with it all.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Really.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, now, how is your approach different? So I will
confess I have not gone back and listened to the Fireflies,
although I will now because I am very curious. I mean,
is your your approach in terms of songwriting, is it
Is it different when it's just you or maybe you
were the chief songwriter in the Fireflies.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
I don't know, but.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, I was the only person that only ever wrote
the song.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
So for me writing the songs in the Fireflies, they
all I mean, some of the songs I've taken out,
you know, I've taken with me and just kind of
like rehask them, put a bit of, you know, a
new look, a paint on them. But really my songwriting
is so effortless. I don't know what it is, but
they all just appear almost fully formed out of the sky.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
I put the guitar up and just I'll play G.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
And I've played a million g's, but one time it's
like different, and then the G to the E is like,
oh my god, I've never played this before this way,
and then you know, the vocals just come out. I'm
writing stuff for the new album now, for the next album,
and it's just all comeing to me really really quickly.
So I'm not sure whenever it will dry up. But
I'm quite lucky at the moment because a lot of
people ask how you know, how do you write songs?
(05:53):
Or you know, can I maybe coach some of my
friends to write songs or whatever? And it's like, the
truth is, I don't really know I'm doing. I just
write them and they and they happen.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
You know. That's kind of where I'm at with it,
really a bit of a hack.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
But has it always been like that? Like was it
like that throughout your tenure in the Fireflies or is
this something that's come out more as you've done this
on your own and have it, you know, having the freedom,
the liberation to be able to do it on your own.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
No, it was always like that, really, So whenever I
wrote stuff for the Fireflies, I'd write it on acoustic
guitar and take it into band practice and people would
just kind of start playing their own thing. So I mean,
obviously with this though, the songs, I don't deviate from
the structure much because it's me, it's written it, and
it's me it's going to play it. But with the
Fireflies it was a bit more of a democracy really.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
But but you know, the bare bones and the verse,
chorus versa all be the same, and a lot of more,
you know, lots more people will kind of getting on it, really,
but now it's way more streamlined.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Okay, okay, good good.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Now did any of the material from the Fireflies make
it into the new project?
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
You still play some of those?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
So on the first track, I think first album, Sorry
that like this House is Ours and I think Grace
and My Heart and When we Were Young. The second
album I think unplayed Guitar and hollow and this album. Yeah,
if you haven't made it, there was Hummingbird, there was
Sailor in the Sea, all the things you did. So yeah,
there was maybe maybe two or three off each album
(07:18):
was a Firefly song that was like a complete rock
out really, you know. They were just pure rock songs
or yah, you know, kind of big maybe psych songs,
you know psych, you know. So with this stuff, I
just wanted it to be like, just give those older
songs a new liquor paint. But I'm writing the new
album at the moment. I don't know when it could
be out. It could be a year, could be two years.
But I'm rescuing maybe three more Firefly songs. Wow, that's it. Then, yeah, okay,
(07:43):
that'll be the Firefly songs done. Then I think the
bag is empty at last, did.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
You uh was that when you started this project? Was
that your intention from the beginning, because you know a
lot of people they you know, if they have a project,
you know, they're in a band, and then maybe they
do their own thing. They don't want to necessarily you know,
some artists they like to have like a clear delineation
and they just want to uh not look back at
(08:08):
older material.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
And some artists do, but a lot of artists don't.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
And and to me it's always been kind of like, wow,
how do you just how do you just leave all
that behind? If you had some great songs in your
previous project, how do you just leave that behind?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You know? But but some artists will do that.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Was that a hard decision for you whether or not
to revisit those songs?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
It was not really.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
I kind of like thought about it for a little bit,
and I thought, is this going to be completely new?
Because we had Nigel Stonia produced the first album, and
we were like, you know, I don't know, I don't
really know what approach and the heat. So I sent
him a load of songs and he was like, some
of the Firefly songs were greatly like we should definitely
redo these. And I had a bit of reticence. At first,
it was a bit quiet about it. I thought, I'm
not sure, and then I thought, well, I wrote them,
(08:49):
so you know, why not. So as long as they're
acoustic and as long as they've got a lot of
heart and soul, I kind of have no problem with it.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And some of them are pretty.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Much verbatim, you know, hold Me Birds pretty much the same.
