Hem at Gorilla in Manchester
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"We hope it's not a swansong," says band founder and pianist Dan Messé. "We certainly have more things we want to say. And we have more songs in the pipeline."
Formed in 1999, Hem self-released their debut Rabbit Songs in 2002 to critical acclaim. With vocalist Sally Ellyson and guitarists Gary Maurer and Steve Curtis completing the line-up they released a further four full-length albums, including the music for the 2009 Public Theatre production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park for which they received a nomination for Outstanding Music in a Play at the 2009/2010 Drama Desk Awards.
It was during the recording of Departure & Farewell that discord set in. Members experienced relationship problems, addiction and family loss.
"The original idea for the album was that we wanted to wrap everything up in a nice bow but it turned into a much uglier goodbye," says Dan, who ended up hooked on prescription pills. "It strained every relationship that I had and the album almost didn't get finished."
"After we came back together, the feeling was a lot more loving," Dan reveals. "We were all really appreciative of what each person brought to the project."
Adds Sally: "We really are a family. We fight like a family. We love like a family. We stick together like a family. Nobody's going to lose their place in this band because you don't lose your place in a family. I think that's a real testament to the core of what Hem is."
Hem's 2013 UK tour dates:
Oct 11: London, Union Chapel;
Oct 13: Bath, Komedia;
Oct 16: Sheffield, Academy 2;
Oct 17: Manchester, Gorilla;
Oct 18: Glasgow, Stereo;
Oct 19: Belfast, Queens - Elmwood Hall.
