Hudson Taylor talk to Duncan Hall about growing up as a musical partnership and warming up for the Stones

HUDSON TAYLOR

Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Friday, February 13

Doors 7pm, SOLD OUT.

Call 01273 673311 for returns

THE title of brothers Alfie and Harry Hudson-Taylor’s forthcoming debut album Singing For Strangers harks back to their formative years playing in Dublin and London.

“Busking and open mics were hugely important,” says the bequiffed Alfie ahead of the pair’s biggest headline tour to date, hot on the heels of support slots with Jake Bugg in 2014.

“When we started out we would sing 1960s covers and contemporary songs. When we realised people liked our versions of Twist And Shout and Katy Perry’s Firework we started to think about our own songs and realised we needed to get them more like that.”

They learned their craft through a series of EPs, beginning with their self-released debut Battles in 2012.

The EP topped the Irish iTunes chart, and reached number 14 in the UK equivalent – earning them a record deal with the major label Polydor.

Further EPs Cinematic Lifestyle, Osea, and Battles II, as well as the singles Weapons and Chasing Rubies, have provided tasters of the forthcoming album – which is characterised by a clean acoustic guitar-driven folk-pop sound and their interlocking vocal harmonies.

“It was testing our sound and trying to find different producers, finding what would work,” says Alfie. “I don’t think we would have been as happy with the album if we hadn’t waited so long to make it.”

When it came to recording the pair tried to recreate their live sound.

“It seemed to work when the two of us were in the room together rather than recording one by one,” says Alfie.

Helping out behind the scenes was Jake Bugg and Snow Patrol collaborator Iain Archer.

“He was like another one in the band,” says Alfie. “We would write songs there and then in the studio – I have great memories where we would be jamming and something would come out from there.”

At the heart of the band is Alfie and Harry’s relationship – having grown up together and learnt to play music as a family unit.

“We have a really cool relationship with each other,” says Alfie. “We have always been quite close, but we are both very different at the same time. It’s nice to bounce ideas off people, and in my case Harry and I know each other so well. We grew up together writing poems when we were four years old – there’s a history there.”

Harry had always been into music, while Alfie had concentrated on dance as a teenager. When the younger Alfie decided to learn to play the guitar they started playing cover songs together in their native Dublin.

“We thought it was a bit of fun at best,” says Alfie. “Then our manager got in contact. We went to London for two weeks and realised we could make a living off music. That has been our goal ever since – we know we don’t want to do anything else.”

The brothers got a taste of the big time last summer when they ended up sharing a stage with the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, having originally been booked to play a smaller show on one of the other park stages.

“We were having a few drinks and buzzing after our set, getting ready to watch the Stones,” says Alfie. “Then they said we needed to fill in for Tom Odell on the main stage as he had a chest infection and couldn’t play.

“It was so last minute. We just jumped on and did 45 minutes – we were smiling from ear to ear. It was total chance and an unbelievable experience – a career highlight before we had even released our album.”