We just put a fiddle on it, and we've kind
of really restructured like the Sailor in the Sea and
all the things. You did, you know, they were completely
different songs in the Fireflies.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, but I just thought, you.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Know, I wrote them, and I never really have writer's block,
you know, I'm always writing, you know, as Bob Dylan said,
you know, write ten songs a day and throw nine away.
So I'm always you know, I'm always writing. But yeah,
I didn't think about it too much. But I'm kind
of glad I've carried you know, a lot of them over.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I think, okay, excellent, excellent. So the album the newest
one in our songs for weathering storms? What does that
mean to you? And I assume, you know, in terms
of weathering storms, And I assume and I did listen
to the whole thing. I really like it, But is
there a theme that you're presenting sort of a almost
like it feels like there might be a story, but
(09:47):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Okay, it's I think it's a concept album.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
Yeah, I mean I wrote all the songs, you know,
I obviously carried about three or four over and wrote
the rest of the song kind of around the weathering
storms kind of gam up really and it was like,
I don't know, everyone's going through so much stuff right now,
and I mean people always have, but I don't know
if it's because of social media.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
It always seems very prevalent.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
It seems to be right at the surface right now
that everyone just seems to be going through potentially the
worst time of their lives. But yet life couldn't be
any easier in a way, right, So it was just,
you know, it was just about hold on, man, it'll
be all right, Like everything will be okay, you know,
in the end, and if it's not the end, then
it'll be all right, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
And it's like I just think you've just got to
keep going.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
You've just got to have faith, you've just got to
have hope, and pretty much every song is like formed
in a bit of heartbreak.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
There's always about of heartbreak there.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
There's always a bit of loss, but ultimately everything's going
to be all right. All you need to do is
make it into tomorrow, you know, just take things day
by day.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
It'll be fine.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
So it's kind of like my nine tracks of like
It'll be okay. And I think there's a there's a
song called release Repeat, which is obviously about animal rights
and you know all that kind of thing as well,
you know, But really the most of the song, the
bulk of the songs on the album, like it is
gonna be all right. And I know it's been done,
and I know it's been done to death, but I
guess it's not been done with these songs in my voice,
(11:09):
you know, right right Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Mountain song.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I was reading that that was written about a particularly
painful breakup, and it's it's pretty evident in the lyrics,
you know, because obviously when you're a listener, you hear
lyrics and it's it's somewhat subjective. Everyone's going to interpret
things a little bit differently, but there's there's really no
misinterpreting that one. To my mind, I'm listening to it
(11:34):
and it's like, okay, you know, you know what it's about,
and it does clearly describe a painful breakup.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
Yeah, there's a few really, there's a few on the
on the album that kind of deal with that, and
it is quite it is quite clear. And I don't know,
I think writing about breakup and that breakup and particularly
I always find the kind of catharticism with it.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
It's always like it kind of gets the pain out
that's there. It kind of rinses it, you know, like
a like a towel, like a wet towel. It just
rinses it all out and I can just kind of
deal with it and kind of move on, you know.
