News In The Studio: Theme Park

“We had a funk-off at one point…” divulges Miles Haughton, when we sit down with Theme Park on a visit to their Hackney studio. “There was one line and no one really knew who was going to play it, so we hid in the corner so that Producer Luke couldn’t see us and we each played it. He picked the one which was the best, and it happened to be Oscar.”

“I actually didn’t want to play the bass because Miles is a such a superior bass player to me,” offers up Oscar Manthorpe, before Miles reassures: “Above all we want the album to sound really good, so if someone wants to play an instrument in one song, that comes secondary to who can play it best.”

Meeting them exactly halfway into the recording process for their debut album, Oscar fills us in on the stage that they’re at now. “We’ve got a lot of quality done, I think! Now is an issue of quantity. Once you get into the pace of making things that you’re happy with, it’s having the momentum, and taking that to the end.”

Inevitably, as with any debut, there’s a lot of anticipation surrounding the album, but what is it that the band would like to achieve with it? “I’d like it to be quite varied and I’d like it to be maybe a marker of ourselves musically for the last four years,” offer Miles. “Obviously, the band hasn’t been around for that long, but we’ve been doing other things. Hopefully, we’ll be able to look back on it in ten years and think that it was an accurate thing of where we were at that point.”

“Ultimately, you want it to be a reflection of the various things that you’ve listened to, and the person you are,’ Oscar concurs. ‘If it sounds limited as an album, I’d have to reassess what I was listening to and the things that I was doing. When you make music, it’s a reflection of how you want to be as a creative individual or as a band.”

And what was it that drew the band to work with Luke Smith as producer? “Initially, we had just heard some of the other stuff that he had done. He worked with a friend of mine who spoke highly of him,” explains Miles. “He has a really strong idea of how he likes to do things. He does things properly and there aren’t really any shortcuts. He just really cares about the fidelity and the sound quality.”

“It’s quite gruelling,” adds Oscar. “And there are times when I feel quite nervous! But I know that ultimately, he just wants the best for the project.”

So, when might we expect to hear their first offering? “There’s talk of late August, early September,” pipes up Miles’ twin brother, Marcus. “It’s written in the diary!”

Theme Park’s new single ‘Two Hours’ is out now via Transgressive Records. Their debut album is due later this year.

Taken from the June 2012 issue of DIY, available now. For more details click here.