Fresh from the release of their explosive new single Headspace, indie five-piece The
Manatees are showing no signs of slowing down. I caught up with Jay and Tyler to talk about all things songwriting, live shows, and their plans for the debut album. From the early gigs that lit the initial spark, to the venues close to their hearts, the conversation offered a real glimpse into where they’ve come from and where they’re heading next.
Let’s start with Headspace – when it first started forming, what came first for you? Was it a feeling, a lyric, a melody, or visuals? What was the first spark, and how did it all evolve from there?
Jay: “I think the first thing was the lyric. I really wanted to paint a story with this track, and I think something that I’ve been guilty of with my lyrics in the past is things being left a bit ambiguous and a bit cryptic. This one, I really wanted to paint quite a solid picture and do a decent bit of storytelling within the song. So that idea was the first thing that came, or what the intention was when I started writing it, and then just as always, I needed that explosive chorus that we seem to always make happen in the band, so that was the secondary thing. But definitely the story was the main idea that came first.”
You’ve touched on it already, but is there a specific line or moment in this song
you’re especially proud of?
Jay: “I just love the lyrics of the chorus, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily because of the lyrics or just because of the impact that it has when it goes into it, but yeah, I think the Headspace lyric is quite a cool one and especially when it makes the impact on the chorus the way it does.”
Thinking back, was there a band or artist you saw live when you were younger that made you think, ‘yeah, I want that’?
Jay: “I saw Jamie T at The Guildhall in Southampton when I was 16, and I remember that really
inspiring me. Then seeing Circa Waves, it was at Boardmasters maybe a year after, and that
was the first time I think that I’d watched a band and had the same thought of “Actually I’d
like to do that”, and then we formed the band a year or so after. So that was probably the
most recent idea of it before actually doing the band.”
Tyler: “It was Sundara Karma who supported Circa Waves when I saw them in Oxford. I
remember, at the time, I was in a band, but it wasn’t a big project. I got into guitar, indie music
quite late. So I think it was when I went to see Circa Waves and then Sundara Karma supported, because at the start, they had that kind of dark, a bit gothic-like energy, and I enjoyed that. I think that was like “Oh, actually I’d quite like to be in more of a contemporary,
rock, guitar-based project”, and then it was only about a year and a half or so before I found
these guys.”
You’ve been doing this for a while now – what’s kept the wheels turning during the harder
stretches? And have you got any advice for newer bands still pushing?
Jay: “I think each other is a big one. We’re really lucky. The relationships that you have within
projects and bands are often what make or break them. You hear and you see so many
bands that fall out and the project’s ending, it’s subject to that, but I think with us, our friendships with each other have held strong even through testing times! I guess our drive and ambition to keep doing it have meant we carry on doing it. It is kind of addictive, being in a band and being in the music industry, because there’s always something else that you can achieve, there’s no ceiling. Even for some of the biggest artists in the world, there’s still no ceiling to what you can achieve. And so for emerging acts like us, the gap between us and what you can achieve is so huge. So there’s always something else that you want to tick off. So I think the addictive nature of wanting to get onto the next step of the ladder is also something that we’ve all revelled in.”
Tyler: “Making mistakes is a thing as well, because we’ve made pretty much, well there’s always more mistakes to be made, but we’ve made so many mistakes, like learning from each one and like having the drive to be like ‘okay, that didn’t work, how are we gonna do it better?’ and not getting disheartened if something doesn’t work. It’s about using that experience to be like, ‘okay, how can we do better?’ And that’s the thing, I think we all just enjoy doing it so much so it sort of makes sense for us all to just be like ‘right, how we’re gonna do this?”
Do you think your idea of ‘success’ has changed since the early days? Has it become
about something different now? With everything so focused on numbers with streams,
followers, and the algorithm, how do you personally measure success?
Jay: “Wow, that’s a tricky one. I mean, yeah, it is so hard to define nowadays. I think the most
important thing is having a piece of art or work, or music that you are proud of. I think that’s the
crux of it. We’ve been really lucky to have Radio 1 support and play amazing festivals; SXSW
and the Isle Of Wight, the list goes on, those things are amazing to get, but the feeling of them
disappears after a while. I think the most important thing is to have something that you are truly proud of and that you can go back to time and time again after years and be like ‘that really holds up.’ For me personally, I just love having something that I’m super proud of.”
