Praise for Treeboy & Arc:
“…It’s the sound of a band simultaneously treading new ground and never having looked more sure of themselves” – DIY
“Leeds post-punk at its best” – Far Out Magazine ★★★★
“With Frankenstein studio experimentation, the perspectives of two genius vocalists/lyricists, and a truly tight symbiotic five-piece (having been born from teenage friendships), this genuine labour of love is exhibited across the record.” – Louder Than War
“…a leading light out of the north” – So Young
“For a debut, Natural Habitat nods towards tight punk melodica while riding along a winding road of artful dynamics and tasteful cynicism–a mix that just works.” – The Vinyl Factory
“…born out of teen angst in the red brick abodes of the North, Treeboy & Arc have become paragons of punk independence.” – Wax Music
“With such an accomplished modern sound it is hard not to see Treeboy & Arc going a long way in the next few years” – When The Horn Blows
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Releasing debut album Natural Habitat back in July via Clue Records/EMI North, Leeds’ Treeboy & Arc share the video for album opener ‘Midnight Mass’ ahead of their headline tour which starts later this month. The band have also been nominated by the Youth Music Award for ‘Best Original Track’ for ‘Retirement’.
One of the oldest songs on the album, ‘Midnight Mass’ was the first where the music pivoted around the synth parts. James and Ben had just bought a MicroKorg with pretty much no idea how to use it, so the result came from experimentation.
Ben further expands, “The lyrics are about how the media has changed and also had to adapt to survive in the modern era. TV and Radio are being slowly overtaken by YouTube and Netflix. We have TV channels that show 24 hour rolling news yet most people get their information from Facebook or Twitter. Simple quotes are taken out of context and twisted to fit a certain narrative and clickbait headlines intice us to read an entire article that bears no relevance to the headline whatsoever. Cancel culture is crazy too, it’s mad that you could post a tweet before going to bed and wake up to your life in complete ruin. Everything happens so fast and is so constant and that’s the same feeling I got from the song, so I thought these lyrics would be a good fit.”
Watch the video for ‘Midnight Mass’ HERE
During lockdown, Jimbo bought a tandem off Gumtree that ended up collecting dust until he had the idea that they do a music video where they ride it around Leeds as up until that point he had only used it about 3 times after going all the way to Birmingham to collect it.
The video was filmed by Charlie Featherstone (CAP Media), who was involved with the retirement video too, and Rosie Day, who captured their 10 mile + ride around Leeds where they found themselves being stopped mainly by elderly people saying “it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of them!”.
The tandem is now back in Jim’s basement collecting dust again. So if anybody wants a tandem then please get in touch!
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Treeboy & Arc start their UK headline tour on 17th October until 27th October, as well as slots at Cadiff’s SWN Festival on 21st October, and Nottingham Karma Weekend on 28th October.
Their tour sees them perform in Brighton, London, Margate, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, and Leeds, with support at various dates from DLD, Divorce Attorney, Bo Gritz, bloody/bath, SOFT, HAAL, DEK, Conscious Pilot, Post Ironic State, and their Leeds hometown show adds Autobahn, Moxco White DJ (Square Ball), plus special guests.
Tickets on-sale now HERE
Natural Habitat is their most ambitious release to date. With the opportunity to really experiment in the studio with Matt Peel, the songs recorded became darker, harsher and more brutal sounding than any of the original demos the band had recorded themselves. With two singers and two lyricists, the meaning of each song feels completely separate from the last. Each song has its own story and meaning, from anxiety to the supernatural, whether disguised by cryptic language or told as “matter of fact”, the album discusses the full spectrum of emotions.
The band pits pop songs against avant-garde, kraut-punk noise to see which elements come out on top, perfectly setting the scene for abstract tales of disillusionment, loss, ill health and the occasional Bob Mortimer obsession. Typically spoken word-esque vocals are spat atop these vivid soundscapes with the vocalists choosing to prioritise lyrics and feeling before melody and harmony. Though often dark and sinister sounding, you don’t need to listen hard to hear the tongue-in-cheek wit and cynicism in their deliveries that is so often associated with the North of England.
Treeboy & Arc are:
James Kay – Bass / Vocals
Ben Morgan – Guitar / Vocals
Sammy Robinson – Synths
George Townend – Guitar
Isaac Turner – Drums
Natural Habitat
Out now via Clue Records/EMI North
Listen HERE
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TOUR DATES 2023
*Headline Show
17/10 – Brighton, Prince Albert* with DLD + Divorce Attorney
18/10 – London, Moth Club* with Bo Gritz + bloody/bath
19/10 – Margate, Where Else?* with SOFT
20/10 – Bristol, Rough Trade* with HAAL
21/10 – Cardiff, Swn Fest
25/10 – Manchester, YES (Basement)* with DEK
26/10 – Glasgow, Nice N Sleazy* with Conscious Pilot + Post Ironic State
27/10 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club* with Autobahn + Moxco White DJ (Square Ball) + Special Guests TBA
28/10 – Nottingham, Karma Weekender at Chameleon
Tickets on-sale now HERE
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Natural Habitat artwork | Download here
Natural Habitat
Out now via Clue Records
Listen HERE
Tracklisting
1. Midnight Mass
2. Retirement
3. Virtual Reality Check
4. Box Of Frogs
5. Human Catastrophe
6. False Objects
7. Character Building
8. Behind The Curtain
9. Winter Of Existence
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About Treeboy & Arc:
A project formed off the back of James and George’s teenage friendship, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly how long Treeboy & Arc has existed. The pair met Ben at college, bonding over a mutual disinterest in the course they were supposed to be studying, with Isaac joining a little later after a chance encounter at a New Year’s Eve party. Initially writing down-the-line post punk as a four-piece out of bedrooms in North Leeds, the band first entered the public consciousness in 2016 and quickly developed a reputation for their captivating and dynamic live performances. In the year or two that followed, the band did their best to strip the paint from the walls of most of the venues across the city, with relative success. After the purchase of a pawn shop synthesiser in early 2018 they quickly realised there weren’t enough hands for the job and Sammy joined, making up the current quintet and enabling the band to develop a more complex and expansive sound.
