Nexus Meets… Twin Stranger
Hailing from South Wales, Twin Stranger is a dynamic and delightful five-piece power-pop band. Originally a bedroom recording project, Alex McConnachie recruited his brother Liam and friends Josh Newington, Joe Tobin and Eric Karvik to create “the next hyped up guitar bands to break out from Wales” (according to It’s All Indie). We spoke with frontman Alex McConnachie about the band, the latest single ‘White’ and much more.
How was Twin Stranger formed?
It started off as a solo recording project. I’d been a part of bands for years and after my last band came to an end I didn’t know what to do with the songs I was writing, that I’d been demoing myself at home. I knew I didn’t want to go down the solo singer-songwriter route so I convinced some of my favourite musicians (who happen to be my friends) to play with me.
What is the backstory behind ‘White’?
The song is about the type of night where things start to go a bit pear-shaped, people get intoxicated and one person says the wrong thing and the night escalates. I always end up being the mediator trying desperately to defuse the situation.
What was the writing and recording process like?
That’s a very difficult question to answer, it changes every time! Sometimes songs can come fast, they come out pretty fully formed lyrics and music. Then other times I would start with chord progression on guitar and vocal melody mumblings, then I’ll write the lyrics to the melody. Recently, I’ve been really loving writing songs on bass, something that’s pretty alien to me.
If you could tour with a single artist (living or dead), who would it be and why?
Neil Young, without question. He’s been my favourite songwriter since I was a kid. Selfishly, I’d just love to watch him play every night.
What is your creative process?
It usually starts with songs I write in my home studio. Sometimes I’ll demo them properly or sometimes it’s a bit more loose. We then pull them apart in rehearsal and the rest of the band sprinkle their magic on them.
Describe your music in a single sentence.
Poppy little nuggets.
What are your future plans?
We’ve got a few more singles in the bag that we recorded before the lockdown situation and we were very lucky to do that. Hopefully, we can get in the studio again early next year to record some more. Gigs obviously aren’t really happening at the moment; there might be a few socially distanced gigs later in the year but I wouldn’t like to jinx it.
What do you hope people take from your music?
The hope is that people can connect to it in their own way, whether that’s finding something in the lyrics they can relate to or just something in the music.