Neil Cake

From a budding solo artist...

Neil Cake

(Unsigned)

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

Review By: SAM LOUGHLAN

Solo Artist

Hello Manchester and beyond. We hope you are all well. Today we have a very first for us here at Heads Up. An encounter from the alternative scene with an exclusive interview with the solo artist Neil Cake. Although he is more a solo musician than a band, his music does incorporate all elements of that played by a band - vocals, guitar, bass, drums - and other things. He has also involved in a number of online collaborations, including VIBE and The Madonna and The Whore. I would like to thank Neil Cake personally for his input and reaching out to us so we can make this piece possible.

Neil has been playing in bands around Manchester for many years, however took a break from all that though around 8 years ago when our eldest daughter was born. He didn't think he had time to write and record music to a standard he would expect, and couldn't justify going out rehearsing for 6 hours at a time when his wife had been looking after a newborn all day, so he decided to take what he referred to as a sabbatical. Neil continued playing though, just for himself, and started delving into acoustic blues techniques. As a result, Neil started writing all kinds of riffs and progressions that he began noting down in case he found time to write and record properly again later in life.

It turned out that having their first child was very inspiring - making Neil look at life in new and different ways - and, following a bout of depression he realised that a big thing that was missing in my life was the act of creating art. So, he started carving out a little time wherever possible to start writing and recording music again. It began very casually, but quickly became all-consuming as he combined the blues-style riffs that he had been toying with lyric inspired by fatherhood.

After many years away, Neil has recently begun playing his songs at local open mics, and is always on the look-out for any gigs and opportunities.

Neil Cake is a bit of an undiscovered talent in the underground music scene. His unique sound is very easy listening and would be a great choice for filling a slot siring on an afternoon radio show, possibly on a Friday, to get you motivated for the weekend.

On first play-through of a few tracks from Spotify, I got the impression that Neil Cake may still be finding his feet in way of what genre he fits into. This however is not a criticism but an insight into how flexible he can be with his mix of fun lyrics and outstanding riffs.

My favourite track has to be ‘Blitz’. This is due to the energetic electro back beats topped with powerful intense lyrics. I found this piece to be particularly catchy, and at a cool three minutes in length it surely demonstrates Neils abilities to the max.

Another track that stood out for me for ‘Wageslave’. This song was collaborated with Zelestial Phyre and gives out strong hate vibes for those who can identify as being a slave to their job. At two minutes and twelve seconds in length, this mini rock tune is perfect for head-banging to in a mosh pit. Jammed to the brim with complex and fierce guitar riffs, ‘Wageslave’ shows yet another side to this hugely adaptable solo artist.

Focussing on a range of relatable topics, from drinking, fatherhood and work, this guy really knows how to create music for everyone.

Let’s see what this dedicated musician has to say to us here at Heads Up North Manchester.

1. Who are your musical influences?

My influences are quite wide ranging – as I believe they should be for any musician. I’ve always been into music, even before I realised music was something you could be into. When I was very young, I remember sitting in front of my dad’s speakers while The Beatles were playing, marvelling at the sounds and wondering how they came to be in my ears. One summer when I was 7, I listened to all of my dad’s country music tapes through a mono earpiece because he wouldn’t let me use the stereo headphones. When I really got into music though, it was through hearing the first Guns N’ Roses album at 11 or 12 – on stage during a school play. It was a disorderly classroom scene, and my role was “boy listening to a Walkman in class”. My mate brought his Walkman in for me and it had that tape in it. I remember sitting there, listening to snippets and fast forwarding and rewinding. I’d never known anything like it existed. Shortly after that, in an RE class we had to think about how we wanted to be remembered. Out of nowhere I put, “as a great guitar player”. Then I realised that at 12 I had time to make that happen, so I asked my dad if I could have an electric guitar for Christmas, if I practiced on my sister’s classical guitar every day for the rest of the year. I never looked back really. A couple of years later the whole grunge/alternative rock thing happened – along with the internet, and a way to get hold of guitar tabs. Then, through liking Pearl Jam I discovered Neil Young – who is probably my greatest influence. When I went to university someone introduced me to hip-hop through the Beastie Boys and from there, I started exploring funk and soul, and basically listening very closely to all forms of music. I’m completely self-taught, and while I never had the patience to teach myself theory, I realised that I could learn it just by listening and playing what I liked. I would try to learn to play what I could, and when it got too hard, I’d use what I could do to write my own riffs and progressions. I realised quite early on that I’d never be the next Steve Vai, and started learning to sing and play at the same time to make practicing more interesting.

