Turner Club is a new venture by two friends, one “professional gambler” and one “bricky”, who met on a dancefloor in the northeast of England in 2004.
Here, kicking off their new record label, Turner Club Music, the pair deliver a foursome of melancholic 80s-tinged house jams laced with honest, heartfelt vocals.
If you’re a fan of vintage synths, classic drum machines and artists like Depeche Mode & Larry Heard stick around – there are bags of retro vibes to be found on the ‘Hearts and Minds’ EP.
The first track, ‘Confusion’, is all about “the madness of your soul”, exploring themes of mental despair. The vocals are raw and unhinging, which reflect this, but are paired with a hardware groove and a palette of jutting synths. The title track, ‘Hearts and Minds’, continues this intimate narrative in its vocals, and piles on the powerful 80s drums even more.
‘Silhouette of Love’ takes a break from the 4×4 house style, slowing down to what is simply a raw love song over straining synths. ‘Escape’, the final song on the EP, moves into the UK Broken Beat realm. Giving off vibes of Kaidi Tatham, it’s – like the rest of Turner Club’s music – as danceable as it is emotional, creating a unique juxtaposition.
The EP (Buy It Here), out on 4th March 2024 on Turner Club Music, is one for those seeking characterful house. We caught up with the Turner Club boys, see what went down below.
KOTT: How’re you? What’s happening in your world at the moment?
Ross: Now then, love the site, this is our 1st interview feature so thank you very much for talking to us. In print, you won’t get our “errr errr errr’s” after every question. All good thanks, we’re both being hermits at the moment and spending every minute we can in the studio.
Nick: I’m good thanks. I have two small girls Carrie and Connie, so my world is very often not my own. It’s mainly filled with tap dancing competitions and soft play, although I wouldn’t change a minute of it. As Ross said you will often find me hiding in my studio.
KOTT: You’ve just released your first EP ‘Hearts and Minds’ Tell us about it and your inspiration behind the EP?
Nick: I had a bunch of unfinished tracks on my hard drive which I wanted to send over to Ross for vocals. I love to experiment with different styles and tempos so it was kind of a challenge to see what he could come up with. Each track inspired him in a unique way and every demo he sent back was so different but seemed to fit perfectly.
Ross: This EP has been five years in the making. The title was taken from a documentary I saw in my teens which always stayed with me- a brilliant anti-war Vietnam film from the mid-70s. Hard to pinpoint an exact inspiration, but it’s a mixture of life struggles as you navigate your 30s, relationship failures, societal pressures and that feeling of somehow never fitting in. Silhouette of Love is particularly personal, it’s a love song at its essence.
KOTT: How did you guys meet?
Ross: I was running a club night called The Ghetto in Middlesbrough with two friends Ian Blevins (Blev) and Jason Budd who were DJs. Those really were different times- we had to put a buffet on for guests so we could obtain the late licence. Nick had got wind of it from the buzz around town- (well I say buzz, there were 50 people there)- Nick wandered in with his spiky Brylcreemed hair and cheque shirt. The rest, as they say, is history. The buffet was gone before Blev even finished djing- to this day he never got his vol-au-vents.
Nick: Yeah that is true, although it was gel, not Brylcreem!
Ross: Some boy! No all joking aside, although I was active on the electronic scene promoting I was mainly in bands and Nick was DJing. So I feel like the two worlds colliding years later have created our own sound and something pretty special.
KOTT: Are there any standout tracks you’re particularly excited about?
Nick: Every track excites me really as they’re all different. I like to experiment and take inspiration from various artists. I think this approach will appeal to a wider audience.
Ross: My personal favourite is Silhouette of Love, when Nick 1st played it to me I was blown away. It reminded me of a warped Hans Zimmer or Vangelis piece. As I mentioned it’s a very personal track for me, so I might be biased.
KOTT: Where was the EP made? Can you expand on how you work together?
Ross: The EP was made in the Turner Club studio mainly- Nick built the full thing himself, it’s amazing. Although I played an important part too, I was the supervisor of the project. My main task was helping source the Larry Heard print we have up.
I used to be in a band in the mid-00s and via The Ghetto we had booked Joe Claussell around the same period. We were sat in Nandos and Joe was telling us some stories about life out on the road and how he was making music on his laptop in the hotel and travelling to gigs in Toyko, Paris, and Berlin. I turned to him and said “It’s a doddle this DJ lark Joe- you work mostly alone and are the master of your own destiny. You don’t need to organise practice 3 times a week in some dingy rehearsal studio, or find a new drummer for the 4th time in 6 months”. He laughed. I miss the band days as they were great times but our process of working thus far has been a joy and so simple, I feel like we complement each other really well. Mainly because as we are such good friends, we have a laugh and fun doing so- although when Nick doesn’t save our music somewhere we can find it I wanna kill the guy.
Nick: Yeah the music was made in our studio I built in my back garden last year. We need a space where we can escape the world, somewhere to inspire us. As Ross lives in Newcastle I send him tracks via email and he works his magic. Once he’s happy with the structure of the track, the melody and the lyrics, he jumps on a train to Boro and we get some recording done. After that, we work on the arrangement and all other elements of the track- this process is the longest as we would never release anything until we were both happy with the end result.
KOTT: As a producer & Singer/songwriter, what message do you hope to transmit through your music? What themes or ideas do you convey in your work?
Nick: Originality. Create your own sound and build on it. It’s never too late to get creative and express yourself.
Ross: Themes can vary from a mixture of things- love, life, death, mortality, sadness, joy, poverty, ageing, relationships and defiance to name a few. I guess I have always preferred music which makes me stop and think. That’s what I want our music to do- make people stop and think. Even if it was for 1 second on a dancefloor, to grab someone’s attention in that way would be a pretty special feeling.