But you know, everyone's going to go through three or
four heartbreaks in their life, you know, and this is
basically my heartbreak opus, you know, and ultimately you know
that that you know, we split up like what three
(12:17):
years ago, and you know, everything was all right, but
at the time, I was like, oh my goodness, I've
never felt pain like this.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
This is awful.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
And you know, three three months down the line, you know,
you kind of all right, six months you're like, hey,
I'm healed. This is fine. So I was in a
place where I could actually write a song about it,
and it's very very real, Like the lyrics are lyrics
that she would say, you know, things she said to
me and things had said back and how I felt. So,
I mean, I don't know if she's heard the song, really,
I assume, so I haven't been in touch, but you know, I.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Was going to ask you that if you know, if
she's heard the song.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
I felt like texting me, you know, I just felt like,
like when it came out on Halloween, you I was like,
should I text her?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (12:57):
But I didn't obviously, and you know, knowing her though,
maybe she's heard it.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I don't know. He's not come at me though, So
that's cool.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Okay, okay, good?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And what about So I'm really curious about the production
and I'm a bit of a recording nerd, so uh so,
so of course I am. But there's a so the
lack of the lack of drums is really interesting. It's
a very it's a very sort of a strip, stripped
down sound, which I really like because I think a
lot of things are are overproduced. Yeah, and I don't
(13:31):
even mean just you know, in these times that we
live in. I mean, just going all the way back
to the eighties, there's a lot of things that I
think are overproduced and sound sound you know, really a
little too slick and polished, and you know, I like
a certain rawness and I think you've captured that with
this album.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeh.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
But but I'm I'm curious about I mean, is that
something that you're very intentional about or does that just
sort of come naturally that approach or.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I think, you know, being in the Five Flies, a
lot of our albums were quite underproduced, really quite raw,
and a lot of the reviews and a lot of
people listening were like, oh, no, obviously this has been
made in a budget blah blah blah, but it wasn't
and we aimed it to sound like that. So with
The Far North, I wanted a certain level of polish,
but also that like the raw beauty of an acoustic.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Guitar, you know. So my co producer John.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
O'tringen, like we in June twenty twenty four, we were like,
sat in a local kind of place having breakfast and
we were like, how do we make this album? Because
like I did the second album with him, and it's
a bit more rocky, a bit more college rot, a
bit third eye blind, bit match Brooks twenty Yeah. You know,
we kind of turned the guitars up on that album,
and I found myself in like, you know, fireflies kind
(14:41):
of territory again.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
I thought, I need to get away from this.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
I keep just going back to that tried and tested
my favorite sound, you know, just being in a.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Band, I guess, and we were like, how do we
do this?
Speaker 4 (14:51):
So we just listened, like I say, to a lot
of you know, December Rists and Uncle Tupelo City and Color,
early early Neil Young like Harvest here and Young and
then obviously Nebraska era Springsteen, and we're like, we need
to we need to make you know. We it was
a conscious decisions and not of the drums, and there's
only based on one track and all that, and it
was very it was very planned, but I think a
(15:15):
lot of it was came out like a happy accident.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
It was like, Okay, this sound sounds because the production's massive.
It sounds like really well produced. It's hugely produced, yes,
but the sounds are still quite sorry, the songs are
still quite direct and quite you know, down that funnel
of like you know, heartbreak and loneliness.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
They're not, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
And it was funny because I had a review from
someone and the reviewed Mountain Song, funnily enough, in a
local magazine, and the reviews are usually pretty good, like
I've been lucky this last like twenty years with reviews.
And this guy was like, so, this guy who's from Newcastle,
and he just said, oh, the fanals back again with
another one of his massive anthems. And I was thinking, okay,
(15:56):
and he goes, he's desperately trying to be Fleet Foxes.
Comes right, and the thing is, I've never listened to
Fleet Foxes. I've never They've never like turned up on
my you know, my thoughts for ever.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Really, I mean, maybe I should. And he goes he
sounds desperately wanting to be Fleet Foxes, but.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Comes across as the drunk old man in the corner
hater walling a song on the karaoke.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Right, That's what he said.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
Yeah, wow, So I like so and he was like
and then he sent me a message personally and said,
I'm really really sorry that that was like personal, but
that's how I feel.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
About your music.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
And I was like, I was like that that's okay,
but I've never listened to Fleet Foxes in my life.