Tyler: “I think that’s the thing that’s changed for us, we were way more focused on
getting the next gig or the next playlist or whatever. But now it’s become more focused on us just making and doing things that we enjoy doing and are proud of. But then the fact that people also like it is a bonus. But it’s not the be-all and end-all for us, you know, self-satisfaction, we can get more from that, I think.”
Jay: “I guess when we were a bit younger as well, the music was maybe a byproduct, but now
we’ve flipped it and we make music that we’re proud of, and if success is a byproduct of
that, then that’s great. But it’s more important to look at it that way now than to just constantly think about the next box to tick off. That’s just something that you learn from, with growing up a bit as well.”
There’s been a lot of noise about the struggle for smaller venues to survive. Are there any grassroots or independent venues that hold a special place for you, either ones you grew up going to, or places The Manatees have played live that stuck with you?
Jay: “The Joiners in Southampton is a really special one for us because obviously coming from
the South Coast, that was the most iconic venue around when we were growing up and we’ve
played it, I don’t know how many times, but more times than I can certainly remember, so that’s
hugely important. If you look at the heritage that it’s got, the artists that have passed through there, in the last 50 years, it’s crazy. That place, even though it should be a successful venue, still now, amazing artists, emerging artists pass through there, but it’s been in danger of shutting down, again, more times than I can count. I’ve seen it in serious trouble. It’s amazing how the community, not just locals in Southampton, but musicians from up and down the country that have played there, so it’s amazing that the community always steps in and stops it from going under, but not every grassroots venue has that luxury. There have unfortunately been so many that have closed down, which is really, really disappointing and sad, and it’s one of those things that people are always petitioning for, for the governments to do more about. There needs to be safeguarding in place for these venues because, it is similar to any sports league, if the talent’s not filtering through at that lower level, then it’s not gonna filter up to the Wembley and The O2, so it’s so important for young and emerging artists to have those places to go to and cut their teeth, because if they’re not there, the effect it’s gonna have at the top eventually is gonna be really detrimental.”
Tyler: “The Joiners. But in Bournemouth, we used to play at The Winchester in The
Triangle, that was really cool. I think that was the first ever headline show we did, which was
amazing, and that’s shut down now. The Anvil is still going strong, and The Old Fire Station is a
cool venue as well. I really like that one. It’s nice to see there’s Bear Cave now as well. I
think that’s gonna be quite important because the government support and the schemes in
place aren’t enough. When it’s an industry that brings in so much money, for the country
and also the culture of the country, definitely more needs to be done. I’ve put on quite a
lot of shows in Europe, and I see how they do it right. They do have subsidies; the
government in France, especially, has a levy that they put on every show, which filters
through all those smaller venues. I think something like that would be a game changer in the UK because there’s not enough opportunities for young people especially, to make those mistakes and play a show and sell 10 tickets, because there’s so much pressure on them to sell well so that the venue does well at the bar and stuff like that. But we were lucky back in the day where The Joiners really took a punt on us, when we were 18 and younger and we’re bringing 18 and younger people to their venue and not really buying alcohol, but they were allowing us to sell no tickets, 20 tickets, 30 tickets, to the point where we ended up selling it out. New bands aren’t gonna get the chance to do that because they’re just not gonna be given the opportunity, especially if they’re under 18 as well. It’s just a shame, but I do think things will recover, everyone just needs to keep shouting from the rooftops and making sure that they get heard eventually, you know?”
Any dream venues you’d love to play someday?
Jay: “Yeah, of course, those huge, huge venues would be amazing. I guess in a more near and
hopefully attainable future, Scala in London would be incredible. Just because it seems to be
the venue that bands play when they’re properly on the verge of breaking, so to have that
feeling and that excitement around that venue, I think, is huge. Engine Rooms in Southampton,
we’ve played it on support, but as a headline, it would be amazing. O2 Guildhall in Southampton is probably bigger.”
