BALANCING ACT
~
BALANCING ACT ~
PARIS CALLING
We meet London-based, Mancunian-flavoured quartet Balancing Act ahead of their show at Three Tanners Bank in North Shields – not only their contribution to Independent Venue Week, but their first show this far up North, a trip that has been a long time coming.
This intimate leg of their UK tour sees them stop in Bath, Sheffield, Salford and London; most of those dates sold out. A feeling that more than anything sparks excitement in the band that has only been playing in this constellation for a couple of years - “Selling out places like Bath and Bristol is really cool,” explains bassist David, and lead singer Kai agrees: “Especially when we play somewhere that’s so far away from us, our scene and what we know.”
You might know members of Balancing Act from different bands that have been making waves in the guitar music microcosm. The foundation for this particular reincarnation was set 3 years ago when lead singer Kai and guitarist Jackson decided to make the big move from Manchester to London. “We moved to London because the scene where we were prior seemed like it fizzled out,” they reveal. “London seemed like it was really exciting and new.”
“At the time, this wasn’t a band. This was a project,” they continue. “but we always had the idea of turning it into a band. So, we brought David (bass) along pretty soon into it and Pat (drums) has been here for nearly a year. Now, it’s like a fully-fledged band.” Once they got the ball rolling, there was no stopping Balancing Act’s meteoric rise. With a support slot on I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME’s European tour, they quickly built up an impressive fanbase across the continent that was asking for more - “We already had an audience, but we’d never graced them with our appearance,” the band reminisce on their humble beginnings. “We had people ask us to come to Paris from the start.”
“We’ve all been in bands before but, personally, I’ve never been in a band that could sell out shows. Especially not the first show – and in London.”
The obvious solution? Headline dates in Europe in 2024 – Amsterdam, Paris, you name it. In the process of touring, Balancing Act slowly but surely fell in love with the European atmosphere – “Gig culture in Europe feels different. It feels lighter if that makes sense,” David starts to explain and Jackson is quick to elaborate: “Especially somewhere like London, because there’s so much music and so a many bands playing all the time, I think people take it for granted a little bit. Whereas if go to somewhere like Paris or Amsterdam, there’s still a lot going on, but it’s not maybe every night that there’s an English or American guitar band going over. So, if someone’s playing, everyone goes.”
Anyone that has ever been lucky enough to experience a gig in Paris, Cologne or Amsterdam would have to agree. There’s just something about a crowd hungry for music. But that’s not to say they don’t adore the home crowds - “It’s not more enjoyable because obviously, we enjoy playing anywhere,” Jackson adds, “but something about it is just different, it has a different air to it. So, we try to go out to Europe as much as possible.”
France itself holds a special place in the Balancing Act archives for multiple reasons, not only is it home to their most dedicated fanbase, a large part of their music was written and produced on a farm in the French outback. “Our friend has a study there, it’s on a farm in the middle of nowhere. So, we thought it would be a good idea to go, for some peace and quiet and actually write,” the band explain. “But then, the first time we went, everything went so well we thought ‘well, let’s just go back’.”
“It was really good,” David agreed. “The way the band started was as a project and the way the songs came together was different to how they come together now. It was the first time, we were doing it that way - writing everything together in a room from start to finish.” And that’s still how they operate now, as a unit. Writing songs together, as a band, rather than relying on an individual songwriter. “It’s rare someone comes up with a full song,” Kai says on the topic of their songwriting sessions. “I’m sure every single one of us could do that but it’s not how we work.”
So where do they see themselves writing the next body of work, is France still the place to be? “I think we’re at the point where we could do with somewhere else,” Balancing Act agree, “we’ve run it pretty dry. It would be really cool to experience somewhere else.”
Inspiration for their songs comes from everywhere, but being in a new place certainly helps get the creative juices flowing. Sonically, they’re inspired by bands they enjoy listening to. From Kings of Leon to Massive Attack, you can detect traces of their artistic-influences in songs like slowly simmering ‘She plays the Theremin’ or trip-hop inspired ‘Under The Table’. Their latest EP ‘Tightropes and Limericks’ is packed to the brim with a myriad of sounds that showcase Balancing Act’s eclectic palette and the kaleidoscope of flavours that pours into their songwriting sessions.
Lyrically, the band don’t give anything away. “You know when people ask you what a song’s about,” Kai muses, “It’s not their business. It isn’t and that sounds daft because you’re putting this thing out there for people to hear. But I believe it’s really there for interpretation, take from it what you will.”
“Dave Grohl once said that you can sing a song to 85,000 people and it’s sang back to you for 85,000 reasons,” David adds, “that’s stuck with me, I really relate to that.” A sentiment that is as admirable and as it is frustrating to everyone who lives for the gossip, the tea, the who’s dating who of it all. And of course, we can try to get to the bottom of who played the Theremin and who exactly was AWOL but, as Kai puts it: “I think our lyrics are very cryptic, it takes a lot of digging”.
As we chat about the nature of their songwriting and the challenges of being or not being political within music, we come back to the actual occasion of their visit to the North East – Independent Venue Week and supporting grassroots businesses. As a band, Balancing Act share a love for one independent venue in particular: The Sebright Arms.
“Our first ever headline, which was also our first gig, was at the Sebright Arms and it sold out on the day,” Kai remembers. “We’ve all been in bands before but, personally, I’ve never been in a band that could sell out shows. Especially not the first show – and in London.” A testament to their pull as a band, but “it’s also a testament to the Sebright Arms,” Jackson adds. It’s one of those spots where you would just buy a ticket - you’d go in for a drink and think ‘oh there’s a band on, we’ll go down and watch’.”
From selling out their first headline in London, to playing packed out shows across the country, Balancing Act certainly have a lot to be proud of, but this is only the beginning. “We can say that we’re definitely going to Europe again. We can say that we’re definitely recording, and a song is definitely coming out within summer.”