Modern Hinterland is based around songwriter and vocalist Chris Hornsby, who, after working solo on previous releases, gathered a group of like-minded musicians to create the Americana tinged ‘The Hoppings’ (out 21 September 2018 on Label Fandango).
The album was inspired by Hornsby’s growing up in the hills and valleys outside of Newcastle and travelling the length and breadth of the UK. With songs such as ‘York’, ‘The Girl Just South of Hackney’, and ‘Lowland Daughter’, the album brings to mind the summer passage of the famous fairground of its title. At its heart, this is a storyteller’s album. Listen to the lead single (out tomorrow) Take You To The Hoppings (To Do Wrong):
Chris shared the following on the track:
The whistling thing came about partly by accident, I quite often hum or whistle melodic parts in demos and then work out what to play it on later..but with ‘Take You To The Hoppings’ something about the whistling just suited the mood so much better then anything else, I think there is something playful about it, something innocent even. The Hoppings is a massive fairground that appears on Newcastle Town Moor every summer where if you are 16 or 17 and you want to go somewhere and you can’t get into a pub or bar you might go there at night. So for me, the song is picking up on the tension between youthful innocence and …getting up to no good.
As part of preparing for the record, Hornsby listened to 365 albums over 365 days in an attempt to distil what makes a great album. The result of that process was ‘The Hoppings’’ 10 songs, 32 minutes. Brief, but packed with visions of modern life.
Recorded in just a few days soon after the band was formed the album has a freshness and energy that reflects them having just got together. Produced by Hornsby, the recording was split between Snorkel Studios in Forest Hill where the bass, drums and electrics were recorded with Nainesh Shah (Flotation Toy Warning) engineering, and Hornsby’s home studio.
The band is made up of Canadian drummer Colin Marshall, and Welsh-born bassist Tim Thackray. They will be joined on-stage for forthcoming UK live dates by guitarist Simon Shippey (Custom Blue), who has recently returned to the UK after almost a decade in New York.
The Hoppings is out 21 September 2018 on Label Fandango.