Every now and then a young band comes along who shake you from your reveries about pop’s golden past and remind you that there are still classic chapters to be written.
Raised on a steady diet of Mayfield, Womack, Smokey, and the brothers Gallagher, London band New Street Adventure blend the social commentary nous and grassroots of the Arctic Monkeys, the anthemic delivery and swell of The Verve and the grit of The Black Keys. Alongside this sit the influences of the great soul artists from day’s-gone-by who've left their imprint in culture with Motown floor-fillers and precious underground rarities.
Disgruntled by his university experience, Nick Corbin moved to London to put his well developed skills of songwriting, singing and guitar playing to use and escaping his job working in a tourist shop. He’d written ‘The Big AC”, a song that instantly hit him having stepped into The 100 Club and re-discovered the euphoria of the soul music his dad had raised him on. He found musicians including Carmy Love, backing vocalist and bass player, Ashley Hayden and they produced a four-track demo with the help of a British underground soul hero.
Nick, Carmy and Ashley were then joined by kindred talents and spirits in the form of Ollie Futcher on the drums, Charlie Myers on keys and Billy Lawrence on lead guitar. With 500 demos to sell, they took to the circuit venues of London. The packed dancefloors of The Monto, Hoxton Bar and Kitchen and The Barfly amongst others were treated to scores of stomping and spinning of diverse mobs captivated. Six months on and New Street Adventure had no more CD’s to sell.
‘Borrowing’ a schools recording studio, the band self-produced and released their debut EP in July 2012. Since then, New Street Adventure have earned multiple champions such as XFM’s John Kennedy, BBC DJ Robert Elms (who told Music Week: “NSA are the finest young band I’ve seen emerge for many moons, I am expecting big things!”), NME Photographer Dean Chalkley, Q Magazine and The Guardian journalist Paul Moody plus artists Edwyn Collins, The View and Plan B.
All the while, they toured the UK packing out venues as far away as Dundee, sold out their EP’s and 500 limited edition 7” (complete with the authentic ‘big hole’) and started their own bi-monthly club-nights right back at the place that started it all, the legendary 100 Club, where they headlined and sold out each one of the five sweaty and exhilarating nights.
In 2013, legendary label Acid Jazzsigned New Street Adventure. Alongside the core five, they arranged stabbing melodies of brass and swelling builds of strings to make their vision of British soul come to full effect.
With the album in its final stages, New Street Adventure themselves and those privy to hearing even incomplete recordings, are astounded with the potential of what lies ahead. Back in their Stratford rehearsal studio, Nick, Ash, Carmy, Ollie, Charlie, Emma and Billy are furiously preparing to unleash their live show, release their music and for fans from the start and many to come to be part of something truly special.
