Have you been watching the new series of The Voice UK on ITV?
Well Chester Live are stupidly excited to announce that current quarter finalists Into The Ark will headline The Live Rooms, Chester as part of Chester Live 2017.
Hailing from
South Wales, the Into the Ark boys were no strangers the stage before they made waves on The Voice UK. Dan & Taylor have already toured all over the UK in their camper van, and have already released music.
As one of the favourites to win The Voice UK, the duo are ready to take their musical career to another level, and already have plans for major UK tours in May and June 2017.
Into The Ark are Dane Lloyd & Taylor Jones. Hailing from Blackwood in South Wales, Dane & Taylor’s story is one that probably resonates with many aspiring musicians and dreamers across the globe. They met and bonded over their passion for gigging and their love for writing and each other’s taste in music. But it’s their hauntingly pitch perfect harmonies and beautiful lyrics that set this duo apart.
Before they met the boys were solo performers, and at their first encounter they realised they were into the same music. Dane was 14 & Taylor 18. This instant friendship enabled the boys to get on stage and perform together. A very spur of the moment thing but one they’ve not regretted. “We noticed how well our voices blended and surprisingly the response from the crowd said it all,” says Dane.
They decided they would try their hand at busking in Cardiff, and after making enough money to buy beer and pizzas one afternoon, the boys decided to cement their partnership and into the ark was born. After some time backpacking around Australia – the boys headed home to record a 4 track EP at a local studio. The tracks sounded great so they uploaded their songs to YouTube without any clue of how to crack the music industry – and at that point, the boys decided to go travelling once more and headed for Tunisia in North Africa. Dane & Taylor stayed for 6 months performing in various holiday resorts and learning about music and songwriting from people they met along the way. Whilst they were there, Sony contacted them showing an interest in their YouTube music, which prompted them to come home.
Following a few very nervous showcases in front of intimidating industry folk, the boys found management and together a plan was hatched to do things ‘old school’. The boys had saved nearly enough money from busking so borrowed a bit of cash from the Bank of Mum & Dad and bought themselves a second hand van – the idea was to stick mattresses, guitars, clothes and a sat nav in the back of the van and set off around the UK doing gigs in front of as many people as possible. No matter what the venue or the town. Their aim is to play 150 shows over the next 6 months.
Speaking about why they love music, Dane explains “When we hear Otis Redding sing it transports us to another realm. You can feel the pain, the passion and the soul in it all. Music is the only thing that really gives us this feeling. Like a chef trying to describe why he loves to cook, there are so many different tastes & textures it becomes impossible to pin point why. All you know is you like the way it tastes and I think that’s all that matters.”
First release tickets are on sale now at www.chesterlive.co.uk.