2. Do you cover any artists? If so, who?

I don’t typically do covers – I have far too many of my own ideas to work on and too little time in which to do it, though pretty much all I’ve learned about songwriting has been through playing covers. I have a lot of tabs, so in dry periods (of which there are few these days) I get some of those out and play some of the songs. I have the complete Beatles and Bob Dylan songbooks, and they are great fun to play through. A couple of years ago I also picked up a Don Williams songbook – one of my dad’s favourites – and I like playing through some of those too.

3. How did you get into the musical profession?

Well, I wouldn’t really say I’m in the profession. Music is just a way of life really, all-consuming. I do it because creativity is a part of me, and even when it was difficult it seemed to come easily – I’d happily sit all day with a guitar playing riffs and pretending I was performing to festival crowds. I guess as a songwriter you just want to make other people feel the way music has made you feel, so when you write something you want other people to hear it.

4. Do you promote yourself?

Yes, I do various of the social media things – though not TikTok. I’ve delved into that, but it seems far too positive of a platform for my personality. It also looks like a full-time job to do that properly – without all the time you have to spend working on music. Up until recently I hadn’t played live in a number of years, but have recently started playing on the open mic scene. Unfortunately, I’ve quickly come to feel it isn’t what I’m looking for. I found that I’d be the only one playing original music, while people playing simple Oasis songs would be getting all the attention – understandable, but I need to be playing shows with other original musicians to an audience that is interested in hearing new music. I look for opportunities where I can, and I’ve been played on a number on online radio stations – in fact I’m going to be interviewed on Radio Swindon tonight. I’ve also been shortlisted twice for the Mayor’s Artist of the Month, so hopefully next time that will become a win. It’s hard getting any traction and attention these days with so many artists out there, and promotion in itself takes a lot of time so mostly I try to focus on the things I enjoy – writing and recording music.

5. Do you find image is an important part of an artist’s package or do you think it’s mainly down to vocals?

I think image is important to the listener, but there’s no prescribed image – people like all kinds of things, and what they like about one person can be something that’s very different to someone else. I like to hear serious musicians, but I also like to hear people who lack technical ability, but whose songs drip with real emotion. So, I just try to be and to project myself as far as possible. It’s the same with vocals – I like to hear great singers like James Brown and Joni Mitchell, but I also like artists whose vocals are less accomplished – like Jeffrey Lewis or Daniel Johnston. Music is really all about emotion. Technical ability can mean that you can access emotion consistently, but there’s also real emotion that doesn’t require technical ability.

6. Have you been compared to anyone or is your sound unique?

I’ve been told that I have my own sound, but of course I know it’s just a combination of all of my influences. The strange this is that when I do get comparisons it’s often with people I don’t listen to. I put that down to the fact that the listener only has a certain set of references, so they mention the one that occurs to them. I have been compared to Captain Beefheart a couple of times, which makes me very happy. When I discovered his music, it changed the way I thought about writing music, so it was a deliberate effort to do things more like him. I realised there were avenues within blues music that I wanted to explore, and doing that caused a great explosion of inspiration in my writing.

