Words – Tom Willmott

2012 is already set to be a busy one for alternative rock band InMe who release their 5th studio album and head out on a 35 date UK tour in February/March. Frontman – Dave McPherson gives us an insight into the new album, their upcoming tour and their PlegeMusic campaign.

The new studio album “The Pride” is released on 20th February. Can you give us an insight as to what we can expect from the album?

It’s a different direction for us. With the last album ‘Herald Moth’ we wanted to make a dark, technical album whereas this album focuses more on melody, hooks & has a much more positive feel to it. Lyrically it’s very poetical & the album as a whole is definitely has the most emotion that we’ve ever achieved in an album.

What’s the meaning behind the title?

It has a few meanings attached to it. The album artwork itself depicts an underwater pride of lions which hints at a few lyrical concepts within the album. It also sums up the pride we have as a band & how much of ourselves we put into our music & work. It’s also supposed to symbolise a connection between us & our audience. They’re so dedicated to us & their support means they’re definitely part of ‘The Pride’ so to speak. It sounds cheesy but the album itself is quite bold & a bit larger than life.

Your upcoming tour consists of 35 dates, which is quite mammoth sized to say the least. Have you been preparing for a long jaunt like this?

We’re naturally a touring band so the road is where we shine the most. We love the day to day process of it, playing music, having fun together & seeing places we’ve not seen before. It’ll be tough but we’ve been doing this quite a while now & the trials & tribulations on the road don’t get us down, the bigger picture is we’re ridiculously lucky to have this opportunity & we cherish that. We rehearse a lot & develop set lists months in advance so playing the tunes becomes like riding a bike which means we can focus more on putting a energetic, involving show.

You’re taking out two great support acts for this tour, Lostalone and Mojo Fury. How did you come across these bands?

We’ve played quite a few shows with Mojo Fury & they’re a top band & a great bunch of blokes too. They’re also on the same label/management as us & I believe LostAlone are on the same label as us too which is where they tie in. Liking what I’ve heard though! We’re all gonna be on the same bus together so everyone is gonna really get to know each other really quickly!

Over the years, what have been the best shows you’ve played and bands you’ve toured with?

Quite a few really! Playing the main stage at Download 2003 & Readings/Leeds was pretty amazing. Playing out in Japan is always a buzz & anywhere in Europe! The last 2 Sonisphere shows were very reviving for us in terms of feeling like we are still relevant to music listeners.

About a decade ago, you were amongst a wave of exciting acts to come out of the UK which included the likes of Hundred Reasons, Hell Is For Heroes and Million Dead. Obviously there has been lineup changes over the course of time, but does it amaze you that you’ve managed to outlive a lot of bands from that era?

Well the lineup changes were certainly part of our survival! We’ve never had a reason to pack this in & we keep ourselves creatively fulfilled outside of the band with solo/side projects etc. We’re all pretty tough guys when it comes to not giving up on this & things have been tough in the past with juggling jobs around it etc but I don’t think giving up is an option to us really. This is the funnest thing to do & music is our lives. Plus, I’m pretty unemployable for anything else!

Recently you launched a campaign via PledgeMusic. Was it fun getting involved with that?

It’s incredibly absorbing. It’s ridiculously hard work & has pretty much become my full time job but I absolutely love it! It’s easily the best value for money for the music buyer as they get so much extra content, it helps to fund our campaign so that we can keep things growing & reach new people plus it helps so many different charities. My solo campaign raised £2000 for Save The Children & this time we’re trying to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society. I can’t recommend using PledgeMusic enough.

For the setlists, will there be any chance of you including some older tracks (specifically the first two albums)?

We are indeed! We’re playing ‘Natural’, ‘Her Mask (P.A), ‘Underdose’, ’7Weeks’ & more!

What music are you digging currently?
All sorts really. Loudon Wainwright the 3rd, Born of Osiris, Gabrielle Aplin, Charlie Simpson, Deftones, Chimp Spanner, Frank Turner, Karnivool, The Devin Townsend Project & The Wildhearts to name but a few.

Finally after this tour, will you be making any festival appearances this summer?

Nothing is confirmed as yet but no doubt! See you out in the field.

Find out what towns InMe will be hitting up in February/March 2012 and find more about their PledgeMusic campaign HERE.