Manchester experimental-hardcore four-piece Follow Your Dreams are no strangers to Manchester Punk Festival, and are always a band worth checking out, if you’re still deciding who to go and see.
Get to know the band a bit, and read about their chaotic set at last years MPF, before you make up your mind!
Firstly, how did you all meet and when did Follow Your Dreams form?
Kaz: We all met at gigs really, from what I can remember! Tom, Boff and Bren were all in Rising Strike and we used to see each other a lot when they were playing around Manchester. I’ve also watched Tom’s previous band, Sense of Urgency a fair bit. We all just got chatting and would hang out. Iain is a similar story but a little later on.
Iain: I got asked to join in 2022 but I did put FYD on to their joint 2nd ever gig.
Tom: I remember Rising Strike’s sax player, Tommy, having a drunk conversation with Kaz about her doing some vocals for us, as she’d been going to gigs and helping organise loads of stuff to do with TNS and MPF but had never got on stage and wanted to try it. Rising Strike didn’t last long enough after for that to happen but the idea carried over into the side project me, Boff and Bren started. First gig was in late 2018 at pie race in Leeds, and Kaz went from being all nerves and feeling sick to singing upside down from the girder above the crowd in no time. After the album we wanted more heft and flexibility in the sound and Iain, who I started (drag rupaul covers band) Snatch Game with, was the obvious choice.
For anyone not familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound?
Kaz: Weird, loud and always changing!
Tom: We’re the hardcore side of punk, with a riot grrl influence in there too, but with lots of weird riffs and enough of an experimental edge that people have described us as “proggy” she “jazzy” which I don’t know how to feel about.
If you had to recommend one of your songs to a new listener, which one would you choose?
Kaz: I love “who’s there? depression”. It’s really fun to play and sort of takes you through the varying stages of how depression can make you feel. There’s some gloomy bits but also some proper fun, manic bits. It’s perfect for a bit of crowd fun too!
Iain: Maggots is a belter, I also love Rinse and Repeat, Out of Order and Not Your Meat
Tom: Rinse and Repeat is probably the blueprint that the rest of our music is based on.
What can we expect from your set at MPF?
Kaz: Weird time signatures, melty chugs, twiddles and me screaming in your face! I’m hoping we can get to crowd involved too! Stage diving is encouraged!
Tom: We’re at Gorilla, late afternoon on the first day, which is pretty ideal as everyone’s still buzzing from meeting up with MPFs (mates, pals, friends) but aren’t yet too drunk or hungover to walk between the venues! We will be loud, heavy, and synthy with an onslaught of fast, complicated drumming to shake the cobwebs off!
Are there any other bands on the line-up you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?
Kaz: There are loads of bands for me but I’m really excited to see Native James again (pre show), Waterweed (from Japan), Forever Unclean (my lovely friends for Denmark) and I’m well keen to see Sewer Cats smash out the Union!
Iain: Helle, Period Drama, Snatch Game, Knife Club, In Evil Hour, Grail Gaurd.
Tom: Period Drama yes! Also Redeemon, Two Tonne Machete and a bunch of others. My clashfinder is a terrible mess.
You’re kind of MPF veterans – do you have any favourite memories of playing MPF?
Kaz: My favourite memory was our very first time! It was something silly like our 5th gig and we played Zombie Shack and it was 1 in and 1 out. We’ve had loads of great memories since then but that for me, so early on was really special! Singing on the bar last year at BreadShed was pretty cool too!
Iain: Last year’s FYD set was certainly memorable….
Tom: Yeah, the bass amp set on fire, the electrics on stage were coming in and out, and I couldn’t even see where Kaz was for most of it. The first one (MPF 2019, at Zombie Shack) was very special though.
What else are you up to this year – any tours/festivals/releases you want to tell us about?
We’re focusing on writing new stuff at the moment so there’s not much to write about! Hopefully we’ll have our second album ready to record soon…
And finally, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Kaz: We’d love for people to come down and watch us or check us out if you haven’t seen us before! Get involved, have a dance, just have tonnes of fun but keep the space safe and inclusive for everyone.
Thank you so much to Follow Your Dreams for answering these questions. Manchester Punk Festival takes place 18-20 April 2025 – full details and tickets here
You can find Follow Your Dreams on Instagram // Facebook // Bandcamp
