Leeds synth-punk sextet Adult DVD have come a long way since their lockdown inception. Their outrageous, high-octane take on the genre has earned them a formidable reputation in their home town and far beyond, sprawling across stages throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. Fusing club-ready electronics with the force of a live band, they’ve managed to rouse even the most notoriously static Yorkshire crowds into something approaching euphoria. We caught up with lead singer and founder Harry Hanson at the Sheffield date of their headline UK tour to talk about everything from “the fucked-up shit” in America that makes them wary of touring there, to the rise of electronic music and what it means to finally sign to a record label.
You signed to Fat Possum records last month, before then you were self-releasing. What made you want to make that move, and what has it allowed you to do?
It’s crazy seeing the difference between a self-release and having that sort of sized team behind everything – and that’s not even with the American connection, it’s just seeing what it’s done in England. It’s nuts really. There’s a whole load of people you can ask stuff, and people behind it – they’ve got a socials schedule spreadsheet that I have to follow, which is very organised. It’s nice.
Were you ever a bit hesitant to sign to a label, worrying you might lose some freedom, or was it an easy decision?
I think it makes sense from where we are now. I don’t think we’ve rushed into it, and I also don’t think we’ve done badly doing it without a label for that long. It definitely felt like the right time to step up to a label, especially as we’re getting nearer to talking about albums and stuff. It’s definitely a good thing to do.
You’re about halfway through a headline UK tour at the minute – how are you finding it so far, and how has it differed from previous tours, if at all?
The main difference is that a load of, I think every show except one, sold out, and we’ve never really had that before. It’s super sweet, it’s great. It’s definitely nice to have a day off, it’s pretty full-on, but we’ve had loads of fun, it’s been great.
Next month you’re heading to Texas for SXSW. How are you feeling about that, is it all excitement, or are there some nerves given the state of America?
I mean we’re super excited to go and play America because it’s every band’s dream to do it, but also with what’s going on in America it does terrify us. So yeah, I guess we’ll just keep our heads down and play some good shows. It’s a shame it’s tarnished by the fucked-up shit that’s going on in the world. I don’t know who’s playing, actually, but I think there’ll be loads to see and lots going on.
You’re playing with SILVERWINGKILLER tonight – they did the remix of your track Because I Like It recently. You’ve done a lot of remixes yourselves, what draws you to those, and what do you enjoy about the process?
I mean Jake from the band is the boffin of all that. I think if there’s a good hook or a good vocal in there then you get loads of ideas from it, but he’s probably the man to ask. A dream artist, if we could pick anyone to remix one of our songs, would probably be Chemical Brothers or Soulwax. I think Young Fathers would do a really cool remix as well, I’ve been listening to a lot of them recently.
Adult DVD started in lockdown, how do you think that context shaped the band? Did it push you to be more experimental with electronic elements, given you couldn’t perform live?
Yeah, definitely. And it also gives you a bit more drive, because you knew there was going to be live shows eventually – there was a hope of that. And you also have so much more time, there’s more time to throw at it, more time to do stuff, and then you come out of it and you’re working full-time again and it’s like, oh my god, it’s hard to balance stuff. But yeah, I think lockdown was good for us, really.
If it wasn’t for lockdown I think we’d have played a lot of shit gigs. Having that year of writing music before we even did a gig, and then getting to choose gigs – and we’ve done some pretty bad gigs, but that’s probably on us – but having the time to choose stuff and time to work on it was good.
Before Adult DVD you were in Glass Mountain, and the others were in Uncle Buzzard. What lessons did you take from those projects into Adult DVD? And was there a moment where you realised this one might really last?
I was a lot younger then, and I think I learnt a lot from it, but the music’s so different. The good thing about starting Adult DVD was it was more the music that I wanted to write, and I took all the elements that I enjoyed and put them into something I was excited about.
Touch wood this is the one that lasts, it’s going good so far. We’re a few years into it now, but it feels – and like you were saying about the label and everything – it feels like there’s always something happening, always something to grow. We’ve got ages to go before we’re a fully successful band, I think, so it’s nice. There’s definitely a drive in the band, which is good.
You’re a big part of the Leeds scene alongside bands like English Teacher, Bathing Suits, Fuzz Lightyear, and most of Adult DVD met at the Brudenell as well.What’s it like seeing the Leeds scene doing so well from the inside?
