THE VELVET HANDS
READY LIFE AFFIRMING NEW SINGLE:
“I WANNA BE THERE”
THE VELVET HANDS have unveiled their new soaring summer anthem “I Wanna Be There”.
Blending their signature rip-roaring choruses with soaring guitar hooks that wouldn’t feel out of place on a major festival stage, “I Wanna Be There” is an uplifting anthem for anyone that feels a little bit restless in life.
Punctured at its core by a catchy, circling riff and with melodic build-ups that gleam like the first glimpse of sun on a dull late summer day, the track was produced and mixed by John Logan and JamX Jules at Cube Studios and The Cave in Cornwall.
Focused on finding optimism amongst all the agitation, vocalist and guitarist Toby explains:
“”I Wanna Be There” is about everybody around you seemingly knowing exactly what they’re doing with their lives, whilst you’re still trying to shake off last night’s hangover and wondering when your life is going to properly start. It’s about looking around and realising that you’ve come much further than you think and that maybe everyone else feels the same.”
“It was the first track that we wrote for the album and was the one that guided where we were going. We want to make music that inspires kids to form bands: simple, passionate and energetic.
Alongside their spirited new anthem, The Velvet Hands have launched their new podcast ‘Are We There Yet?’. Documenting the soaring highs and crippling lows that come along with being in a band that isn’t quite there yet, each episode sees the boys joined by a variety of musical guests. From chats about the worst festival toilets with Radio X DJ Sarah Gosling to stories on songwriting with Justin Parker (Lana Del Rey, Rihanna, Bat For Lashes) and a Hard Fi special with frontman Richard Archer, all episodes of the podcast are available here.
The Velvet Hands are Toby Mitchell, Dan Able, Louis Mitchell and Sam Hilder. Blending slacker story-telling with belting guitar riffs reminiscent of The Strokes or Parquet Courts with rousing punk choruses that recall The Clash, the band formed amidst Cornwall’s blistering garage-rock scene before relocating to London and making a name for themselves on the capital’s underground guitar circuit.
Praised as being “full of bolshy spirit” by NME, the band’s self-recorded debut album was Huw Stephens’ Album Of The Week on Radio 1 and gained the band airplay from Radio X, BBC 6 Music and BBC Introducing amongst others. Their early run of singles also caused a stir with a range of tastemaker blogs including Gigslutz and Fred Perry Subculture, with God Is In The TV praising them as “brash garage punk rabble-rousers somewhere between the attitude of early Cribs or Libertines with the death and glory of The Clash” and For The Love Of Bands dubbing the band as “the second coming of rock and roll.”
Having supported the likes of Fontaines D.C., VANT, Wallows and Paul Weller, the band have also played an Independent Venue Week show with Frank Turner, opened for Liam Gallagher at The Eden Project in 2019 and headlined stages at Isle of Wight and Y Not? festivals.
The pandemic saw The Velvet Hands hard at work writing new material before releasing “When This Is Over” to raise money for the Music Venue Trust. With their second album set to land later this year, “I Wanna Be There” arrives as a fiery follow-up to earlier release “Holiday In My Head” — a scorching single that blends an unashamed love for guitar music with searing rock-riffs and all-out chrouses.
Earlier this year The Velvet Hands played sold out shows in London and Falmouth, and the band have been playing numerous festival shows this summer. With a stellar performance at the Pilton Party Auditions Final, where Michael Eavis hand-picked them to support at this year’s Pilton Party, the band also put-in a triumphant set at this years’ Boardmasters – the footage of which can be seen in the video for “I Wanna Be There” –
With a national tour in the Autumn and live dates for 2023 also in pipeline
FOLLOW THE VELVET HANDS
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
