Interview with Finding Aurora: ‘It’s all about the rhythm, the drum and the groove’

Newport, Wales grunge alt-rock band Finding Aurora are set to record their debut EP next month.

The band comprises Sam Wagenaar Jenkins (vocals and guitar), Lloyd Flower (guitar and backing vocals), Luc Simmonds (bass) and Nick Williams (drums). ‘The band started with me, Nick and Luc back in high school,’ Wagenaar Jenkins said. ‘Lloyd and I met at university about four years ago, he was in a band then called The Rozelles, they sounded like T. Rex and The Strokes had a baby (laughs). It was one of those friendships when you know straight away it’s going to be one of those things. I always believe in those friendships that are really true. We’re all fond of each other, we’re like brothers instead of band mates. We do it because we love it.’ Their band name is a reference to the Foo Fighters’ song ‘Aurora’: ‘It’s a really nice word, it’s a reference to the ideology of looking for the best things in life,’ Wagenaar Jenkins said.

Their debut EP will be ‘a bit more 90’s post-grunge, a bit softer lyrically but keeping that rock element’, according to Wagenaar Jenkins: ‘It’s all new stuff, there’s a really good song we play live, it has my favourite chorus. The themes are uplifting. This song is about getting through life and finding the balance. I’m trying to write more stuff that is uplifting.’

‘It’s about mental health, exhaustion and burnout’

Last month, they released their track ‘The Never-Ending’, which opens with a Bond-theme worthy, blistering riff of A, F, D, G and D set against frenetic drumming from Williams, complete with hooky drum rolls. The fuzzy, distorted riffs and grungy vocals paired with the heavy bass are pure Seattle grunge, albeit it with a modern twist: ‘The song was written about three to four years ago. I had the chords but it wasn’t ready, so we scrapped it,’ Wagenaar Jenkins said. ‘Last year, we brought it back to life. Our previous guitarist Sean plays on the track. We’ve got other versions of it. We were inspired by Pearl Jam’s 10 album, Nirvana, the Foos and Pretenders. It’s about mental health, exhaustion and burnout. It’s nothing too personal.’

As they write more songs, he is increasingly thinking about the storytelling in a song: ‘I’ve started paying a lot more attention to the lyrics and what they mean,’ he said. ‘When we started out, I didn’t know what to write about lyrically. I was just writing things that rhymed (laughs) but now I’m trying to have more of a sense of story. It’s nice to have an image in your head. I think the lyrics should reflect what you’re doing instrumentally.’

Williams feels like the glue in every song, such is the power and passion in his drumming, pouring the same kind of fevered energy into it that you associate with Dave Grohl or Taylor Hawkins and it’s no surprise that bands such as Cardiff punk band Panic Shack have borrowed him: ‘Nick is the most talented drummer and musician I know,’ Wagenaar Jenkins said enthusiastically. ‘He can play anything. I speak to him in stupid drum terms (laughs) and he can understand it and just play it.’

‘I thought it would be sick if we had that beat from that Rush album’

Typically, Wagenaar Jenkins will write the foundation of a song and take it to the others: ‘Last night, we practiced a new song, it’s groovy and really exciting. A song always starts with a chord progression, then a bridge, verse etc. I write on an electric (guitar). If you write something on an electric guitar and then play it on the piano, you might find new melodies that you don’t find on the guitar.’ Lyrics are always on his mind as is the realisation that it’s difficult to be truly original: ‘I’m thinking of lyrics every day! With ‘The Never-Ending’, I thought it would be sick if we had that beat from a Rush album. I’m always trying to listen to new music. You take it in and make your own interpretations. How many different chords and rhythms can you use? The 90’s used them all (laughs). Every song has been written, it’s hard to be totally original. One of the best challenges as a musician is to write something different every time, it’s very hard to do. You’ve got to push yourself and put yourself into challenging situations with your songwriting, you don’t just want to write the same song over and over.’

We chat for a bit about how enjoyable it is when a song has a sonic element that you’re not expecting, whether it’s an interesting chromatic chord progression or unexpected key change and how that kind of twist can take a song to a far more exciting place: ‘I listen to songs and think it’ll go to a D but then they do something totally different,’ he said. ‘It’s about the best option for the song. I think I realised of late that it’s all about the rhythm, the drum and the groove. Imagine what AC/DC would sound like with a thrashy drum! Dave Grohl took a lot of that stuff and put it into Nirvana.’

‘We do gang vocals, it explodes in the chorus, it sounds like an opera!’

One of their tracks replete with sonic surprises is ‘Back For You’, which they released last year. It has the same kind of infectious energy as ‘The Never-Ending’ and the same four main chords but the rhythm changes in both the verse and the pre-chorus and the “oh oh’s” pull it along as they build: ‘I thought it could be anthemic, I have a knack for writing catchy choruses,’ he said. ‘All my favourite bands have catchy choruses. In this one, we do gang vocals, it explodes in the chorus, it sounds like an opera! I don’t know if people know the lyrics to the verses (laughs) but who cares as long as they sing along to the chorus. It’s a punky rock song.’

As the lyrics highlight, it is about coming back to someone or something and realising that what you had was one of the best things you’ve had: ‘Something or someone you connect with, it could be music or something else, thinking about your memories,’ he said. ‘A lot of inspiration is from experiences but the lyrics don’t have to come from a personal place – although there’s probably something of me in there – but it can be about someone’s experience, it doesn’t have to be yours. One of my favourite songs is ‘Jeremy’ by Pearl Jam. (The inspiration came from the tragic story of Jeremy Wade Delle, a 15-year-old boy from Richardson, Texas, who took his own life in front of his classmates in 1991.) The way Eddie Vedder sings about it, he tells the story, it’s a new disturbing thing. Eddie Vedder is an amazing guy, one of those legends. I looked it up, he was 27 when he wrote 10. I’m 23 now, I thought: “Why am I worrying?!” I still have some time (laughs).’

In tracks such as ‘Kickaround’, his influences are most visible, channelling the heavier side of grunge with its raw, thrashier kick: ‘I recorded the guitars in this room using my Marshall Amp,’ he said. ‘I wanted to write something more early-Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam etc. It’s got a super powerful rock chorus, it wrote itself in 10 minutes. Those are the best songs ever.’

If he could go for a pint with anyone, Wagenaar Jenkins is torn between three legends: ‘I want to say Dave Grohl, he’s my hero, but I would totally meet up with Brian Johnson from AC/DC. You know, I’ve got a Queen and Nirvana poster here (he shows me). Maybe the singer of Twister Sister (Dee Snider), he’s crazy and amazing. Actually, you know what? Because I’m Welsh, I’d pick Kelly Jones from Stereophonics. I saw them in Cardiff last, Kelly played the piano and got out his acoustic guitar. I think he’s a big music fan and lover. Kelly’s very-story driven, I’d like to find out about his inspirations. I think he’s friends with Brian Johnson, so they could tell me stories!’

(Top photo from left to right: Lloyd, Sam, Luc and Nick.)