Get to Know Innafield: A Q&A with the Band

kSoc-Live presents Innafield, Et Al, and Xl Poncho - graphics by Alex Crostford

The Manchester-based frontwoman band, Innafield, carries a uniqueness that's hard to come by - particularly because it's so hard to pin down what that is. Their eclectic blend of sounds is mainly psychedelic-rock based, with a slice of blues and a dash of folk. Inspired by music legends Stevie Nicks and David Gilmour (a credit to Peter Green ultimately), their style juxtaposes feeling rootsy and transcendent.

But it's not just their sound that sets them apart - the five-piece are bound to catch eyes with their openly presented, intriguing style, think whimsical vibes, bandanas, oil lamps - the lot. After their Social Live set, I caught up with the band for a second edition of our Yapping up North Series to chat about everything from inspiration and dream venues to the future ahead. And from the moment we started talking, it was clear that this is a band that's all about bringing their passion to life with their best friends.

Meet the members of Innerfield:

Ed Whitaker - electric guitar lead

Kian Melenga - drummer, loves his Latin, funk stuff

Josh - bass

Jesse - lead vocalist and sax

Rupert - guitarist

Q&A with Innerfield

Q: How would you introduce the band to someone who has never heard of you before?

Ed: We're a psychedelic rock band, that's what we are. We've been playing for about a year now together.

Jesse: We are all inspired by really different artists, so we have a really eclectic mix of sounds going on, which makes us quite unique. Like, we've got Kian, he's really influenced by James Brown. Ed's really David Gilmour-inspired. We've got a bit of Radiohead, Pink Floyd. Stevie Nicks is my biggest inspiration. So, a mixture of all them sounds together makes us quite unique.

Q: Do you prefer festival/outdoor gigs or indoor gigs?

Jesse: The pub that I work in hosts a little festival thing in the August bank holiday, and we played that. But it's like this little tent thing in a beer garden, so it's not really a proper festival. But we've only ever done inside gigs, so I don't think we can say whether we prefer outside or inside ones yet.

Kian: Personally, I love indoor big gigs!

Ed: Indoor, intimate.

Rupert: For a rock band, I think you need indoor, loud.

Kian: In the future, you'll see us playing festivals.

Q: What's your favourite original song to perform live?

Ed: At the moment, it's "What We're Gonna Be". It's just got a lot of uniqueness. It just really gets to the point. Radio-friendly. I like playing that, especially as a guitar. It's a nice riff.

Rupert: The same here, it's coming out soon!

Kian: For me, it's got to be the same, just because I can do that crossover drumming as well, which is always fun for me. And it's just a good vibe, that song.

Josh: Probably "Close Your Eyes". Got a bit of a David Gilmour solo in it as well. Definitely. Always a fun one to play as well.

Jesse: I like "Beyond My Mind", the first one that we play in the set, because it's got fun vocalness and it's got a really cool, big ending.

Rupert: I always like to do "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" because it's the last one. It's the last song we do. For me, it's the easiest one as well.

Q: Female-fronted bands are still quite niche, especially among emerging artists. Are there any that inspire you in your position?

Jesse: We didn't like, originally set out to be like, this front woman band. We kind of just all met. Well, we met at university and we just gelled with each other and we started, like, booking rehearsal rooms and then playing with each other more and more. I'm inspired by Stevie Nicks, but I love, like, any woman musician, like Billie Holiday, Amy Winehouse, all that kind of jazzy, bluesy, Rocky stuff.

Q: Is there anything else that you feel sets you apart as a band?

Jesse: I think we've got quite a few different things that set us apart. For example, we've got the saxophone, which is played by a woman who's also the front woman. We've got things that we've got, like niches. So we've got my bandanas tied around my mic stand, which you don't get like many people bringing props to, like proper gigs.

Q: Where did the inspiration for the band name come from?

Josh: My dad really said it to me, and he said it's basically a 90s rave sound system which used to go around called Innerfield, which was a sound system. Rave sound system. I thought it would be a good idea for a band name.

Q: What's your dream Manchester venue to play?

Josh: Yeah, Co Op Live. Because we work there. We do the stage cruise ship, most of the band, four of us. So it would be really nice to have all of our colleagues putting our stuff on the stage, not us putting other bands on the stage.

Kian: The biggest venue in Manchester, which is Co-op Live. But if you wanted to narrow it down a bit, O2 Ritz. Absolutely banging venue and a lot of big artists have played there.

Q: You performed an unreleased track "What We're Gonna Be" - tell us about that...

Ed: On the weekend, we went into the studio, shoutout Drew, and made a start. Got the guitar done, got the drums done. It's nowhere near finished, but it's on its way!