It's just one of those bands that, like, I don't
even know who they are.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
I was like, what it was like, you.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Know, so it's kind of funny really, but yeah, it's
kind of it's annoying someone.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I guess it's funny that he actually contacted you to
tell you.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
You know, I'm sorry. Sorry I was mean, but here's
why I was mean.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Yea, literally, he thought I was like trying to The
thing is as well.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
A few of the reviews have said like, and I've
never listened to Month and some once right, I've never
ever listened to them because I've heard a few tracks
on radio and I'm like, it's not really my jam
and everyone's like, oh my godly, like it's so muffing
and sons it's so good, it's so commercial, and I'm like,
h do you know what I mean? It's like I
didn't really write it to be commercial. I write I
wrote it for people to to just enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I guess just kind of you know, there's no plan here.
I just kind of do you know, I.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Can tell you so I've I've listened to Fleet Fleet Fox's.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I I've definitely heard a lot of Mumford and Sons
is huge here in America, so I've heard a lot
of Mumfort and Sons.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I can tell you.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I kind of understand why someone would hear that, but
I don't hear it in the sense that because I
really like the album, but I find Mumford and Sons
kind of unbearable.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
So I did myself.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, so I definitely uh so again, I can understand
why someone would make that connection, I guess, but but
I don't. I don't really hear it myself. I don't
perceive it that way. Honestly, till you mentioned Mumford and Sons,
it hadn't even occurred to me. Oh that's good then,
north Fleet Foxes.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
To be honest with.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
You, yeah, I listened to them like they've got a
few good songs, and you know Fleet Foxes, and they thought, oh,
this is a band that actually they're actually good. I
quite like this, but I thought I never sat down
and sort of thought, you know what, I really want
this to sound like a cross between Munford and Sons
and Fleet Foxes.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
That it never occurred, like what right right now?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
What happens live.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Is it do you have other musicians who perform with
you live or is it just you?
Speaker 3 (18:29):
Or yeah, it's just me.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
I did an album launch here in Runcorn for the
out of the day after the album came out, and
it was just me on a stool and acoustic in
this venue, and you know, there's a couple of hundred
people that turned up, and it's just me, really, you know,
And I don't know, it's like whenever I've seen City
and Color, I've seen him. I used to live in Vancouver,
so I saw him a few times in Vancouver on
his own and that was when they sometimes and Bring
(18:53):
Me a Love albums were out, and I never really thought, oh,
you know, I hope that there's a full band, or
I hope there's you know, I've always just been happy
to hear that person in that voice. Really, so I
think I've never really said to anyone when they do
a gig, oh, it's just me. I don't know if
people are ever kind of expecting a band.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
No one's ever mentioned it, which is which is funny.
Really well, it's it's just me with an acoustic guitar.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, yeah, But It's cool that because you're you're performing
something that that can, you know, lend itself Like if
you wanted to put a band together, obviously you could,
but this lends itself to any any configuration, right like
you could it can just be you. Or if you
wanted to bring another just another acoustic guitarists on stage
with you, you could do that, or you could play
with the band. You know, you could do whatever you
(19:39):
wanted with these songs. And I've always been a little
bit fascinated by that because so I'm a musician. I
used to play. I don't play currently, but I used
to play in a lot of bands. But every band
I was ever in, it was like, Okay, it's me
and three other guys, and it has to always be
this configuration. It has to always be the four of us,
because if you take any anything out, it's you know,
(19:59):
it collaps. But you know, so I've always been fascinated
by the concept of just doing something where you can
do it in any covenfiguration you want, Like like with
jam bands, you know you can you know, if the
saxophone player shows up, great, if not, it doesn't matter
who cares.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
You know, you can you can play.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Any way you want to, Yeah, exactly, and there's a
it seems like there's a freedom that comes with that.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
What about is it ever or well, I'm sure it's
not by this point, but at any point was it
weird for you doing it that way after having played
with a band for fifteen years?
