Connexion Man are a relatively fresh name on the Nottingham circuit, but their roots in the city still run deep. Built on long standing friendships, shared history and a renewed love for their home’s music community, the group are reconnecting with the scene that first shaped them. Ahead of a debut record and gig at The Grove, the band talk about returning to Notts and their evolving sound.
Connexion Man may be relatively new to the scene, but its members are far from that.
“I was playing in bands in Nottingham when I was sixteen or seventeen,” George says. “Some of us moved to London for about ten years then came back and reunited. Matt, Seb and I started it, then Tom joined a little later.”
Scouted by local musician and musical organiser Alex Hale, who heard them jamming at JT Soar, the band soon found themselves gigging and reconnecting with the scene.
“We’ve met all these wonderful people. We were part of it fifteen, twenty years ago and now we’re part of it again.”
For Matt, the biggest difference nowadays from how the Notts scene used to be is the “cross-pollination of genres”.
“It feels like people are doing what they want and it’s inclusive,” he explains. Seb adds that, “the venues are important and we’ve lost a few” – Junktion 7, The Maze, The Chameleon – “but we’ve gained some good ones.” One of these is The Grove, co-owned by musician Cam Worne, who worked with the band to record their upcoming debut album A Forest and a Town.
Connexion Man will also perform at the venue this month on 21 March to celebrate the LP release, alongside indie pop band Flöat and LeftLion's own, multi-talented creator of the ‘New Nottingham’ literary journal, Andrew Tucker Leavis.
“We’re really big fans of Flöat. There was a really nice gig at the Grove – a fundraiser for Cat Patrol – where we covered each other’s songs. With Andrew, I bought the New Nottingham Journal and I saw some footage of him playing a folky, wistful song on social media. I thought he’d sound really good alongside us.” Local bakery Tied Up In Notts will also be there selling pastries.
Although the band are here to talk to LeftLion about their debut album (not yet released at the time of speaking), they are already looking ahead.
“Our eye is on the second album – we’ve already got enough songs for it. We’d love to record some of it in The Grove, as we’re thinking more of a live sound. Our first one was all done at Summerhouse Recording Studios.” (they’ve already recorded some live YouTube sessions at the venue).
Returning to the debut, they continued their tradition of splitting things three ways – the album is made up of three sets of four songs – Seb, Matt and George each take responsibility for one section.
“Personally, I write about whatever comes out. They’re quite impressionistic. Matt would be the other end of the scale,” George says. Seb says that he’s, “in the middle. Lukewarm waters,” he laughs. “When that inspiration comes, it’s easy. I feel more ready to express myself, at the age I’m at now. It’s been a great few years for me, creatively.”
We’ve been together three years, but it really does feel like we’re just getting started
Three different songwriters with three different approaches could create a jarring listening experience, but their shared sense of melody and harmony brings the album together as a cohesive whole.
“It’s got some of those sensibilities that overlap,” Matt says. “It’ll be interesting to see if, as we develop, our styles go radically different or if they get more and more knit. But our different styles have very complementary elements to them.”
For George, the experience of listening to an album, rather than singles, is like reading a novel, rather than watching short form content online.
“The songs change because of the songs they are next to,” he explains. “We haven’t talked about our favourite songs,” Seb admits. Tom, as the non-songwriter in the group, is put on the spot. “I’m going to answer diplomatically and say they’re all brilliant!” he laughs. Seb adds, “Tom is our musical director – he pulls together the arrangements. He’s like quality control. When we have three creative minds firing at once, you need someone to level it off.”
All four members work full-time day jobs alongside the band, with George also working Saturdays at The Thompson Brothers on Haydn Road (yes, those opinionated greengrocers, on page 9 of this mag), which is one thing that stands out about Connexion Man – they (suitably) are deeply connected to Nottingham's roots in many different ways. This is surely a key part of how they have reached this point: they are kind people who have built genuine connections and a strong support network around them.
In April, the band will perform at the National Justice Museum with Lande Hekt and Katie Keddie, before heading to Coventry in May for their first show outside Nottingham.
“We’ve been together three years, but it really does feel like we’re just getting started,” Matt says. “With Tom joining in the last year, we’re expanding what we can do. The exciting part for us right now is how far we can take that. We’re itching to play new songs, record new songs, and share them. That’s the really exciting thing for us.”
Connexion Man will be playing at The Grove on Saturday 21 March to celebrate the release of their debut album A Forest and a Town.
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