ADULT DVD BRINGS US REAL TREE LEE, DANCE FLOOR DELIRIUM & SOCIAL SATIRE

WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS

Leeds’ six-piece, Adult DVD, deal in synth-punk that’s part dance floor delirium, part social satire - the kind of music that makes you want to move first and unpack the meaning later. Fresh off signing to Fat Possum and releasing the brilliantly catchy  “Real Tree Lee,” they’re building momentum fast - the kind that spreads by word of mouth and sweat-soaked dance floors.

We meet in a London pub, a stone’s throw from The Shacklewell Arms, where the lads are set to wrap their final sold-out London show before heading back out on tour. When we speak, there’s talk of how the band came together, the logistical nightmare of keeping six grown men in one place before a show, and a surprising amount about mackerel. They insist they’re “not very good at music” (they are), and claim their songwriting process is essentially organised chaos (it is).

At their core, Adult DVD are less about posturing and more about permission - to dance, to laugh, to poke at the darker corners of the internet, and to not stand at the back pretending you’re above it all.

Maisie: If you were introducing your sound, how would you do it?

Greg: I guess it’s been called synth-punk for quite a while, hasn’t it? And with some of the new songs, the punkier stuff's punkier, and the techno stuff's more techno. So it's come from both sides of the industry.

Maisie: How did you form the band?

Harry: Me and Greg started it. I used to work at The Brudenell in Leeds, and then I got to know Greg. Me and the drummer were in a different band. Greg and the rest of them were in another band. And then we kind of met through that, and then lockdown happened, and we just started making tunes over the internet, and then pieced it all together.

Maisie: Why the name Adult DVD?

Harry: Greg's got a weird addiction… [laughs]

Greg: Yeah, I just love porn.

Maisie: [Laughs] Come on, what was it?

Greg: That’s way better than the actual story. Ages ago, I used to do illustrations. I did a little drawing of the porno shop. I remember thinking of the name - my mate's got it framed in his room - and he was like, “I've got it”.

Maisie: Were there any other contenders?

Greg: No, that was it. It’s like adult entertainment.

Maisie: There are six of you in the band - what does a typical studio/writing day look like for you lads?

Harry: We do things quite weirdly, don't we? We've never been all in the same room writing a song together.

Greg: We just end up falling out [laughs].

It's actually because we're not that good at instruments, so it's easier if we do it in twos around the computer, and then we kind of crack it. We're not very good at music, obviously… We send it round to another two, they'll work on it, and then eventually it's done.

Harry: But when we've been in the studio, it's the first time we've heard the song fully, and then we've got to learn it for live after. It's like karaoke. We’re like a covers band [laughs]. We've already done it, we've just never played it.

Maisie: [Laughs] That’s a great approach. You've kicked off your UK tour at London’s The Shacklewell Arms. How have the first two nights been?

Harry: Fun!

Greg: Yeah, really good. Been busy. Everyone's up for a party…

Maisie: Where are you most excited to play?

Harry: On this tour, Dublin, because we’ve never been and think it’ll be fun.

Maisie: Do you get nervous beforehand?

Harry: I mean, I don’t.

Greg: Yeah, I do. I think the best bit about playing is when I come off stage and it's gone all right…

Maisie: Get that adrenaline inside you.

Greg: Yeah! I didn't black out, so it’s alright [laughs].

Maisie: Do you have any pre-show rituals?

Greg: No, because there's six of us, it’s just trying to find everyone. Everyone keeps going for a wee…

Maisie: [Laughs] What can fans expect from the live shows?

Harry: It’s just a party, really. It's just good fun.

Greg: It's good for people to just let go and sort of dance and not really care about what's going on.

Harry: You’ll enjoy it if you come and you just don't stand at the back trying to be cool.

Greg: Yeah. No one's trying to be cool.

Maisie: I first saw you guys at Green Man Festival last year, and I was right at the back as it was so full - and you could feel the energy!

Harry: Oh yeah. That was our favourite ever gig.

Maisie: It was so much fun. I couldn’t see you because it was so busy, but I heard you and it was great!

Greg: Yeah, we didn't expect that crowd at all, did we? It was crazy.

Maisie: You’ve built up a lot of momentum very quickly - packed crowds and sold-out shows - why do you think that is?

Harry: Well, I mean, at Green Man, that was actually Wonder Horse that did us a favour. Their set finished early [laughs]. We can't take credit for that! Just a bit of scheduling [laughs].

Maisie: I’m not so sure about that! You're going to be performing at End of the Road Festival this year - who are you most excited to see perform there?

Harry: Pulp will be amazing. You know, standing on the festival ground while Pulp's playing…I almost started crying when they played Glastonbury last year.

Maisie: Is there a different feeling between festivals and gigs?

Harry: Yeah, definitely. I think there's a lot less pressure with festivals because you're not really selling the tickets.

Greg: It’s always a surprise!

Harry: I think I prefer festivals. I also really like just being at festivals…

Maisie: Yeah, everyone's so happy in a bubble, aren't they?

Harry: Yeah, exactly. I like it when we can do a festival and we get to stay there as well. Like, we did that at Green Man.

Maisie: Oh, it’s such a good festival! Let’s talk about your latest single “Real Tree Lee” - who is Real Tree Lee, in your own words?

Greg: We want to express that he's not someone that we want to be… he's not a good guy. He's sort of like a conspiracy guy. A bit scared of the world. You know, a super macho guy. Also just mental.

Maisie: Where did the inspiration for this come from?

Greg: Originally, to be honest, I was thinking about my dad, who isn't like that at all… But he does like blowing things up in the garden. And he spends most of the time in overalls in the garage. So it was based around that, and then sort of thinking about what's happening at the moment. I think a lot of these guys believe in the worst shit they see online, sort of thing…

Maisie: How would you describe Real Tree Lee if he was a taste, a temperature, and a smell? Let's start with taste.

Greg: Taste? Are we kissing him?

Maisie: [Laughs] Oh yeah!

Greg: Oh, mate. I don't think he smokes - oh wait, in the song it says he’s straight edge…

Harry: I think he tastes like tinned mackerel… Tinned mackerel in tomato sauce, that one.

Harry: What temperature is he? He runs hot. He’s making diesel in his stomach.

Greg: His blood pressure's pretty high.

Harry: It’s like 38 degrees.

Greg: Yeah, that’s nice. That’s hot.

Harry: Shower temperature.

Maisie: A smell?

Harry: Mackerel [laughs].

Greg: Moist. Like damp clothes.

Maisie: How important is it to you to use music as a form of social commentary?

Greg: I like writing songs about a character. None of our songs are written from our point of view. They're all made up. I feel like we need to really hammer that home before we put an album out. If anyone thinks I'm actually saying this… [laughs]

Maisie: Are you working on anything?

Harry: Yeah, we've just recorded the album. It's going to get mixed in the next month or so.

Maisie: That’s exciting. How long has it been in the making?

Greg: Some of the songs have been out for quite a while.

Harry: Yeah. But we've recorded it all in two weeks. Danny from the band, who works at Nerve Studios in Leeds - and that's where we've done everything, really.

Greg: Yeah. Danny and Jake produce it.

Maisie: Is there a favourite song from the album?

Greg: I’ve got “Cowboy On Isle 3” now, because playing it live, I think that's my favourite.

Harry: It’s been nice trying them out and seeing how people react to it. There’s a tune called Rolling Face, which is total Underworld-y - that was really fun to play.

Maisie: This is F Word magazine. What’s your favourite F word?

Greg: Flump.

Harry: I’ll say food because I keep thinking about that mackerel now.

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