The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society is a British folk-pop band formed in Brighton in 2009 b… Read Full Bio ↴The Leisure Society is a British folk-pop band formed in Brighton in 2009 by Nick Hemming. Their debut single, "The Last Of The Melting Snow", was honoured with a 2009 Ivor Novello nomination for Best Song Musically & Lyrically. Their single "Save It For Someone Who Cares" was also nominated for the Ivor Novello in the same category in 2010, making the band one of very few consecutive nominees.
The band released their album, Alone Aboard The Ark, in 2013 through Full Time Hobby. The album is being supported by an eleven date tour of the UK, commencing on April 12 at The Kazimier in Liverpool and ending on April 25 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. The new LP - recorded at Kinks frontman Ray Davies‘ Konk Studios - is the follow up to 2011’s lauded Into The Murky Water, which the band toured in ever distinctive fashion, including a date at the London Barbican backed by the 40-piece Heritage Orchestra.
Fittingly, Alone Aboard The Ark sees the band expanding their arcadian, Baroque pop sound with a more diverse array of sounds and inventive orchestration. Following a summer of rehearsals beside the River Ouse in Befordshire, The Leisure Society decamped to Konk Studios to begin recording the tracks that would become Alone Aboard The Ark. Having declared himself a fan of The Leisure Society, Kinks frontman Ray Davies (owner of Konk) originally sought out the band to help him arrange and record his new solo material, and also included the band in his curation of 2011’s Meltdown Festival on the South Bank.
The genesis of The Leisure Society spans back to the friendship made by Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy in their hometown of Burton on Trent. When the pair relocated to London they fell in with the Brighton-based Wilkommen Collective, and with Helen Whitaker, Mike Siddell and Sebastian Hankins, came to form The Leisure Society. The single 'The Last of The Melting Snow' from their debut LP The Sleeper was nonimated for a 2009 Ivor Novello (alongside heavyweights such as Elbow & The Last Shadow Puppets), and the band joined an incredibly select group when a year later, 'Save It For Someone Who Cares' was also nominated for an Ivor.
Lyrically, Alone Aboard The Ark is an album informed by a palette as eclectic as it's musical flesh. Album standout 'The Sober Scent of Paper' is a hair-raising, elegiac waltz informed somewhat unconsciously by the demise of Sylvia Plath: 'When I began writing‘ says Nick 'I didn’t know what it was going to be about. For some reason, the first line 'Chains dredge the great lake around you / Pull you along by the knots in your hair‘ made me think of her. I guess it’s quite a dark desolate image‘. Yet there's light to this shade, with 'Tearing The Arches Down' marrying a wryly observed narrative 'The boy with the bloodshot eyes / A legend in your lunchtime' to an ebullient chant.
Over the summer, Nick’s 8 hours a day Olympic TV habit manifested inself in 'Fight For Everyone‘, which whilst celebrating British success, also considers those who also 'had this spine-tingling roar of support, but could only ever be an also-ran'. The track also marks The Leisure Society’s first foray into synths, utilising as it does six different vintage synth lines, layered up by Helen and Christian.
Having recorded both The Sleeper and 2011's follow-up Into The Murky Water in home studios, the range of technology both old and new at the band's disposal at Konk proved to be the perfect foil for The Leisure Society's ambitious designs. Alone Aboard The Ark was recorded on a 2“ tape machine and a 1970s mixing desk, and the value of recording live, coupled with the band's minimal approach to arrangement, is borne out across the album. Nick Etwell’s (trumpeter to Mumford & Sons) brass lines permeate 'One Man and His Fug', whilst the electric guitar lines heard on 'The Last in A Long Line' were the product of Christian and Mike‘s two Gretches recorded playing at opposite ends of the studio. Even the piano part for 'We Go Together' underwent a nocturnal reinvention when Christian had 'a moment of inspiration, whilst deeply drunk at midnight listening to the playback'.
Ask the band what makes them most proud of Alone Aboard The Ark though, and the answer is likely to be 'a gang mentality'. Say Christian and Nick, 'There’s no question that this is 'the one' in terms of us five working together to create something. As a result of the camaraderie and everyone having their say, we’re all at our absolute peak on this album'.
The band released their album, Alone Aboard The Ark, in 2013 through Full Time Hobby. The album is being supported by an eleven date tour of the UK, commencing on April 12 at The Kazimier in Liverpool and ending on April 25 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. The new LP - recorded at Kinks frontman Ray Davies‘ Konk Studios - is the follow up to 2011’s lauded Into The Murky Water, which the band toured in ever distinctive fashion, including a date at the London Barbican backed by the 40-piece Heritage Orchestra.
Fittingly, Alone Aboard The Ark sees the band expanding their arcadian, Baroque pop sound with a more diverse array of sounds and inventive orchestration. Following a summer of rehearsals beside the River Ouse in Befordshire, The Leisure Society decamped to Konk Studios to begin recording the tracks that would become Alone Aboard The Ark. Having declared himself a fan of The Leisure Society, Kinks frontman Ray Davies (owner of Konk) originally sought out the band to help him arrange and record his new solo material, and also included the band in his curation of 2011’s Meltdown Festival on the South Bank.
