The South Coast trio return with a bang as new single ‘Naturally’ starts a new era for The Manatees.
Why do all good things come to an end? It’s heartbreaking to find out your favourite TV series is coming to an end, a brand discontinues a product you love, or your favourite band calls it time releasing music together. Although The Manatees didn’t necessarily quit music for good, it was a kick in the teeth to see them take a hiatus.
Did they hang up their guitars and simply walk away? Not at all! Jay, Tyler and Miller focused their efforts onto a new project called Franky’s Dream whilst live shows were practically non-existent; something that The Manatees have built a powerful reputation for raucous live shows.
Well-positioned to step into something new, the trio could pour their hearts into a different world.
Jay said: “We just needed a little break from the project. Lockdown looming and the natural break from the live shows. It just seemed like a good time to pour our music and creativity into something a little bit different. It’s such a huge part of the Manatees being able to play live so the fact we couldn’t do that, pushed us towards doing something different.”
Franky’s Dream was the perfect opportunity to express themselves in a way they might not have previously been able to before. Self-producing a string of singles that addressed our society’s ever-changing attitudes across Coronavirus, they combined disco beats and syncopated bass lines with fizzing guitars and gritty vocals to create their own unique soundscape.
Jay adds: “We released five singles in five months and we were just churning them out. We took on a much more DIY mentality, we recorded it all ourselves, Tyler produced and we did all of our graphic design and album art. We made a self-sufficient project. What’s really good is that we brought many aspects of Frankie’s Dream over to The Manatees and that’s allowing us to be a lot more self-sufficient, independent and getting things done on our terms.”
As the music scene begins to blossom once again, the band felt it was the right time to get back and re-ignite The Manatees flame. Having spent hundreds of hours writing new material for nearly two years, they are armed and ready with plenty of new songs to dazzle us with; their first being ‘Naturally’.
Anthemic, gritty and infectiously energetic, the track shows just how far the Southampton rockers have come. The production sounds bigger and bolder as Tarek Musa’s [Spring King] trademark energy and chaos, leaves you craving more. ‘Naturally’ is the perfect comeback single; it feels desperate, with the protagonist ready to admit life isn’t coming naturally to them – an emotion felt universally.
Having worked with Tarek ever since 2019’s single ‘What If’, The Manatees have huge amounts of admiration and praise for his work, which is probably why this partnership just works.
“‘Naturally’ is the first time we got into a room with him and I speak for all of us, but it was one of the best creative experiences…
To read the interview in full, click here to read it inside abridged. magazine issue 3!
