Amoeba Teen were founded by critically acclaimed songwriting team, Mark Britton and Mike Turner. Armed with a four-track tape recorder and junk shop guitars, Britton and Turner began writing together back in the dying embers of the last century. We think they absolutely great and we had a little chat with the band to find out more ahead of the release of their new album…
Q1: Who is in your band?
Mark Britton (Vox, Guitar), Mike Turner (Vox, Guitar), Carl Bayliss (Drums, B Vox), Simon Muttitt (Bass)
Q2: What is your take on your own sound?
Power pop hooks and harmonies, with a twist of alt country.
Q3: If you someone was listening to your music for the first time, what song would you tell them to listen to and why?
Carl: Check out Looking For Power – I think it showcases both sides of the band – delicate, almost folky and then rocks out!
Mike: This Spark and Long Live Memory Lane. I know that’s two, but it highlights where the heart of the band is for me. Powerful melodies and hooks, melody, crunchy guitars, but embracing a grander soundscape from time to time.
Simon: Clementine – it’s a good representation of where we are at the moment; how we are mixing the folkier pop side with crunchier guitar sound.
Mark: This Spark because I think it’s immediate and showcases the band’s harmonies. It’s the gateway drug to the rest of our material.
Q4: What is the plan for 2019?
We’re finalising our next album (entitled Medium Wave) and plan to release it 1st June on Big Stir Records. A highlight of the year will be performing at the International Pop Overthrow festival at The Cavern Club during May.
Q5: What is the one song you wish you wrote?
Mike: Beetlebum- Blur. It put an end to the whole Britpop nonsense once and for all, a daring band with a vision of where they wanted to steer towards. Either that or Life On Mars – Bowie. That song is perfection.
Carl: Happy Birthday – one of the highest earning songs ever, so would have set me up for life!
Simon: It’s a three-way tie between Wichita Line Man – it really is perfect. Its lush arrangement and sense of melancholy yet still remains romantically uplifting, Love Will Tear Us Apart – similar reasons and lastly, You Really Got Me by The Kinks – perfect mix of pop hooks and rock n roll riffs.
Mark: Joining A Fanclub by Jellyfish; it never ceases to blow my mind.
Q6: What three bands inspired or continue to inspire you the most?
Mike: Teenage Fanclub, Fountains Of Wayne, Dinosaur Jr. (Just 3! Ouch!)
Carl: Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five, Jellyfish, The Wildhearts
Simon: Wilco, My Bloody Valentine, Talking Heads
Mark: Wilco, Turin Brakes, Beatles, Teenage Fanclub.
Q7: Where can our readers see you live or listen to your music?
Your best first place to go is www.amoebateen.com where you can download a whole album for free. Also buying our music direct really helps support the band’s continual bad habits.
Q8: If your band was an animal, what would it be and why?
Mike: A mole, blindly burrowing away on our own path, occasionally surfacing into the blinking light. Sometimes acknowledged, mainly ignored or forgotten about.
Carl: An owl – wise and respected by other animals
Simon: Something nocturnal like a hamster, just getting on and creating its own thing whilst the rest of the world is sleeping.