Q&A: The Dunwells

Drawn together by their shared love of bands like Bon Iver, Elbow and Damien Rice, Leeds four piece The Dunwells head out on tour this month, playing Hull Fruit, 27 Feb and the Wardrobe, Leeds, 28 Feb. Lead singer Joe Dunwell talks about getting signed across the pond and coming home.

You’re ending your tour with a homecoming show in Leeds. Do you have anything special planned for it?
We are so excited for it. We are going to be filming the show and playing lots of new material that we have been working on. It’s going to be great – one big party, tons of energy and a few beers, after the show of course.

Are you happy with how your EP has been received and what are your album plans?
It’s been amazing. We are so happy with the response that it’s still getting. We are planning on releasing another EP straight after the tour and then the album in the autumn. We have been writing loads and plan to put a lot of new music out this year.

How has your sound evolved since you formed and were changes in direction commercially driven?
I think you take influences from what you are listening to at the time. We have been listening to a lot of modern music recently and during the making of the EPs and album. The sound has evolved into something that we are so proud of.

You ended up getting signed when you played a gig Stateside. Do you think it is too crowded for new bands to get noticed at home?
No, not really. We got the opportunity to go Stateside from a show that we did in the UK. We were so lucky that the one show we played ended up leading to a record deal. There are champions of new music all over the world but right now we are absolutely loving being able to spend more time in the UK writing and touring.

What are the implications of having a US label?
Our label has been great. To be honest the only implication is the time difference. I get an idea in the morning and by the time America wakes up I’ve forgotten it. I should really write stuff down.

Antonia Charlesworth