'It breathes on its own' – The evolution of The Ninth Wave

“It breathes on its own,” he says as he ruminates on just how far The Ninth Wave has come. He began it all, of course, years ago – long before he knew what it was, before it became what it is today. Haydn Park-Patterson may well have been a starting point, but he is one of four now. Each pillar as important as the last. Without either one, The Ninth Wave would not be what it is.

A sort of symbiosis – a fellowship. A process to be guided, not manipulated. Taking the time to understand the strengths a band has as a unit is the most assured way to get best out of each of its members. It is likely that Park-Patterson feels the same way.

“It sort of has its own life now,” he tells The Weekender: “Because of how long we’ve been a band – and considering how many line-up changes it has had. There are so many different influences in the band. When that is put together, it is very interesting.

“Everyone makes music for different reasons, but, for us, it’s about pushing ourselves and experimenting to see what comes out.

“I thought about this a wee while ago… the music this band makes, is not the music that any of us, individually, would make. But it is what we make together. It breathes on its own.”

The band might have taken on a few faces in recent years, but the current line-up is settled and in-sync. Millie Kidd took up her role before the release of the band’s debut album Infancy, later being joined by Kyalo Searle-Mbullu and Calum Stewart.

Indeed, the Infancy period was marked as an era of real acclaim. The album was nominated for The Say Award in 2020, before winning The Weekender’s inaugural Album of the Year Award. But more was to come. A seven-track EP, released in 2020, was followed up last year by a handful of singles that are due to feature on the upcoming second album, due out in a matter of weeks.

To say things are going well is an understatement. But with all four members buying into what the band has become, and feeding it, it’s no surprise that productivity is up.

Kidd reflects: “As we all get more comfortable with songwriting, and the more songs we do, the more we focus less on your influences and just focusing on the best way to get across what you’re trying to do.”

She adds: “The best kind of music is music that you can feel in your gut. We don’t make music to be played in the background, quietly. A lot of music these days is like that, but we don’t want to be disposable. Our music is a release.”

In the face of lockdown, The Ninth Wave was resolved to create their second album – now called Heavy Like A Headache. They wasted no time and conducted an intense recording operation, without a producer, with an eye to coming out of the pandemic raring to go. As is the case *these days, those plans were shelved to an extent.

Restrictions remained in place, delaying the process a little more. Further problems arose with vinyl, as is also the case these days. An inability to play live shows and push the album when released was just another knife in the ribs. The Ninth Wave is not alone in this picture, other artists had been faced with similar circumstances, but it is nevertheless frustrating to have a completed album sitting and waiting for its release… for more than a year.

“We finished that album last January,” Park-Patterson remarks, with a hint of entrenched exasperation in his voice. “It was supposed to be out ages ago, but there was obviously no way we could tour on it. And with Brexit and Covid it is so hard to get vinyl sorted. That’s all delayed the album over and over again.

“It’s been quite frustrating. It was such an intense recording; we put so much into that project, and then it was all done and we couldn’t wait for people to hear. And, then, a year later, it’s still not out. So, we are so excited for it, finally, to be out there. I suppose it’s not too uncommon for bands right now.

This time around, The Ninth Wave played producer as well as artist. And though it brought new responsibilities and freedoms embraced by the quartet, they are not against the idea of working with a producer further down the line.

Park-Patterson continues: “It just really made sense to do it this way because the songs on this album are quite a bit more experimental than what we have put out before. We were living so close to the ideas that it wouldn’t have made much sense to bring anyone else in.

“I do like working with producers because you do get that bird’s-eye view at times – someone to take a step back from it all and iron some things out. But both ways work for us. It’s not as though, because we self-produced this one, we will always do that in the future.

“But we are just really looking forward to people hearing the whole thing. It is a different album for us and covers a lot of musical ground. We just hope people like it and are not to shocked by it, or anything. I don’t imagine they will be.

“I guess it sounds like a new version of us – but, then, that’s what we try to do anyway. The last thing we want is for it to get boring for us, or for anyone listening. It’s always good to take yourself out that comfort zone; out of the wee world you have already created for yourself.”

