Great Heat's #DreamSofar

Similarly to the bar which they call home, Great Heat have many faces. A creative hub, an experiment, a secret; The Doodle Bar, with its Test Bed space, is not simply a bar. Great Heat is not simply a band.

Born in the early stages of 2012 via the reshuffling of a few other bands, the four of Great Heat stumbled upon what was The Doodle Bar – and more importantly Testbed1 – in the making. To such an extent did they find the building-come-project to be their kind of ‘space’, the boys decided to settle down somewhat to figure out which direction their sound was to go. In fact, so settled did they become, in no time it was deemed their ‘isolation centre’. A whole year later, the self-prescribed metaphorical Winter was over and the band were ready to come out their hole and face the big, wide world. Judging from the resultant material, in the form of lead single Laid Bare and its B-side Who’s The Dude, it was well worth the wait. Described by themselves as a cocktail of ‘the dirty riffs of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the churning ambience of Arcade Fire and pop vitality of The Black Keys’, the sound of Great Heat is one that is rich in its complexity, yet is not afraid to say what it thinks and cause some damage should it be thought necessary.

It is not just their written craft that offers so much in so many ways, though, for there is also the manner in which the band perform their product to take into consideration. Whilst, for example, on record Laid Bare is cool as cats and Who’s The Dude has a distinct chilled Summer holiday vibe, played live the songs are treated to a whole new dimension; when it was performed at a recent Sofar in London, for instance, the former got people onto their feet and, even, dancing. This energy is, quite literally, getting the four piece all around the live scene, and justifiably so; in addition to their more traditional gigs (they’re next playing the not-yet-opened The Monarch on March 6^th, with an as of yet unannounced UK tour soon after), their live quality is also warranting approaches from areas of the industry that aren’t quite so obvious – last Summer they were invited to play at Peace & Love, Sweden’s biggest musical festival, and just the other week they played a fashion week show for designer friend Sarmite Ostanevica.

Unsurprisingly, such buzz, such promise, is getting the attention of the kinds of people that can take the funky rockers to the heights they deserve. Laid Bare, for example: was mastered by Brian Lucey, who has done the same for the likes of The Shins and The Black Keys; was the ‘Track of the Day’ for several blogs, including Killing Moon; has a video featuring Will Payne of current ITV periodic drama hit, Mr. Selfridge (to be unveiled on Saturday). And, most importantly, the band are managed by none other than Sofar’s very own Tom Lovett.

Great Heat’s #DreamSofar would be:

Otis Redding (Blain McGuigan, vocals and guitar):

‘Otis Redding's voice is my personal favourite of all modern singers: dynamic, soulful and unique. A stripped back set-up would have allowed the audience to fully digest the Madman from Macon's famously electric live performance. The Sofar ethos is intimacy between the crowd and the artist, and I believe Otis Redding had the capacity to illuminate a small crowd more than most who have lived.’

The Kills (Sam Travers, bass):

‘I think the whole Sofar thing is an interesting environment in which an audience can engage with an artist, not just on a personal level but to see the chemistry between performers. I would probably have to say The Kills. I have seen them a fair few times now but at fairly large shows. They are remarkably visceral songwriters, valuing expression more highly than technical showmanship. The tension between Mosshart and Hince makes for very charged performances. Jamie Hince is probably the biggest influence on me as a musician; I love his tone, inventive style and The Kills overall minimal sound, particularly Keep On Your Mean Side.’

Creedence Clearwater Revival (Alex Cameron Ward, lead guitar):

‘John Fogerty's howl, his honest, simple and yet extremely relevant lyrics make me feel a type of cool that shatters my spine. All the inner battles and doubts are put to rest, Creedence Clearwater Revival make me feel like the man I want to be. To see these guys (in their prime of course!) play I Heard It Through the Grapevine would be electrifying.’

Kurt Vile (band choice):

‘Collectively, we would love to see Kurt Vile. He has a really inspiring way of making quite simple stuff sound interesting. Sofar sees lots of really talented acoustic performers every day; however, we think it might be cool to see somebody meliorate the acoustic performance a little. The way Kurt Vile constructs an aesthetic through his use of effects makes his songs truly idiosyncratic. He is not the greatest singer, he is just a really expressive musician who would bring something more than an acoustic guitar to a performance. There is virtue in stripping something down, but maybe adapting sonic characteristics makes for a more memorable performance in our books.’