Tyler: “And to be fair, the Guildhall could be the best gig I’ve ever been to, sound and light-wise. So I would like to play the Guildhall, that would be cool, as a hometown one. I also really like the O2 Academy in Bournemouth. I think it’s such a beautiful building, it’s cool.”
What artists or songs have been soundtracking your life lately – anyone or anything you’ve had on repeat that our readers should suss out?
Tyler: “There’s this guy called Nii who’s got a song called ‘Penelope’, which I really, really like. It’s quite groovy, but it’s raw, and it’s got great vocals. I enjoy that song at the moment. I’ve also been listening to quite a lot of The Howl & The Hum. Jay, you’ve been listening to what’s that guy called? The country guy from America, folk, country?”
Jay: “Role Model.”
Tyler: “Yeah, Role Model. The Howl & The Hum’s latest album has a bit of that vibe with a bit of indie mixed in. Lyrically, it’s pretty strong and has very relatable songs. One of the songs is called ‘Your Friends Hate Me’ and it’s like, ‘oh, well if all your friends hate me, then I should hate
myself as well’ – it’s very downbeat and damning, but it’s quite tongue in cheek in a way. I quite enjoy that.”
Jay: “Yeah, I’ve been listening to a lot of Role Model, his Kansas Anymore album, I love. It’s not something I’d usually listen to, it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it’s amazing, folk, country, pop
music. I’ve also been listening to the DJO album loads, The Crux. I’ve had on repeat for the last
maybe five months is the Been Stellar album, just because I love the rawness of it and the
thrashy guitars and stuff, so there are a few from me.”
Are there plans for a full album in the future, or are you sticking with EPs and singles for now?
Jay: “We definitely are thinking about the album, as we have been, it feels like our whole lives,
that’s always such a big moment in any artist’s career, releasing their debut album. So that’s
something that we’ve had in our minds since the start of the band. When it comes, I don’t
know. Maybe 2026? I think it will come in the next couple of years. With us, we just don’t want to rush it. Your debut album is such a big moment, and it can open a lot of doors if you time it right and you do it right, so we just want to make the timing of it all line up and do really well. But yeah, it is definitely coming and it’s definitely at the forefront of our minds.”
If someone’s never seen you live before, what should they expect? What kind of energy are they walking into? What are they going to go away thinking?
Tyler: “A lot of energy, definitely. That’s the main thing, we definitely try and give it all live. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to learn to make it as entertaining as possible, but also just as natural as possible. I think that’s important. At the end of the day, it’s us five on stage trying to connect with a room and I think it’s important to have those elements where the crowd feel like they’re involved for sure, but also, they feel like we are not just going through the motions and we are really giving them a unique show. I feel like myself, I’m quite spur of the moment in the way that we present the songs, obviously it’s based on the tracks that we’ve released and stuff but it’s definitely trying to give that energy that’s ‘you are only ever gonna see that one time on that stage’. It’s not like if you see us every day on tour, you’ll take something different away each time, just to be like, ‘oh they did that differently this night’ or ‘that song was bigger tonight’, those sorts of things. I think that’s really important. That’s where I sit, I dunno what you think, Jay?”
Jay: “Yeah, pretty much exactly the same. Even if we are having a shit day or a shit time, we
make sure that we are all firing when it gets to like stage time. Also, you’ve got an audience
there that has bought tickets to see you, it’s so important to do them justice and bring it all. I
think that’s the biggest chunk of feedback that we get after every show is our energy on stage
and how much we bring it to them, which is really special because it’s something that we’ve put a lot of focus and effort on.”
Massive thanks to Jay and Tyler for such an interesting chat. Headspace is out now, and
if you haven’t caught The Manatees live yet, make sure to get tickets for their 2025 tour
and be ready for a show packed with energy and heart. With everything they’ve built so
far, it’s clear even bigger things are on the horizon.
THE MANATEES ‘CONSEQUENCE’ TOUR AUTUMN 2025:
25th July – Dublin, The Workmans Cellar
1st October – Leeds, The Lending Room
2nd October – Glasgow, King Tut’s
3rd October – Newcastle, The Cluny 2
4th October – Manchester, YES (pink room)
8th October – Nottingham, Bodega
9th October – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
10th October – Bristol, Exchange
11th October – London, Omeara
20th December – Southampton, 1865