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
It was really strange at first. So, like, my first
gig as the Far North was at Old Trafford Stadium
where Manchester United play. So that was about eight days
before COVID hit funny enough, it was like early March
twenty twenty. So I got up there and they had
this huge event with like a few of the bands
on big local bands from Manchester and it was a
(20:58):
batch day. So you know, there's me on the big
screens and I'm just sat there with my wow acoustic
guitar playing to all these people, and it was I
think that the thought of it was a bit strange
because it was just me was kind of et up
by the fact that I was like, holy cow, like
what like there was so many people there. I was
like okay, So I kind of like set my stall
(21:18):
out super early with the Far North. I was like, okay,
have guitar, will travel, you know. And I think I
had a friend that sadly passed away on Christmas Day
about eight years ago, called Paul Savage, and the first
album is dedicated to him. And he used to come
to all the Firefly shows and it's saying he used
to say to me, your songwriting is so leans itself,
so much to a just acoustic guitar voice and harmonica,
(21:40):
you should really do that. And he sadly passed away
before I got a chance to, you know, form the
Far North. And he was right, you know, he was
absolutely right that it was. It was so much easier
as well, just me, you know, get my guitar in
the car, away we go.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
It's just it's awesome.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I wouldn't trade it in for anything at this point.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah, oh that's fantastic. Do you ever do you keep
in touch with any of the guys from the Far North?
I mean, I'm sorry, from the Fireflies.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Yeah, I'm going away with the basis. Tomorrow we're going
to Poland. In the morning we'll go into the Outfits. Yeah,
we're going to do the tour of outfits to pay
our respect. Yeah, you know, because like my grandfather was
a gunner in World War Two, and you know, everyone
everyone's got family that was in World War two, you know.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
So yeah, so me and Sam the basis. He was
the basis in the Fireflies for many, many years. And yeah,
so we're off to Poland in the morning. Yeah so
some of the other guys, Yeah, we speak every now
and then, and that you know, a few people from
the band that haven't speaken spoken to since since the
band broke up. You know, there was never any bad blood.
I was just like, I can't really do this anymore,
(22:45):
this thing, you know. And before that, I was in
a band called Warped for like ten years and that
was a full time as well, since when I was
like fifteen. So yeah, for like twenty twenty five years,
I've just been doing the full band thought.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Yeah, yeah, so now it's just I actually I love
it now.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
But yeah, I keep in contact with a few of
the guys and it's you know, it's all good.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
They come to the shows and stuff. Oh good, good,
it's nice. Yeah, it's nice.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Yeah. That's what I was wondering about, if if there
was any acrimony there. But that's that's good.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Old no, nothing now, nothing, that's all.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
No, that's good. That's that's very good. Now.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
So what's kind of the forward trajectory for you? I mean, obviously,
I'm sure you're focused mainly on promoting the current album,
but you strike me as someone too you're probably always writing, right,
you were kind of alluded to that earlier, that you
write a lot of songs. Uh, do you have a
future recording plans in the in the near future or
are you thinking about that yet?
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I think so.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Yeah, I've got quite a few good shows coming up,
you know, I got some really really good acoustic shows
and I'm really looking forward to those. So yeah, there's
one on the third third of January, and that's supporting
the guy that was in the Seahorses, the guy who
who formed a band with John Squire from the Stone Roses.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
That's quite nice.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
There's some some nice ones coming up well, because I've
been writing so much. Yeah, I actually thought what once
songs were general so sorry, songs for weather and Weathering
Stones was finished.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
So we finished it.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
In like maybe maybe July, who was completely finished, and
then the single was out in October and we worked
for like fifty you know, eighteen months on it was
like a year and a half and I thought, you
know what, I'm never going to the studio again because
it's just drained me completely. Like everything about this album
has been like it was difficult to record in a
not not a difficult logistically because like you know, me
(24:27):
and John O produced it, and it was very easy
that way.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yeah, but like every every.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
Fiber of who I am was put into it, do
you know what I mean. I was so just just
drained by the whole process because it was mainly me
playing stuff over and over again. So and I thought
I would I wouldn't be going to the studio again.