An unexpected benefit of the delay, at least for Kidd, was how oddly refreshing it was to listen to it back once again. Letting the work mature out of sight for that length of time gave her a welcome surprise when it came round to another run-through.

Having that gap made her realise the subtle differences this recording process had on the band – on her own work. Their efforts at the time were geared toward making the album an experience for the senses. It is that very framework that helps to push the band into areas where they can challenge themselves.

Kidd says: “I was listening to the album for the first time since March last year, when it was finished. And at the time I remember then thinking: ‘Oh, I don’t like that’ or ‘Oh, no, I shouldn’t have done that’ and so on. But I was listening again, now, and I feel so proud of it. It just sounds like us. It’s good to have that detachment, I think, because I can look back now and feel we did that really well.

“You can tell we’ve had more time to ourselves, in lockdown, to play about with things. There are a lot of parts that we really wanted to be a bit of a journey. Some recurring themes, with ideas coming back in and tying it all together. We focused a lot on making it music to listen to in a dark room and not do anything else.

“Just sit in the bath, with some candles on, listen to it and have a wee cry. Spend an hour of your life doing that. For me, that’s the best way to listen to music and that’s how our music should be listened to. That’s what we were thinking when we were doing this album – just trying to make it all sound… delicious.

“There’s no filler on the album. All the songs on there still sound like us but I think people will say they’ve not heard us doing something like that before. You can definitely hear that we are more comfortable with ourselves. I find it difficult to write the same song twice – I always want to do something a bit different.”

The Ninth Wave will mark the long-awaited release of Heavy Like A Headache with a launch show at QMU in Glasgow two days later. They are on the road in the days running up with dates in Manchester on the 16th and London on the 17th – the day of the release itself. However, the Glasgow show is key with the venue holding a special place in the heart of Kidd.

She recalls: “We’re really excited about that gig. The last time we played QMU was freshers or something like that, but it was wild – there was a litre bottle of Glen’s being passed around the crowd; there was a circle pit; it was hilarious.

“It was just one of the best memories of playing a gig that I have. It was so fun. We were the headline band last time, but it was part of a full event. I don’t think there was anyone in the audience that really knew us, they just came. So, it’s a full headliner this time and I can’t wait.

“We’ve also got shows in Manchester and London as well. These three shows are a bit of an album celebration. So, it’s a party and everyone is invited. To mark the next level of The Ninth Wave. Because the best part of the job is that connection with everyone – being in the same room and seeing their reaction to the songs.

“What’s the point of creating anything if you don’t get to experience other people enjoying it? There really is no better feeling than seeing the people you’ve made an impact on or having someone come up to you and say: ‘Your song really helped me through this’ or ‘sitting in a dark room listening to your music really made me realise this’. And, it’s crazy. I really didn’t realise we were capable of that.”

Indeed, Kidd’s enthusiasm for the stage was reignited by their recent tour dates across the UK, including a trio of dates in Scotland. Whether it was their fanbase being solidified, or the fact many people had worked up their hunger for live music after missing out for so long, those shows will stick in her mind for some time to come.

“This last year has been mental – playing those first shows in October was incredible. I genuinely cannot explain the feeling those shows gave me in my heart. I don’t think we really expected it.

“I think it was surprising because, we don’t keep up with TikTok and it’s hard to judge the numbers and things through lockdown. So, it’s hard [to judge] where you are, in your career. But then we sold out most of the dates on tour – every single night there were people screaming every single lyric right back in our faces.

“It was so surreal. I guess, before that, we were locked in the studio and writing songs – only ever being in our own little world. The songs we had written, we hadn’t really thought how they would come across live. But everyone was so into it.

“And those Scottish dates… They were something else. On stage, we try and keep our cool and to stay in the aura of the band, or whatever, but there were so many times where I was just smiling and laughing. I kept thinking: ‘What’s going on? The last time we were in this venue, 15 came to see us and stood up the back’. And now there are people clambering over each other and chucking themselves about – it was so good.”

The Ninth Wave’s Heavy Like A Headache will be released on Thursday, March 17, and they play QMU on Saturday, March 19.