KOTT: People have described your music as sounding like Depeche Mode & Joy Division, is that a conscious effort or something that evolved organically?
Ross: Depeche Mode was not conscious at all. I only know a handful of songs at best, although I do see the link with the Gahans voice, synths, the 80s feel etc. Although I’m not a huge fan of them as per se, it’s a big compliment.
Joy Division is closer to home as my uncle Nige got me into them and New Order in my teens so their influences are in there somewhere for sure as I’ve always loved them both.
Nick: It happened organically. Neither of us has ever really been a fan of Depeche Mode but as Ross says it’s a great compliment. I know Ross likes Joy Division but again we never set out to sound like any artist as we want to create our own sound.
KOTT: Can you describe the connection between your music and your North East roots, and how they continue to influence your music today?
Nick: I started going to clubs like the Arena and the Empire back in the mid to late 90s and they were booking big names like David Morales, Masters at Work, and Danny Rampling on a weekly basis. Having exposure to the underground house scene back then has influenced me to this day as I still remember the first time I heard certain records, only to play the same records today.
Ross: I think you are always influenced by the environment where you grew up even if you don’t know it. I think some of the common themes I mentioned earlier fit with that too. I feel like some of the sounds and general mood in Silhouette of Love are almost industrial and remind me of an image of old ICI or British Steel on a murky day- a lot of my family have worked there at some point.
KOTT: Which other artists have had a big influence on your sound? (Please supply links and some words on each)
Ross:
David Bowie – he’s my favourite artist ever and if I left him off this list it would be a travesty. The Berlin trilogy came to me at a pivotal point in my life so I assume some of the lyrics and mood of our music will of been influenced by them albums alone.
David Bowie- 06 Be my Wife (youtube.com)
New Order – I always loved how they transitioned from Joy Division into something totally new. They have always served as a great cross-over band for me from post-punk/indie to electronic. Technique is still one of my faves, from that classic build on “Fine Time” to the chaos of it that makes you wanna rave into the magic of “All the Way”- a more traditional New Order track- to the epic “Vanishing Point” towards the back end. It still gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it, the fact it was recorded in Ibiza just adds to its mysticism and genius.
Fine Time (2015 Remaster) (youtube.com)
Nick :
Mood 2 Swing – Mood 2 Swing are definitely up there as one of my favourites and I think this track is timeless.
Mood II Swing – All Night Long (youtube.com)
Larry Heard aka Mr Fingers – I love most of his productions, the guy is a legend.
Bogdan Irkuk – I only discovered Bogdan Irkuk a few years ago and was blown away by his sound. Every track is a journey. This track is immense!
Bogdan Irkük – Caprice (youtube.com)
KOTT: How’s life in Middlesborough? Can you give us your top 3 tips of things to do
Ross: I live in Newcastle now, so I’m a bit out of the loop but I’ve heard great things about the restaurant Bloom with its NYC vibes and atmosphere. Riff Raff are a stalwart club night in Middlesbrough who have been going for over 20 years, and they are still throwing parties. Finally, The Orange Pip Market still gets rave reviews every month with a combination of local music, food, gins and beer- it’s a perfect thing to do when the suns out in Boro.
Nick: We also have some lovely places to visit in the surrounding areas. Some really picturesque places like Roseberry Topping and Captain Cooks monument for walks with the family or as a tonic from a big night. Saltburn is a beautiful seaside town only a car ride away with some brilliant bars, pubs and restaurants.
KOTT: Give us some other artists from the North East we should be listening to right now?
Nick: Mark Hand is definitely making waves right now. I love everything he puts out.
Ross: Chris Rea’s not too bad. Though two artists who are both mega-talented and creative are Fatdog and Dan Evans (formerly 6th Finger) I’m looking forward to when they both get back in the studio someday.
KOTT: Can you tell us about any challenges you have faced as musicians and how you overcame them? Have there been any specific obstacles or difficulties you’ve had to navigate as artists?
Nick: With us being out of the loop for a while, we had no idea which labels to approach with our music. That was when we decided to put it out ourselves. After that, it felt like everything fell into place. We’ve worked with some amazing people- Miki on the website and our talented and amazing artist Jom who did the artwork for our vinyl and social media. The studio was the final piece of the puzzle. We also have a place to play, mix, and practice our sets now too after I finally got my decks set up after a few years of gathering dust.
Ross: How long have you got? We could write a book the size of Crime and Punishment with all the challenges. I think money has been the main thing over the years- or lack of it should I say. This game isn’t cheap and it’s taken us to get to this age to be able to halfway afford to pay for everything: good software and equipment, the label- I could go on and on. Making music is that bit harder when you don’t have a pot to piss in and you have to build yourself up without any help. You can see how true that is by how much the working class are absent across all of the arts these days. It’s a massive shame, we are missing out on so much talent.
KOTT: What’s next for you? Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or collaborations you have in the works? Are there any new directions or sounds you’re exploring in your music right now?
Nick: We are currently working on our next EP and have already been offered a remix by someone we respect highly. This is really exciting for us as it shows that our peers like what we do. To have a big name wanting to work with us gives us the push and drive to make even better music and will help us a lot with reach and exposure. We feel our next EP will be even stronger too so the plan is for that trend to continue.
Ross: We have a single we are currently working on called “Lost in the Silence” which we both love and have massive high hopes for. Then our 2nd EP will be released in the summer. As for our sound right now, we always want it to be honest and authentically us. The day it isn’t we will wrap in. Lovely speaking to you, thanks for having us.