I’m from Leeds, I’ve lived there all my life and there’s such a good scene. There are so many good venues in Leeds. If you go into town on a Saturday night and go to Wax Bar or the Brudenell and every Leeds band is there, everyone’s always asking how the band’s going and stuff, and there’s not really any rivalry. You go and watch everyone’s shows as well which is super nice. I mean maybe everyone’s slagging each other off behind their backs, but generally it feels very good.
What do you think has driven this recent surge? There have always been bands in Leeds, but in the past few years it really feels like it’s blown up.
Yeah with English Teacher and Yard Act getting big, I think it’s because London-based labels have looked to the north and wanted to sign them. Because of that everyone’s sort of looking there. Same thing with Manchester, people are looking outside London, which is nice. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but it’s the first time I’ve experienced it where there are eyes on us, which is really good.
You obviously grew up in Leeds, and Adult DVD feel very rooted there. How much has the city shaped your identity and sound – and how different do you think things might be if you’d grown up somewhere like London?
I think because Leeds is super small and you can go to a club night one night and a gig the next, and it’s literally venues next door to each other, that’s kind of shaped our music and got us into more electronic music while keeping that band element. I think the fact that you can see a club night in the same venue you can see a rock band is a very strong thing.
You mentioned electronic music earlier. With bands like Bathing Suits and tonight’s show with SILVERWINGKILLER, it feels like there’s a big rise in dance-leaning electronic rock. What do you think is driving that?
I think there’s a want for more electronic stuff, but at the same time I feel like guitar bands are coming back, so I’m not sure. I think music’s just back in a big way – post-Covid, everything’s happening now. I don’t really know. Leeds isn’t super industrial, which might explain a techno scene, but there isn’t really one. I think maybe it’s what I was saying, the bands are all supportive. It’s like, “oh, they’re doing that, that’s cool, let’s try a bit of that,” you know?
You’re currently working on the debut album. I read that you were struggling a bit to bridge the gap between the dance and rock tracks – how’s that going now?
It’s all good now. The album’s very eclectic, there’s a good mix of genres and moods in it, but it feels coherent, definitely.
How did you go about bridging that gap?
I think just doing what we’re good at, I don’t think we’re trying to force anything. When we went through phases of “I want to write a song like that,” it became more like: these are the things we do well. And with six of us there are a lot of influences coming in.
How do you actually manage writing with six people – do you still tend to work in pairs?
Yeah, we’ve never written a song all together – it’s kind of odd. Partly because when we first started, we weren’t, I mean we’re not even that good now, but playing those synths and stuff, if we all sat in a room someone would go insane and throw a keyboard at the wall.
But yeah, that’s how it works for us. We’re not against writing together, but we like writing in twos. Also because we all work, it means if two people are off work they can get on with stuff. We’re all trying to do this while working nine-to-five really.
I’m kind of lucky because I work in music, I’m freelance, and Danny and Greg are both freelance, so we can hand-choose our hours. But we’ll do that for a bit and then we’re like, oh, let’s just have a week doing music – and then we’re like, fuck, we need to earn some money now.
What would success look like for the debut album – how will you measure it?
I think getting it out of the UK. We’re lucky when we play in Europe it’s nuts, but seeing it boot off in some random place in France or America, if there’s demand for us to go over and play a show I’d be happy.
I’d be happy with anything as long as people hear it. I’m really proud of the record and I think everyone else is, so seeing it go to the right people would be great.
This month marks five years since debut single Broken English was released. How has the band changed since then, both personally and musically?
Wow I didn’t know that. I think we’re definitely more locked-in now. Like I was saying about bridging the gap between guitar and electronic music, I think we know what we’re going for now. But we’re also super happy to experiment. We didn’t really have a clue what we were doing then, that was mainly me and Greg, but since Jake and Danny have come on they just make efficient sounds.
Where would you like to see Adult DVD five years from now? What would you love to achieve?
My favourite thing is touring – I just love playing shows and seeing parts of the world I’d never think to visit. So if I could just be on tour for the next five years, I’d be happy. I’d especially love to play Barrowland in Glasgow, and then America and Japan… Japan’s the one place we really need to go.
Words: Donovan Livesey