A DIY ethos is at their core, with the band championing their Northern origins.
In mid 2018 they moved into a redbrick terrace in LS6, with the main criteria for the property being: does it have a basement? Within a week the damp, underground room had been transformed. Large egg trays acquired from a nearby hotel were crudely glued to the walls as make-shift soundproofing and the floors covered with carpet cutoffs. This gave the band a space where they could truly forge their own sound.
Often with no stand out lead melody, Treeboy & Arc are a sonic example of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Made up of meandering, interlocking guitar melodies propped up by a sturdy, yet intricate, rhythm section that often just won’t quit, plus synthesisers will make you wince with dissonant pads before punching you in the stomach with a driving arpeggiator sequence.
The band pits pop songs against avant-garde, kraut-punk noise to see which elements come out on top, perfectly setting the scene for abstract tales of disillusionment, loss, ill health and the occasional Bob Mortimer obsession. Typically spoken word-esque vocals are spat atop these vivid soundscapes with the vocalists choosing to prioritise lyrics and feeling before melody and harmony. Though often dark and sinister sounding, you don’t need to listen hard to hear the tongue-in-cheek wit and cynicism in their deliveries that is so often associated with the North of England.
After two successful single releases via Leeds’ own Come Play With Me Records and London based record label Speedy Wunderground, it was decided the next project would be a debut album. Despite many advising a couple of EP’s or Singles would be more beneficial, Treeboy & Arc chose to ignore this and instead do things their own way, quickly booking in studio time in Meanwood. It took less than four days to record the album in November 2019, recorded in a live fashion with each track blending seamlessly into the next, in an attempt to mimic their frenetic, non-stop live shows. Then, just as talks began on how to release the record, a global pandemic hit, putting everything on hold.
With the feeling that it would be counterintuitive to release the somewhat ‘live’ album without being able to tour it, they instead worked on a new 4-track EP, sending demos back and forth to each other during the lockdown until they were able to get back into the studio. A process very alien to a band that usually writes as a group in a dimly lit room. The result of this was their 2021 EP Life Preserver.
Fast forward a year and the album that the band had once felt so proud of, now felt dated. Songs that had been written two, three, even four years prior no longer represented who the band were or how they sounded. Keen not to cut corners, the decision was made to re-record the album. In the months that followed the band focused on experimenting, writing new songs and rearranging old songs, all from the confines of a new, yet equally damp, rehearsal space shared with friends and fellow Leeds musicians Van Houten.
By the winter of 2021, Treeboy & Arc were back in the studio to begin work on what they were already referring to as “Album Two”, despite the fact the rest of the world never actually got to hear “Album One”. Despite opportunities to record in other parts of the country, the band felt it important to keep things homegrown and chose to work alongside seminal Leeds producer Matt Peel, who has worked on the likes of TRAAMS, W.H. LUNG, Eagulls, Pulled Apart By Horses, Heck, at his studio The Nave in Stanningley.
The album however seemed destined to never be completed with work grinding to a halt after just the first session tracking drums, as Isaac got COVID. Things were hastily rebooked and a couple of weeks later the band were back in the studio determined to make good progress, but it was not to be. James got it next, though this time perhaps providing a saving grace as he had just boldly claimed he could “easily” run 20 mph in a pair of crocs, a ludicrous statement that could now conveniently not be tested. Needless to say, things didn’t stop there as each one of the sessions was prematurely curtailed or interrupted by at least one of the band or Matt contracting the virus, making progress slow. The band limped on though, recording what they could with the members available to them and after 10 days in total and many lateral flow tests, “Album Two” was eventually finished and their debut album was finally ready.
In 2023, Treeboy & Arc signed to Leeds based Clue Records (Bored At My Grandmas House, The Wedding Present, YOWL), who recently announced their partnership with EMI North, and are finally gearing up for the release of their debut album Natural Habitat out this summer.
Natural Habitat is Treeboy & Arc’s most ambitious release to date. With the opportunity to really experiment in the studio with Matt Peel, the songs recorded became darker, harsher and more brutal sounding than any of the original demos the band had recorded themselves. With two singers and two lyricists, the meaning of each song feels completely separate from the last. Each song has its own story and meaning, from anxiety to the supernatural, whether disguised by cryptic language or told as “matter of fact”, the album discusses the full spectrum of emotions.
Treeboy & Arc have received praise from BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 1, So Young Magazine, DIY Mag & CLASH + more. In 2022 they played The Great Escape, Left Of The Dial in Rotterdam and toured Europe. They’ve previously shared stages with Parquet Courts, Shame, Ulrika Spacek, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, and toured with Crows and LIFE, as well as being supported by PRS Foundation.
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