Start Listening To: Ladybarn
Off the back of their debut EP Intruder, we caught up with Ladybarn and learnt more about their creative process.
Rooted in post-rock atmospheres but infused with jazz harmony and a gritty punk edge, Ladybarn’s sound is an ambitious blend of diverse influences. The release of their debut EP Intruder showcases their ability to balance intense, noisy crescendos with tender balladry, creating an immersive and dynamic musical experience. In this exclusive Q&A, Ladybarn opens up about the creative journey behind their debut EP, the narrative complexities of their lead single ‘One by One,’ and the impact of Manchester’s storied music scene on their identity as a band. From early live shows with bands like Maruja and Alien Chicks to their inspirations spanning from Chet Baker to Deftones, the band reveals the depth of their artistry and passion for storytelling.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hello, we are Ladybarn, based in Manchester. Our music is funnelled through Post-Rock atmospheres but rooted in Jazz harmony and punk griminess. We try to cover a wide range of styles to reflect our broad influences and love to challenge ourselves in making all of these inspirations work under one roof.
Your debut EP Intruder has just been released. How does it feel to share these songs with the world, and what do they mean to you as a band?
As a band we’ve been sat on material for a long time, so it’s been a thrill to spend the last year working to get one cohesive body of work out. We finally have a real, concrete marker of what we’ve been making in our time together. We’ve enjoyed playing these songs live so much, and have always had to say ‘coming soon’ when a new audience asks if they can find the tunes anywhere online. Not anymore! Music is out now!
The track ‘One by One’ dives into themes of toxic masculinity and jealousy with a narrative twist. What inspired you to tell this story in such a cinematic and dramatic way?
‘One by One’ pokes fun at imaginary modern needs for aggressive masculinity. It comes from the narrative of a man’s own glamorisation of paranoid jealousy, that he’s picturing through a macho western tale. ‘Six-gun Frank’, ‘Iron Arm Ben’ … they’re all villainous profiles he’s projected onto other men to justify his own violence.
You’ve played shows with bands like Maruja and Alien Chicks. How have these live experiences shaped your development as a band?
Those shows happened fairly early into our time as a band, so we got an early insight of what was making dents among audiences. It brought a great deal of inspiration to how much energy can be put into the live experience; they both demonstrated how important it was to play music you fully believed in and how equally important it was to show it.
The Manchester music scene is known for its rich history and evolving alternative sound. How does being based in Manchester influence your music and identity as a band?
In terms of Manchester as a place it is a constant muse; the people, architecture, scenery, most importantly the weather. Our music definitely reflects where it has come from and is intended to sound best on dreary days. Manchester suits the rain and I think our sound does too.
In relation to the music scene, we know so many brilliant groups around here at the moment, it’s always beneficial to see these groups live. We get to see what works live, experience the atmosphere from an audience and take inspiration from the range of art, but we also get to ask ourselves: what can we do differently? The quality of other bands in the scene forces originality, which we love.
The EP features a mix of both tender balladry and intense, noisy moments. How do you balance these contrasting elements to create a cohesive sound?
It’s important when we cast a wide net to make it make sense, none of us can really put down a favourite genre to listen to so inspiration comes from everywhere, Willie Nelson, Wagner, King Crimson, Deftones, Radiohead , Massive Attack, Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Maurice Ravel… we’ll write a vocal jazz ballad next to a post rock tune and it’s no good when we put them in the set, we take certain steps to ‘barnify’ the arrangements and usually end up writing another new tune to bridge the gap. It really helps to view the live set as one whole experience to reflect the thought process behind writing such different tunes.
Your lead single ‘One by One’ features goth-rock, punk skirmishes, and shoegaze elements. How did you approach the production of your music?
We’d been listening to a lot of Soundgarden and we were keen to use unbalanced rhythmic ostinato in a heavy context like in some of their songs, that’s at least what we were thinking in the earlier sections. When things get heavier we were looking towards the modern post punk scene, we’d just watched Idles’ Glastonbury set so it probably had something to do with that. Once the lyrics came we really started using the story to add more treats to the arrangement; for example using a very invasive and sporadic drum solo to describe a brawl. We wrote the finale based around the demise of the narrator, it felt right to make that very shoegazey and distant to describe the consequences of the narrator's choices.
Can you share more about the creative process behind the EP? Were there any unexpected challenges or standout moments while recording?
All the tunes were written in quick succession after a burst of inspiration to the type of music we wanted to make. We compiled these tunes as the best representation of where we are at as a band. Recording these songs was a blast, Nathan Stoker, who plays trumpet on ‘Intruder’, had put us in touch with a producer, Noah Richmond (Portal Studios) who had converted a disused shipping container into a recording studio. Noah instantly made us feel totally comfortable, helping us take the time to flow and capture what we set out to create.
The storytelling in ‘One by One’ feels almost theatrical. Do you see storytelling as a central part of Ladybarn’s music, and where do you draw inspiration for these narratives?
Storytelling is an integral part of our process in the music and the lyrics. Even when we would write 30 min long instrumental tunes we would focus on trying to create an extensive story. When putting this energy into new songs we have a condensed version of that attitude. We avoid repetition unless it’s necessary, which allows us to really treat each song as a moving story. With our lyrics, inspiration comes from all over the place; folk stories, our surroundings, life experiences I suppose are a given. The lyrics for ‘One by One’ came during an intense period of playing the Red Dead Redemption games, among other things we partly just wanted to write a song that would sound great in a bank robbery.
What’s the significance behind naming the band Ladybarn, and how does this connection to your origins inform your music?
We moved to Manchester about 5 years ago and were all entranced, we all definitely take inspiration from our surroundings and atmosphere and think it’s important to have that shine through in the music. So naming ourselves after one of the places we lived felt like an appreciation of the new chapters we were living in.
What can audiences expect from your live performances?
Organised chaos, we want to please audiences from a mix of subcultures so we use the live sets to contextualise the ranges in sound. We allow ourselves and the audience moments in a show to become totally engaged to the music, from very quiet intimacy to the height of our energy levels. We think settling in with those personal ballads push the audience further into the intensity of the music when things ramp up to the other extreme.
What do you love right now?
Jigsaw Puzzles, Morrisons 5 for £1 Jam Donuts, Cottage Pie, Zarah Sultana.
What do you hate right now?
People who are rude to sounds techs… and rude sound techs.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
We’re gonna have to do one each Grace - Jeff Buckley is everything, Queen album, Queen, a demonstration of how one band can perfect multiple styles in one record. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II , It was the first album that really captivated me outside of charts music. It was a gateway drug to an alternative creative outlet with music.
Looking ahead, how do you envision Ladybarn’s sound evolving, and are there any new directions or projects you’re excited to explore?
We wanna showcase ourselves out of the North-West , now we have an EP to promote and we're ready to spread out. We’re ready to continue exploring all corners of our inspiration whilst staying true to the Ladybarn sound.
