Mike Lindsay and Sam Genders were members of Tunng and the pair are now re-ignitined as THROWS.
Ten years since the release of Tunng's third album Good Arrows and the last time the songwriting partnership worked together means that Throws has come togter like a breath of fresh air for both guys.
During their time apart Mike had been living in Reykjavik and Sam had moved to Sheffield so, curious what they could produce second time around; with no preconceived agenda Sam packed his suitcase and joined Mike in his Reykjavik studio, in the town’s industrial old fishing harbour, with no more intentions than catching up with his old friend.
“The whole month became a cathartic party,” tells Mike. “We talked about the challenges we were facing in life. We walked by the sea and along the city's small streets to crowded bars and cafes. We drank, laughed a lot, and danced like madmen on moonshine whilst recording whatever ideas came to us without any responsibilities other than making music, eating, and sleeping.”
The result is Throws. “One lunchtime on the second day we opened a beer to get us in the Flow, then Sam started singing in this high-pitched falsetto Northern soul warble... it was like “that’s it! That’s the sound!” recalls Mike. “From that point on we found a flavour and vice for whatever this project was going to be.”
“To make music in a place like Iceland will always leave you feeling refreshed and powerful... it’s just in the air,” Sam says. You could also say that it’s about the Icelandic company you keep – invited or otherwise.
The record features members of Reykjavik’s musical community including String Quartet "Amiina", the drumming expertise of Magnús Trygvason Eliassen, and the beautiful vocals of múm’s Sigurlaug Gísladóttir, there was also a near-guest appearance from an uninvited visitor. as Mike takes up the story:
“One day we were listening back to some mixes and I noticed someone in the live room fiddling with a synth. I asked him, "Hi, are you a friend of Axl's?” He just grunted, then walked into the mixing room and picked up the big knife we were using to cut our cheesy lunch. It became pretty apparent he was a gentleman of the sea who’d just walked in from the harbour... my Icelandic isn't great so we carried on listening to the mixes while he ate our cheese and gave approving slightly scary grunts. When we went to gently take the pretty big knife from him, he burst into action with a swift Ninja move... it was petrifying! I said, in my bad Icelandic, "Hey, let’s go have a smoke outside" and slowly took the knife, gave him a fag, stood awkwardly for a while, then edged back into the studio locking the door behind us... THROWS’ first Fan!”
Watch the video for 'The Harbour'
The self-titled album out June 10 on Full Time Hobby
{https://soundcloud.com/fulltimehobby/throws-the-harbour-1}