The genesis of The Leisure Society spans back to the friendship made by Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy in their hometown of Burton on Trent. When the pair relocated to London they fell in with the Brighton-based Wilkommen Collective, and with Helen Whitaker, Mike Siddell and Sebastian Hankins, came to form The Leisure Society. The single 'The Last of The Melting Snow' from their debut LP The Sleeper was nonimated for a 2009 Ivor Novello (alongside heavyweights such as Elbow & The Last Shadow Puppets), and the band joined an incredibly select group when a year later, 'Save It For Someone Who Cares' was also nominated for an Ivor.
Lyrically, Alone Aboard The Ark is an album informed by a palette as eclectic as it's musical flesh. Album standout 'The Sober Scent of Paper' is a hair-raising, elegiac waltz informed somewhat unconsciously by the demise of Sylvia Plath: 'When I began writing‘ says Nick 'I didn’t know what it was going to be about. For some reason, the first line 'Chains dredge the great lake around you / Pull you along by the knots in your hair‘ made me think of her. I guess it’s quite a dark desolate image‘. Yet there's light to this shade, with 'Tearing The Arches Down' marrying a wryly observed narrative 'The boy with the bloodshot eyes / A legend in your lunchtime' to an ebullient chant.
Over the summer, Nick’s 8 hours a day Olympic TV habit manifested inself in 'Fight For Everyone‘, which whilst celebrating British success, also considers those who also 'had this spine-tingling roar of support, but could only ever be an also-ran'. The track also marks The Leisure Society’s first foray into synths, utilising as it does six different vintage synth lines, layered up by Helen and Christian.
Having recorded both The Sleeper and 2011's follow-up Into The Murky Water in home studios, the range of technology both old and new at the band's disposal at Konk proved to be the perfect foil for The Leisure Society's ambitious designs. Alone Aboard The Ark was recorded on a 2“ tape machine and a 1970s mixing desk, and the value of recording live, coupled with the band's minimal approach to arrangement, is borne out across the album. Nick Etwell’s (trumpeter to Mumford & Sons) brass lines permeate 'One Man and His Fug', whilst the electric guitar lines heard on 'The Last in A Long Line' were the product of Christian and Mike‘s two Gretches recorded playing at opposite ends of the studio. Even the piano part for 'We Go Together' underwent a nocturnal reinvention when Christian had 'a moment of inspiration, whilst deeply drunk at midnight listening to the playback'.
Ask the band what makes them most proud of Alone Aboard The Ark though, and the answer is likely to be 'a gang mentality'. Say Christian and Nick, 'There’s no question that this is 'the one' in terms of us five working together to create something. As a result of the camaraderie and everyone having their say, we’re all at our absolute peak on this album'.
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The Leisure Society Lyrics
A Fighting Chance All the hope That you give Ain't enough For me to cling t…
A Matter of Time Sitting on a beach declaring my intentions Trying to find a…
A Short Weekend Begins With Longing Fine for a while We were happy 'til it died Fate shook…
A Softer Voice Takes Longer Hearing Mid the pause In the wreckage came The peculiar light Of …
Although We All Are Lost Although we all are lost, our progress has been mapped And…
Another Sunday Psalm So I'd send them back With their red little bird And why…
Are We Happy? She said it's a tough, tough world The things that I've…
Better Written Off From the darkest lows To the heavenly highs Another dream le…
Come to Your Senses The brainchild of the science fiction hat When you get to…
Dust On the Dancefloor The tide behind the eyes that never shut The restless legs…
Fight for Everyone When you're saved by the ring of the bell, Is it…
I Shall Forever Remain an Amateur Lately, white moon in the blue sky You taunt me with…
Inchworm two and two are four four and four are eight eight and…
Into the Murky Water Blood on the rocks Fire in the sky A crack in the…
Love's Enormous Wings All these strange equations Keep on running through my brai…
Nothing Like This Listen up, I've been hanging here From the bars by the…
Our Hearts Burn Like Damp Matches Take a walk through scattered trees To the place where no…
Outside In When life is a maw That chews you and spits you Back…
Save It for Someone Who Cares Hunting spires And an audience in the house of God Such st…
The Darkest Place I Know And so we stare once more into the breach Our faults…
The Fine Art of Hanging On In the madness and island, Another lame animal, Defeating th…
The Hungry Years Into the night another life Twisted and torn beneath the ti…
The Last of the Melting Snow Wait all year For the parting shot For the epilogue For t…
The Sleeper Someday we all shall cease to exist Someday our tiles will…
The Undefeated Ego Fight - you know you have to You do it every…
This Phantom Life I am a dancing bear You are a magazine We are a…
We Go Together We smoke a last cigarette And pour ourselves into bed The …
We Were Wasted And I Will close my eagle eyes Hang up my skin to…
You Could Keep Me Talking A winter of trees keeps me pinned to the floor I…