Affleck’s Palace formed in summer 2019, shortly releasing their first single ‘Forever Young’ in the following September, which officially made their mark on the indie/psyche-guitar front. Named after Manchester’s multi-story market treasure, the four-piece were described as ‘the birth of Nu-Madchester’ by Manchester Lemon.
We caught up with their guitarist, Dan Stapleton, following their recent addition to the Neighbourhood lineup…
Tell us a bit about yourselves! Where are you from and how did your band form?
We’ve all known each other for a while, playing in various bands doing covers for a bit of fun. Jay heard me playing a riff I’d written which would become ‘Forever Young’, our first single. He loved it and wrote a tune around it. It all came about from that really. The uptake was unexpected but encouraging, so we decided to keep at it and write a few more tunes, leading to the first EP.
Who are your main influences and how have they impacted your music?
For me personally, it’s bands like The Beatles, The Smiths, Stone Roses etc that have always turned me on the most. Big tunes and interesting music. But Afflecks Palace as a whole is a melting pot of all of our favourite music. Prince & Nirvana via The Byrds and Johnny Marr is how I hear it. J is influenced by a lot of similar stuff but with a pinch of Minor Threat, Fugazi and post-hardcore stuff thrown in. It’s pretty varied.
What inspired you to rework ‘Praise You’, your most recent single?
We were initially asked to re-work it by BT Sports to soundtrack the Premier League. That kind of fell by the wayside, but we liked it so much we decided to put it out as a single. People are into it and it always goes down great live.
What does your songwriting process look like, and what would you say is your favourite track you’ve written so far?
It varies, but usually it starts with an idea either J or myself have. Either a bass line, a guitar riff or vocal idea. We knock up some rough demo’s and hash it out from there, always refining it until we have the finished song. Favourite song so far changes, it’s usually the most recent one we’ve written. Of what’s been released so far, probably ‘We Can Be The Avalanche’ or maybe ’Spinner’ from our first LP.
You’ve recently been added to the Neighbourhood lineup for this October. Are you guys excited to play? Who else are you excited to see play?
Yeah of course, we’ve always wanted to play the venue we’re performing at, which will be announced soon! Excited to see Everything Everything play for sure. And our label-mates Pastel will be performing nearby on the same day, so we’ll head down to that as well.
What can we expect from Afflecks Palace in the years to come?
Our 2nd LP is out in early 2023 and it’s gonna blow people away. The songs, the lyrics, the recording… the whole thing is levelled up from the first album. Honestly, I can’t wait for it to be out in the world.
Watch their new music video for ‘Dancing Is Not A Crime’ HERE and click here to listen to Afflecks Palace.