Led by siblings Joe and Helen Hammill, Cattle & Cane’s sophomore album ‘Mirrors‘ is all set for release on Friday 28th April. Produced by Luuk Cox at ICP Studios in Brussels and Temple Studios in Malta, and mastered by Frank Arkwright (Arcade Fire, Coldplay, New Order) at Abbey Road Studios in London, ‘Mirrors’ features ten tracks that effortlessly showcase Cattle & Cane’s ability to shift even the hardest of hearts with their perfect, soaring harmonies.
“Recording at ICP Studios was such an amazing experience. It was pretty special to be in a studio that has seen the likes of The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga, Paolo Nutini and Pharrell Williams! Brussels was such a cool place to be and there was always something going on,” said Helen.
She continued, “We mixed some of the album in Malta and that was incredible too. It was our first time over there and the studio was situated right on the beach. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It brought so much inspiration being somewhere like that!”
Listen to ‘Make Your Vision’ from the new album: Here
Very much a family affair, Joe and Helen are joined by their brothers Fran (keyboards & backing vocals) and Vin Hammill (bass), along with close friend Tom Chapman on drums.
“You can say things in an unfiltered way to your siblings which you never could with non-siblings. It’s a good thing because there’s no skirting around an issue – you just tackle it straight on. None of us get too upset and said Joe. “Being siblings in a band has its pros and cons, but there’s definitely more pros. We’re best friends most of the time…” added Helen.generally we are nice to each other!“
Joe, Helen, Fran and Vin grew up together listening to a lot of different music at home and that upbringing has undoubtedly helped shape the band’s sound. “I remember listening to lots of 70s stuff like Gerry Rafferty, 10CC, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and still love all that stuff now. I absolutely loved – and still do – Sinatra. The songwriters, arrangements and his voice are just incredible and still stand out today,” said Joe.
“My explained Helen. favourite era is the 60s – I love Bridget Bardot, Pattie Boyd, Jane Birkin, the Supremes and anyone that wore their hair big and skirts short! They look so glamourous, yet effortless. Musically, I’ve always been a big Fleetwood Mac and Beatles fan,”
Although the 60s and 70s influences add a sepia-tinted, timeless quality to Cattle & Cane’s music, thanks to the vision of producer Luuk Cox, ‘Mirrors’ showcases a far more contemporary sound than its processor ‘Home’. “I love Luuk’s approach to music and really feel his production and ideas have brought out the best in our sound. He comes from a very different background to us, so that excited me in terms of how our songs could develop under his stewardship,” said Joe.
One thing that’s instantly noticeable about ‘Mirrors’ in comparison to ‘Home’ is that Helen sings a lot more on this record. “The types of songs we were writing were really suited to her voice. I think having different lead singers is always an interesting thing to listen to. As a writer, I really like writing songs for other people to sing – it removes a certain pressure/self-consciousness that comes with singing the songs you write,”says Joe, who has also recently written singles with Lucy Spraggan and Belgian chart-topper Alice On The Roof.
With extensive support from BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music and Amazing Radio, Cattle & Cane have been heavily championed by the BBC Introducing team and have performed on their stages at T In The Park and BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.
Since being released on 2nd December 2016, recent single ’7 Hours’ has already clocked up over 400,000 streams and numerous radio plays from long time champion Dermot O’Leary, who previously showcased the band on his ‘Saturday Sessions’ compilation following a beautiful live session on his show.
With features from the likes of Q, the Independent and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, as well as tours with Seattle’s The Head and The Heart and Montreal’s Half Moon Run, Cattle & Cane have built up a loyal and passionate following – a fan-base that helped propel their debut album ‘Home’ into the top 30 of the Official UK Independent Album Chart in September 2015, sandwiched between Adele and Arctic Monkeys no less.
Last year saw Cattle & Cane perform at acclaimed tastemaker events such as Reeperbahn Festival, Live At Leeds and Evolution Emerging, as well as at some of the UK’s finest boutique festivals including Cornbury, Deer Shed and Bingley Music Live. The band also toured abroad for the first time with gigs in Germany, Malta and Belgium, while a sold-out 1,100 capacity show at The Middlesbrough Empire ensured a triumphant finale to 2016: https://youtu.be/5U5qSfUedq0
Wasting no time in making their mark on 2017, Cattle & Cane partnered up with Barbour International for a live session and website feature around the release of new track ‘Make Your Vision‘, which was also quick to gain attention from tastemakers such as 1883 Magazine, Too Many Blogs and Unsigned Music Awards.
The relentlessly hard-working band will be back on the road this spring for a headline UK tour:
15th April Stockton – Stockton Calling
2nd May Liverpool – Buyers Club
3rd May Glasgow – King Tuts
4th May Gateshead – Sage 2
5th May Birmingham – The Flapper
6th May Leeds – The Wardrobe
7th May Masham – Town Hall
9th May Manchester – Gullivers
10th May Nottingham – Bodega
11th May London – Camden Assembly
12th May Bristol – Louisiana
13th May Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach
Tickets: https://www.cattleandcane.co.
With the release of ‘Mirrors’ and the band’s next single, the infectious fan-favourite ‘Fool For You’, Cattle & Cane’s ubiquity in their native North East looks set to spread far and wide in 2017.
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