Introducing Group AD: Leeds’ most exciting new offering are looking back to see ahead
Last summer, with just one song to their name, Leeds band Group AD hosted a free gig, performed ‘in the round’ style at everyone’s favourite venue for a pint and half-price pizza slice, Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen, soon packing out the room, where it felt like everyone in attendance knew that they were witnessing something special, something with a profound sense of purpose.
This might have been their debut gig, but standing there, among familiar faces from the Leeds music scene, you could tell that Group AD possessed an ever-evolving identity, yet one that they felt utterly secure in. So, it came as no surprise when, soon after, the band were announced as a support act for Mercury Prize winners English Teacher when they played their sold-out Leeds O2 Academy show.
Since then, Group AD have released an EP, Colour Space Transform, a cinematic mélange of influences which, above all, centres around strong grooves, and to celebrate, they returned to Belgrave for another headline show. It’s here that I caught up with the mastermind behind the project, Aidan Razzall, who you can otherwise find working in a record shop, something that he credits as one of his most vital influences.
“Without working in a record shop, Group AD wouldn’t be a thing,” he told me, as the thumping sounds of Kiosk soundchecking seeped into the green room, “It’s almost like I’ve had a bit of a musical re-education, and been exposed to so many different styles and sounds that I would have never even looked at before.”
The project stemmed from Razzall writing music alone, but he realised if any of it was going to be performable, he’d need a rather large band, a seven-piece, to be precise: “I was really lucky in that I had a lot of friends who were really good musicians, so I chose people who are really talented who were able to help me realise the songs way better than I would ever be able to do on my own.”
After booking the band’s first gig, everything seemed to fall into place, as he noted, “We had four months to get a set together. So it was a good way of being like, ‘Right, who’s up for it?’ It was quite natural, really”.
When that gig came around, Razzall was equally as nervous as he was excited, explaining, “To have people be able to hear our work was really rewarding, and also, from a technical perspective as well, there is so much gear, so many synths and bits of vintage equipment and stuff. It was quite cool to gather that and show people what we’re about. You don’t often see that for a first gig, a lot of people on stage or a lot of stuff, and it was quite exciting.”
What’s so captivating about Group AD is their resistance to traditional form, instead focusing on instrumentals that tell a story without the need for a lead vocalist. Sometimes the band uses spoken word samples (the identity behind the voice in ‘Colour Space Transform’ will be kept a mystery, Razzall tells me), but for the most part, the band allows their instruments to do all of the talking. Synths, strings, and spaghetti western-esque guitars collide to make something epic-sounding each time, like every song has been simultaneously plucked from an old film or one made far in the future.
Explaining his interest in the cinematic, Razzall explains, “I think one of the things that’s allowed Group AD to become silver screen indebted is the way I’ve always viewed music like a visual collage. In previous projects I’ve sung, but I didn’t want to do that this time. The key to Group AD is all about how we arrange the tracks, and to have that cinematic string element allowed a sense of narrative to come through the tracks where there is a lack of a traditional verse, chorus, vocals. It takes a bit of a journey, and, you know, we’re called the Group for Action and Dance, but you could probably replace some of those A and D words for something else.”
While the band have been inspired by a wide array of films, Razzall picks out 1971’s Punishment Park and 2010’s Beyond the Black Rainbow as significant influences. Of the latter, he said, “That’s a cool mix of ‘60s futurist imagery with contemporary, paranoid sci-fi imagery in it,” and really, that’s how you could sum up the sound of Colour Space Transform.
“I think the modern political hellscape can really pummel on us, and we represent a collective”.
Adian Razzall
He also references the Daphne Oram quote “looking back to see ahead”, which is a “mantra” that has informed Razzall’s approach when creating music for the group. The band feel untethered from any specific period of time, almost like they exist entirely outside of it, taking from the ‘60s and the ‘80s as much as from an imagined future.
With seven skilled musicians from wildly different backgrounds and influences all chipping into the creation of Group AD, it’s no surprise that they have such a unique sound. Razzall cites everything from Ennio Morricone to obscure Danish post-punk outfit Nasmak as sources of inspiration, but also admits that “reggae production has been a big part of how we think about the placement of the samples”, which might come as more of a surprise. There’s even some jungle and breakbeat influence thrown in there, too.
It’s impossible to ignore the communal aspect of Group AD when you see these seven musicians sharing the stage, and Razzall acknowledges how this ties into the band’s political ethos.
“All art is political, whether you are sloganeering or not,” he says, “I think the fact of doing it is definitely a political gesture, and Group for Action and Dance has definitely been influenced by socialist and left-wing aesthetics. I will quite happily admit that, and I think we represent the idea of commonality and a rejection of the relentless focus on the individual. I think the modern political hellscape can really pummel on us, and we represent a collective.”
Coming together with a diverse collection of influences and an emphasis on visual language as much as a sonic one, Group AD are calling for resistance and change through action and dance, no matter if they’re highlighting the importance of art as an act of rebellion and a political statement, or donating profits to charity (all proceeds from their debut single went to PAFRAS, which helps asylum seekers in Leeds).
The band have just recorded some new music together in Spain, allowing this new landscape (and some borrowed, “primitive” guitars) to shape the direction of their new tracks. It might seem like they’re moving fast, but this is only really the beginning for Group AD, who can currently count the number of gigs they’ve performed on one hand.
But you know when you’ve witnessed something special, and Group AD certainly possess that magic, that rare flash of cinematic brilliance you only come across once in a blue moon.
