26 February 2024
Every Monday I will be bringing you an interview with an independent band, duo or music artist. This week, I caught up with Dan from Durham band Pointy Features to find out more…
Who is in the band and where are you from?
We are a 4 piece rock / psych band from County Durham. We are Dan Leak (guitar / keys), Kieran Johnson (vocals / guitar), Ben Johnson (bass) and John Timney (drums).
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
When starting Pointy Features, I wanted to fuse a traditional guitar sound with electronic / downtempo influences like Bonobo. Having grown up on a diet of classic rock and blues, I love hearing modern takes on this style – something bands like Khruangbin and Tame Impala do so well in recent years. Other influences include Cream, Hendrix, Led Zep, Free & Rory Gallagher. If you’re a fan of these we hope you’ll enjoy the coming singles and album.
How would you describe your sound?
We make tunes that fuse the sounds of British rock (Floyd / Zeppelin) with a modern flavour of Khruangbin & Tame Impala.
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
We launch our latest project ‘Hill End’ on 8th March. It marks the culmination of our debut album as a band. Expect big riffs and strong vocals with a ‘vintage’ sound selection.
Ahead of that we have a single dropping each month between December and March, starting with ‘Sonder’ on December 22nd. A track where we tried to draw on the feel of Pink Floyd’s lyrics, acknowledging the untold stories that surround us.
‘Old Coal Town’ was released 26th January – a slower track that reflects on Durham’s industrial history and the passage of time wearing away optimism or aspirations for those who live here. Influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd.
What’s your local music scene like?
Pointy Features started as a solo project in 2018 initially by creating bluesy guitar beats and distributing them online – this gained traction as the genres of lofi / chillhop grew into the mainstream. These genres picked up traction through COVID and thankfully project has accumulated over 100 million streams on streaming services since then. While the world slowed down, musicians found themselves with the capability to record, collaborate and distribute efficiently from home – many scenes / labels began to grow. Durham barely has a music scene so this was something I found really exciting and got thoroughly stuck into. After collaboration with artists of similar mindset from around the world I wanted to work with mates / musos closer to home. This led to opening the project to a live output and a more traditional band sound – something of a collective of our influences and musical backgrounds. We’ve learned our craft playing around the doors over the last 10-15 years – I think we’ve played every dingy rock bar north and south of the Tyne. Writing and playing your own tunes is a different beast to playing covers in the regional locals but definitely more rewarding.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
Writing and hopefully gigging a wider area!
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I would love to work with Khruangbin, Tycho, Bonobo or Kevin Parker (Tame Impala).
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
We are all teachers now (maybe we should have been called ‘Pointy Teachers’)?
You can find out more about Pointy Features via Instagram or Spotify.
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