7. What are you working on right now music wise?

I always have a number of projects on the go. I’ll try to break them down a bit for you here:

Not Completely Useless – this is the project that really got me back into writing music after a few years away. It’s a solo project, but it’s all lyrical and musical ideas that came about when my first daughter was born. I was exploring acoustic blues techniques at the time, and found that I liked the result if I rocked them up. I’ve put out three 6 track mini albums from this project so far, and currently I’m finishing up the first song from it that was actually partly written by my kids (aged 8 and 4). They wrote the melody and lyrics and I added the chords and other musical ideas.
VIBE – VIBE is a collaboration with Jules, a producer based in France. We connected through a musician’s website and started working together. He sends me musical ideas and I write lyrics and record vocals. We’ve just released “Devilish Ego”, our 5th or 6th track and I’m about to start on the next one.
The Madonna and The Whore – another online collaboration, this time with Iwan in Germany. We’re both quite depressive characters, and we like to explore the darker side of life. Usually, one of us will have an idea for a verse and send it to the other, who will then write the chorus and fill in what’s already been done, then we pass it back and forth until it’s done. Our current song is called “Reflection”, and to me it seems to be a bit about a mid-life crisis. Iwan started the song off, so I’m building on the foundation he’s made.
“Blitz Part 2”. This is a collaboration with an artist known as Zelestial Phyre, who’s based in Essex. He does what I call “space punk”. We’ve done a number of things together in the past – usually with me just providing vocals and lyrics, but as we progress our roles change and develop. “Blitz Part 2” of course suggests there is a part one – which there was. That was an intense noise rock work out, all about the experience of a bad trip. When that song was finished, I realised I’d rendered the “bad trip” part really well, but not what came afterwards, so part 2 is an attempt to recreate the experience of being at peace. It currently has 3 verses and they are all in different keys, so that’s very strange.
Dig Xaz – Dig Xaz is my rap persona. I like to take my rock songs and pull loops out of them to make hip-hop tracks, then rap over them as Dig Xaz. I’m just finishing up a track about the power of the media, and I’ve just started a collaboration with an Essex based rapper called Babalon Anon.
“Abduction” – another online collaboration, this time with a musician based in Plymouth called Kevin Renshaw. Initially I was just going to add vocals, but I’ve now started playing with guitar ideas.

8. Who past or present would you like to collaborate with?

So many – Neil Young, James Brown, RZA, Captain Beefheart, Stephen Malkmus… I love collaborating, it takes the music in all sorts of directions it would never have gone otherwise. And playing with other musicians is a great way to learn and improve.

9. Where do you draw inspiration from for your lyrics?

My kids, reflections on life, politics, the news, literature occasionally. As I’m always looking out for material, I try to see everything as an idea for a song. It’s just a matter of looking at things in a certain way. A song can be about anything, so there are no limits.

10. What are your interests and hobbies outside of music?

With a full-time job and 2 young kids I don’t really have time for anything else. In fact, I pretty much gave everything else up – things like watching sport and playing video games – because music is so time consuming and it was what I wanted to do most of all. I do still like to read, and I like watching football, snooker and MMA, but I rarely find time for it.

11. Do you have a good network of people that support your path as a musician?

My main supporters are my collaborators. They’re always keen to hear what I’ve been working on and it’s great to get honest feedback from them. I have friends who come to shows, and my wife is supportive in ensuring I have regular time to spend on my music. My kids are very supportive too. They like that they can listen to me on their Alexa speakers and enjoy recording vocals.

12. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the music business?

I’m not really a good person to ask this question. Times and technology have changed massively since I started out and I don’t feel I’ve been able to fully embrace or understand them. Some things that spring to mind though:

Be yourself, try your best
Always listen to music very closely, you can learn from any genre
Explore and have fun
Be aware of the reality of the industry. Modern technology has turned musicians into consumers of promotion products and it’s very difficult to get any opportunity that you don’t have to pay for. If you’re going to pay for something, make sure it’s legit and that you’re getting value for money.
Don’t get hung up on perfect and constantly returning to old projects to update them. When a song’s finished, let it be finished and use anything you learn on the next one. Try to do a little better each time – particularly with regard to mixing and mastering. It’s a minefield, so just get each song to where you’re happy with it. Then you can get back to the fun stuff – writing and recording the next song.
Never have more than 3 drinks before a performance. Bottles are easier to pick up off the floor than pint glasses.
Bank all your ideas as they come to you – write them down on notes on your phone, write out tabs, record the basic ideas to work on later. Then you’ll never suffer from writer’s block or lack of ideas. Just try sticking your ideas together, and do what you can to make them work.
Support other artists.