By: Jennifer Vintzileos
Q) How would you best describe your sound?
Sam: We’re a Sea Shanty Folk inspired A Capella harmony group that does traditional songs with an emphasis on Bass…So, the sound is kind of like if a pirate, some giants and a hipster started singing together and accidentally made a baby…We’d be the baby.
Seb: I would describe our sound as a collective mix of folk styles from US and Europe, fusing shanties, Celtic trad, country,and a sprinkle of fantasy! Storytelling is integral to all we do and we want to keep finding new ways to explore this, especially going forward with our own original songs.
Jonny: “Bass-heavy vocal fol”’ isn’t the catchiest description, but sums it up concisely. We started off doing a cappella/vocal harmonies before adding instruments and the harmony and vocal interplay is at the core of the sound. Most vocal harmony groups only have one bass, if that, but we’re blessed to have two generational low basses and love using that in our music!
Q) Who are your Top 3 musical influences?
Sam: Jason Mraz, The Small Faces and Eminem were all pretty influential when I started out writing music (pretty eclectic, I know), but it really depends on what type of song I’m trying to write.
Seb: Jeff Buckley has always resonated with me deeply. I also love the raw honesty of Kurt Cobain as well. And Bob Marley’s entire catalog is an example of how to write powerful songs of love, pain, soul and empowerment that has been defining.
Jonny: Growing up it was James Taylor, as a teenager it was John Mayer and as an adult…it’s probably still John Mayer. However, the past few years, Kelsea Ballerini.
Luke: I would say my biggest inspirations musically are Colter Wall, Stan Rogers, and Tyler Childers. I love the storytelling aspect of their songs and I think they’re incredible poets!
Bobby: I have mostly been inspired by vocalists including David Draiman from Disturbed, especially the different textures that he is able to bring through his voice. Avi Kaplan and Thurl Ravenscroft have definitely inspired my bass singing as I started my musical journey as well.
Q) What are some themes you explore on your new album Northern Sky?
Jonny: Sam’s original song “Tall Tales,” with the repeated call “tell us all your story,” comes to mind – we wanted storytelling to be a key theme for the album, with stories coming from a range of different traditions and cultures. I think resilience and endurance is another theme that comes up in the songs we chose – the belief that everything is all going to work out, in the face of difficulty, change and pain – but this wasn’t something that became apparent until after the fact.
Q) You also released a music video for the title track last month. Where did the inspiration for the song and album name come from?
Jonny: Would you believe, the original tune for the chorus came from a dance/pop track I started writing back in 2022? The demo is never seeing the light of day, but it’s a great example for never discarding material, haha.
As for the lyrics, I’d been wanting to write a song about my home country of Scotland for a while and saw a beautiful picture of the Northern Lights around the Hebrides, “underneath the Northern Sky.” The concept of being called away from his home to sail the world is fairly universal and the island of Colonsay is so beautiful it felt right to write about it. It helped that it has three syllables and rhymes with “haul away.”
Q) How did you come up with the concept for the music video?
Seb: Shooting the music video for “Northern Sky” was a mad experience! We drove a little while to a remote frozen lake in Colorado (where we were staying to rehearse pre-tour) and as soon as we arrived found ourselves blasted by blizzard winds, we thought we were going to have to cancel but we persevered through the afternoon and got some cool shots. Thankfully, the blizzards moved and we were eventually able to open our eyes for the camera! Though you can still tell in the music video by our faces just how cold it was. Massive shoutout to Mikey Hardesty for shooting the vid and directing us for what was an amazing day!
Q) Since its release, what has been the reaction to the new album from fans and listeners?
Sam: Positive, which is nice! [laughs] I’ve been particularly excited by people’s response to our first two original songs, “Northern Sky” and “Tall Tales!” Plenty more originals on the way…
Jonny: Reaching the UK Folk Charts was a cool achievement, for sure, as was selling out our entire stock of vinyls and CDs within the first two days of our US tour (shoutout to the Sherwood Forest Medieval Faire).
Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music/a beat before you can craft lyrics?
Sam: This summer will be the first opportunity we’ve had to start writing music as a group, so our process is definitely up for debate at the moment! For me, personally, it depends on where the inspiration hits first. I’ve often stumbled across a melody or chord progression and then worked on moulding some lyrics to fit, but I’ve also had days where a particular phrase has grabbed my attention and set me off writing! I do prefer writing the melody and lyrics together as having a framework for the tune forces me to become creative with my use of language and turn of phrase.
Seb: My songwriting process consists of trying to find inspiration in life, literature and nature and then trying to tune in to the subtle emotions and feelings found within that could provide the basis for starting a song. The window of opportunity is not always open, so you need to be vigilant enough to know when it is! Being disciplined to try to write something regularly often helps, no matter how good (or bad!) it is. It’s just about expression at the end of the day and with expression honesty is key.
Q) I absolutely love your cover of “Wild Mountain Thyme!” Which song was your favorite to record for Northern Sky?
Sam: I think “Santiana” was one of my favourites to record. I do love an opportunity to throw in some super high notes…Gotta prove to all these bass singers in the group that I’m worth keeping!
