Wolverhampton unsigned act Cymbeline ready to roll with the loffs

So says Aaron Hodgetts, the 17-year-old lead vocalist of Wolverhampton four-piece Cymbeline.

“You’re young, so you’ve just got to enjoy it and be proud of what you produce. Don’t look at how many hits you get, or how many plays you get. Don’t look at making this much money by this point or to be playing in front of this many people by this point. It’s not a competition, just have fun.

“Just enjoy your youth – it’s the most fun you can have in your life.”

It’s a good mantra for a band to have – although we champion any approach to what bands want to achieve. In an age where everything is now and everyone wants it now there are bands springing up all over the shop. The internet age has excelled the musical spectrum in many ways. But it has also opened the door to quick fixes and one EP wonders. Bands who wanted the world but achieved an alright release of four tracks hastily recorded in an overly expensive music studio.

So it’s nice to hear youngsters so tuned in to their love of music, just looking to do it because they are passionate about the art and want to get creative.

On November 10 they displayed that attitude on stage at the revamped and renamed Hummingbird venue, living in what was The Little Civic on Wolverhampton’s North Street.

“That was a really good gig in a really nice venue,” Aaron adds. “It’s very stylish and very inclusive, it was a great crowd and had a great sound too.

“There was a lot of energy and everyone was listening along intently. They were really tuned in to what we were doing.”

Support on the night was given by HUDS, another Wolverhampton band who recently featured as The Ticket’s Unsigned act of the week themselves. They gave Cymbeline a shout out ahead of that Hummingbird gig, and the boys were chuffed to receive the mention.

“They’ve really been supporting us recently, they mentioned us in their Unsigned piece and that was really cool,” Aaron, a Birmingham Ormiston Academy pupil, says. “I knew most of them from my old school [Codsall Middle School] although they were in the year above. We talked occasionally and kept in contact after we left. We wanted to start doing more together and that led us to the recent gig.

“Hopefully we’ll get some more together soon.”

READ MORE: Wolverhampton unsigned act HÜDS will keep on recording

As for Cymbeline themselves, their formation was positively space-age comparted to the old skool method of meeting at…errr…school.

Aaron, from Bilbrook, is joined by Penn lads Feargus Flanagan on guitars and Stefan Mitchell on bass. Drummer Leon Haffie-Hobday is from Castlecroft.

“I first met Feargus on social media,” Aaron reveals. “We just connected over our passion for music. We largely listen to the same stuff.

“We put an advert out for a drummer on social media and Leon answered it so he was in. And we needed a bassist at short notice after our original one left. Stefan came and played a gig with us and he was so good, just fitted in to what we wanted. So he was in.”

The short-term aim is to create a little music scene the boys feel truly part of. HUDS are already a large part of that dream but other acts are already being eyed up.

“It’s only an ideology right now, but we’d love to have more gigs of just people we love playing stuff we love with the passion we love. We want to pick support acts we enjoy and others enjoy.

“A lot of bands just seem to show no passion. It’s striking when a band shows passion. Luckily that is happening more. Just have fun and play what you love.”

To that end, they’ve already set up their next gig at Wolverhampton’s Newhampton Arts Centre on December 14 with support from Balm, Simple Trixx and another former The Ticket Unsigned act – The Icon.

So what can Cymbeline newbies expect from that gig?

“I’m not one for stage banter,” Aaron laughs. “I’m not about targeting the audience. We’re all about the energy, that cathartic release of letting loose to the music.”

And he did have one valid warning for gig-goers.

“If I do speak on stage it will be telling people to put their phones away – it really bugs me. Nobody cares about seeing your blurry photos. Just tell people about your experiences, you don’t have to show them. It’s almost a sign of disrespect to the bands.”

They’ve had a couple of singles released this year – most recently 3069 in September – and now all eyes are on their debut EP coming out ‘hopefully’ on December 7.

It will hold the two singles released so far – 3069 and the earlier Since Last Tuesday – plus four other tracks.

“What needed to be recorded was done in two days,” Aaron reveals. “We knew what we needed. In September and October we went into the MAS studio in RML Studios at Newhampton. There’s some pretty bulky songs in there, one is around nine minutes.”

Their influences are so varied it is impossible to pigeon hole them. The Stooges, Velvet Underground, Miles Davis, and My Bloody Valentine are all in there, as are Sonic Youth and the early Pink Floyd material.

“It gives us creative freedom having such varied influences. We like loads of stuff from free jazz to sludge metal. The idea you can incorporate anything is big – ‘I loved that, so let’s use it in the band’.”

As Aaron alluded to earlier: “Cymbeline love music – it’s what got us started.”

Cymbeline can be found on Twitter and Facebook - both @ukcymbeline. Updates on the Newhampton Arts Centre gig and the release date of their EP will be given via those. Tickets for the gig can be bought here.