But the way I feel at the moment, and I
did say this to one of my friends, was before Christmas,
I could probably see myself going back in to do
a more acoustic album in like April or May, so
(24:54):
maybe spend like three or four months just doing just
fiddle and harmonica and acoustic. It's that is it. No piano,
no percussion, nothing, just a very very low key album
and maybe have that out by October. That's kind of
the way I'm thinking, because I'm writing quite a lot
of the moment, so yeah, yeah, But having said that,
I'm a Gemini, So I might never release an album again.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
No, I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
I'm sure you will. No, that's that's fantastic. No, I
can't wait to I can't wait to hear what comes
out next.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Thank you in a moment.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Well, we'll let you go in a moment and we're
gonna play Well, we'll end the segment with Sailor and
the Sea.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
What should we know about this song?
Speaker 4 (25:36):
I'm glad you picked that one. That's my second favorite
after Mountain Song.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
It's a good song.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Yeah, like Sailor in the Sea is I think it's
like again, it's about the same girl.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
It's not the same girl in Mountain Song.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Yeah, but then so so Mounting Song.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Right, So you've got the first half of it where
it's a little bit kind of like, you know, melancholy,
I guess, and then it goes that when it goes
into the jig da, that's the like me. That's me
a few months later, realizing that the right decision had
been made to break up. So that was me finding happiness.
So Sailor in the Sea is almost like two songs
(26:14):
bolted together again. So the first half of Sailor in
the Sea is me feeling completely lost when she left.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
It was like how how will I ever lived? And
do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (26:22):
It's like as a as a forty year old man,
like you know what I mean, I'm like just feel
like I'm like sixteen again and just lost and just
like how will I ever cope without this person? And
it's the stupidest thing that you think of. It's so silly,
you know at the time, and you look back now
and go, what will you.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
Pull yourself together for?
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Right?
Speaker 4 (26:39):
So now, So Sailor in the Sea is pretty much
it's pretty much. The first half of it is that,
and the second half of it is kind of an
owed to the person I met, like you know recently,
so like you know, so it's like all the lyrics
and you know, do you have the heart to make
it through you? And all that, and it's almost like
I was like not saying saved by this person, but
(27:00):
you know, when you find love again after a breakup,
it's like almost everything's in color and it's wonderful and
springs in bloom. So the second half of Selling the
Sea is about the faith and hope that my girlfriend
now gave me, you know, so it's so it's kind
of yeah, so that that song, Yeah, it's nice.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I bet really nice, hopeful chin.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
I bet she likes it too.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Yeah, she actually said to me, well, she came to
one of my shows in York last year and she
was like, you're going to have a song about me
because these are all about your exits, like and then
so there was the second half of that, and then
a Ship of Bones, which is the last track on
the album, was exclusively about her, you know, which is
really nice.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
You know, so she's made up about that and so
you know, so it's all good.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Oh, good, good, very good. Well, so we'll play that
in a moment.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
But before we let you goalie, what where should people
go online? Where's the best place to go to keep
up with everything that you're doing as the Far North?
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Where should people go?
Speaker 4 (27:55):
I'm more prevalent on Instagram than anything else. So I
think that Instagram is the Far North music, and the
likes of Twitter and Facebook and TikTok it's just the
Far North music.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
And I'm on there.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
I post most days, you know, I always reply to people.
There's been a massive kind of avalanche of people just
getting in contact since the album came out, really, you
know when obviously it hit like a couple of charts
and stuff, and obviously it's found its way all you know,
all the way over to the us of a your
good self, you know. Yeah, so it stuns me really,
I just kind of think, like, holy moldly, like what
(28:27):
is happening here? So it's just great that people getting
in contact. So anyone that want to wants to reach out,
you know, they're more than welcome.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I always reply excellent, excellent.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Well we will let you go. We'll hit that track
in a moment. But Lee Wilding of the Far North,
thank you so much. We will definitely have to do
this again in the future and really appreciate you joining
us today.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
No, it's been my pleasure. Thank you very much for
having me on. Mate. Thank you all.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Right, you got to Lee. We'll talk to you soon,
I'm sure, take care.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
Thanks mate, Bye bye, okay, bye bye. All right.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
That is Lee Wilding Is project is The Far North.
And here's another great track from the new album. This
is called Sailor and the Sea.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
The Far North
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.