Jonny: “Spanish Ladies” was my favorite shanty to record. It’s a fun combination of thick vocal harmonies, low notes from Luke/Bobby, high notes from Sam and some epic strings from professional orchestra players Bethan and Tom Lloyd-Aldren to add that Pirates of the Caribbean vibe. My favourite non-shanty has to be “Hurt,” though. It’s a poignant song, arranged beautifully by Kat Bodor, and Luke delivered a sensational lead vocal take that still gives me shivers every time I listen to it.
Bobby: Singing the bass lead for “Song of Durin” one morning in Surrey with the guys was one of my favorite parts to record. Coming up with the harmonies and ad libs for “Tall Tales” with Sam in the barn studio was a lot of fun, too.
Q) What do you hope lingers with audiences that explore this album as a whole – either as an emotion or message?
Sam: Hopefully a desire to sing themselves, even if it’s alone in the car! Our group was brought together by a love of singing and, more importantly, of singing with each other. Shanties and folk songs have been designed to bring people together for centuries, and we just hope we can continue that tradition for as long as possible.
Q) In March, you had the chance to perform at SXSW. What was one of your favorite memories from attending and showcasing your music at this iconic festival?
Sam: The reception we got was fantastic! I think the sight of people packing into our room and trying to squeeze their way in at the back was definitely memorable!
Seb: SXSW was so incredible. We were only in Austin for about twelve hours, but we packed it in and tried to see as many other performances as possible. It was wild walking down the strip and hearing all sorts of different music coming out from every direction! Such a beautiful collective celebration of the arts in a wonderfully vibrant city. Hope we can come back!
Luke: As Sam mentioned, the people loved us! It was incredible to see the room overflowing and having people be turned away because there was no room. Such a blessing of a night!
Q) You recently wrapped your US tour and have quite a few European tour dates coming up within the next month. What has been one of your favorite show moments so far?
Sam: Performing at the Tulsa Irish Festival was a definite highlight! Seeing so many people smiling and singing along was incredibly heartwarming! We’ll be looking forward to going back again soon!
Seb: One of the most special moments for me was when singing “Northern Sky,” one of our originals, and seeing and hearing lots of the audience singing along knowing all the words. I’m constantly amazed by the love and support of our fans. It’s so inspiring and we love meeting all of you after the shows! <3
Luke: I know Sam liked the Tulsa Irish Festival and I did, too, but nothing has beat the real deal for me yet. Our show in Dublin was incredible, both technically and vocally, and the audience was incredible. Everyone was so kind and welcoming and I loved getting to meet people after the show!
Jonny: Hometown shows feel special for us, as we have a few different “hometowns” between us, and London was the closest thing to a home show for us British guys. It was also where we announced Seb being a permanent member of The Wellermen, after initially touring with us in June 2024 to cover for Sam being a star on the West End – makes me emotional just thinking about it!
Q) Which song do you love to perform at live shows?
Sam: Since this was the first time we’ve been able to tour as a full group we took the opportunity to add in some new songs to our live set, one of which was “The Galway Girl” by Steve Earl! I can’t tell you how much fun that was to perform! Such an uplifting classic, and definitely a contender for any future albums…
Seb: I love singing “Northern Sky.” Maybe I’m biased, but I reckon it’s a banger! It also hits home because it’s an original. We’ve picked up some new ones as well on tour though – “The Galway Girl” and “Fräulein” being another couple favs. However, it’s probably “Wild Mountain Thyme” that always gets us right in the feels, singing it together with the audience without our mics is just a wonderful shared experience of everyone singing together.
Luke: My favorite song that we do in our set is “Wild Mountain Thyme,” but we do it completely unplugged! It’s such a surreal feeling to step away from the microphone knowing there are a lot of people in the room and they’re all looking at you – BUT they’re all there to see you. Everyone is always singing along with us which is always a hit in the heart and I love the powerful peace of it. Our group formed because of music, so it’s nice to see that we get to share that gift. I also love doing “Wild Mountain Thyme” selfishly because I get a lot of fun low notes that resonate well with my body.
Bobby: I love performing “Sixteen Tons” on stage with the guys. It brings such a fun vibe to the show and is almost playful in a sort of way. Throwing the solo to the next person and hitting the super low notes at the end are always great nail.
Q) We’re obsessed with your sea shanty covers. How did you decide which songs you’d tackle and then make them up to pirate par?
Sam: We always try to listen to what our fans are telling us over social media and the like, so a lot of our album tracks have been suggestions (and in some cases out right demands) from our fan base. There are so many incredible shanties and folk tunes for us to sink our teeth into, so we always welcome being introduced to new songs that we can try to add some Wellermen magic to.
Jonny: A great example of this is “Barrett’s Privateers,” which we recently added to our live set – this had been a fan request for years and Luke got really into Stan Rogers on the US leg of our tour, so it’s great combining stuff we love listening to with stuff that fans want to hear us sing.
Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters of your music?
Sam: Thank yoooooou! We’ve said this at the end of every live show so far, but if it wasn’t for our fans we simply wouldn’t be able to do any of this! It always takes me a bit by surprise just how many people have chosen to tune in and follow what we do, so we will continue to show our gratitude by making music and visiting everywhere we can!
Jonny: This is just the beginning of the voyage, as we look to write more of our own songs and express ourselves through this music – we’d love you to join us onboard.