Archways

Who are Archways? Where you’re from, how you met, how long have you been playing together etc

We’re a 5-piece band now based in East London. Having all met at university in 2019, we had to take a 2-year hiatus during lockdown before most of us deciding to move in together towards the end of 2021. So in ours eyes, we only officially started this journey in January 2022, coming to realise in February that we could actually play songs together and enjoy it, and then doing our first ever gig in April.

Who came up with the band name and does it have a story or any meaning behind it?

We all met and lived in Wembley student halls back in 2019. We potentially wanted a name to reflect the area we lived in. From that, we were inspired by the Wembley Arch and the road we lived on being called ‘Albion Way’, to then create the title ‘Archways’. Thank you to our own Sam Hodder for creating the name that really gave us our first identity of who we were.

If you had to describe the band using just five words, what would they be? 

Ambitious; fearless; euphoric, metropolitan, Genuine

Who are your biggest influences musically? 

The Smiths, Inhaler, Two Door Cinema Club, M83

What’s the band’s biggest claim to fame so far? 

Announcing an O2 Islington headline show, not even a year into us performing as a band. Thank you to Hotvox for putting this on for next February and being so invested in our journey.

What’s your songwriting process? 

Every song has a different process, some are started from piano, others are started from guitar, or even ideas for lyrics or a theme to a song come out of thin air and into our minds. What makes our process so great, is when everyone’s own ideas and instruments come into the song, to elevate it to different levels, creating our signature Archways style.

If you could go on tour with any current band or artist, who would it be and why? 

Inhaler for sure. We love how they never sit back once they’ve released an album, or the festival season has finished. They are constantly working, touring, playing shows and pushing their sound.

If you could put your dream team band together consisting of any musicians from the past or present who would the band members be? 

Sister Sledge, Johnny Marr, Noel Gallagher, Tory Lanez.

How would you describe your live show to someone who has never seen you perform before? 

Archways finishing a song, followed by 3-5 seconds of silence and then a massive roar and crazy screams. At first, we thought we were doing something wrong when performing, but it was quickly fed back to us from show-to-show, that people genuinely don’t expect these big sounds and songs to come out of our instruments at this stage of our career. Hence the moment of silence, followed by eruption. It’s still happening at some of our shows, but maybe the songs just keep getting better and better?

Do any of you have any pre-gig or post gig rituals? If so, what and why? 

Someone who cannot be named doesn’t wash their hands before a gig due to superstitious reasons. Maybe that’s why he’s single…

What would your ultimate rider be if you could have anything without being accused of being a diva? 

Fage Yoghurt topped with Blueberries, honey and oats, then a tub of pre-workout, some ginger beer, dark chocolate, and a bright window to get in our Circadian Rhythm for the day.

This question is for all band members. If we were to browse your music library what is the most embarrassing song we might find? Or who is your guilty pleasure artist? 

Blake Foxall – Dua Lipa  // Simo – Miley Cyrus // Reiss – James Blunt // Hodd – Harry Styles // Keez – Girls Aloud

Tell us one thing your fans would be really shocked or surprised to hear or learn about the band 

We have never played a cover live or to anyone watching us at a gig. We started off thinking about doing covers, but soon realised it’s a lot more fun to play songs we’ve created and also explore our own sound and direction that we want to take the band in.

If people want to check you out online where is the best place to go? 

Our Instagram is the most active social media (sometimes…), so please follow us on there for updates and where we’ll be playing next. @Archways_music.   Although our social media side may not be the best at this present time, we really do show our energy and personality with our song writing and performing at shows 

We actually do have lots of songs ready and being recorded, so please be patient for 2023 with lots of new music being released. It will be worth the wait, we promise.

Finally, What does the future hold for the band? 

Lots and lots of gigs. Thank you Hotvox for having continuous faith in us this early on in our career and putting on plenty of wonderful shows that we can be a part of. Also, thank you to our rapidly growing fanbase who have been so amazing coming to our shows and loving all the songs we’ve been writing for them.