Feeds - A Year Since Battle of the Bands

In 2012, Feeds beat over 30 bands to be crowned the Battle of the Band winners and were treated with playing to the packed student union in the ultimate round . "The final was amazing," smiles Merrick, reminiscing on their competition experience. In reward of their victory the boys received a £200 voucher to spend in Dawsons Music store in Huddersfield town. The group put this reward to good use, spending it on much needed distortion pedals, cables and equipment. "There was a lot of fighting," laughs Merrick whilst David grins in agreement. It appears that it's not every day the group find themselves with that amount of money to play with.

Feeds have had a persistently busy schedule since graduating from the University of Huddersfield in 2012. After releasing their EP 'Words of a Fool' in March, the five piece performed at Summer Saturnalia in Skipton and began touring in May. The group have also been busy working on music videos to feature alongside their tracks, enabling them to attract ever welcome attention. "What we want to do this year is expand our audience," declares keyboardist O'Grady.

The five musicians met whilst studying music related courses and began to bring their individual projects together. Working within interconnected  subjects helped the band work cohesively as they studied song writing modules in their second year at university. Reflecting on their development as song writers since they began performing together  O'Grady remarks, "On our second EP, you notice the progression." Embarking on tour the day after some of the group members' dissertations were due for hand in added pressure to their already bustling schedule but despite these challenging moments, the band have exited university with high standard degrees.

Feeds find themselves bringing an eclectic mix of musical influences together, including Stevie Wonder and Iron Maiden, to create catchy indie rock tracks. Even incorporating a brass section into their music, the band are always replenishing their musical ideas and providing their listeners with refreshing sounds.

The ex-students have recently settled permanently in West Yorkshire and having nearly completed the song writing phase of their upcoming EP, they are in the process of contacting producers to work with. "There's a few people that are really keen to work with us, which is really cool," grins O'Grady. They are also confirmed to be performing at the Welcome Fest, a charitable festival in the Birkby suburb of Huddersfield. Feeds are a promising act to look out for this year and if they continue as successfully as they have so far, they may just have their best year yet.

Merrick and O'Grady say they will be following the Battle of the Bands competition this year as it is a great way to discover new local bands. They advice competing bands to show that they are having fun on stage and to practice as much as possible. "Bring lots of friends," jokes O'Grady and adds, "Try to do as much as you can to give your sound that something extra; to make you sound special."

Listen to Feeds here.

Emma Storey.