One of the most rewarding aspects of the Red Light Sessions has been giving emerging artists a platform to share their music with a wider audience.
Created in partnership with Milburn drummer Joe Green, we have welcomed everyone from established names to emerging talent, pairing live performances and in-depth interviews with beautifully shot sessions that capture artists in a different light.
This summer, we decided to take things a step further by focusing on helping grassroots music in the city.
Bands from across the region were invited to enter a competition to win a professionally recorded live session at Electric Studios with Dan Booth, a photoshoot with Emma Ledwith and an appearance on the Red Light Podcast. After working our way through hundreds of applications, we selected three winners – Since Torino, Wynter and Tellyeaters.
First up is Tellyeaters. Still relatively early in their journey, Tellyeaters have already built a reputation for intense live shows, ambitious songwriting and a sound that pulls from post-punk, shoegaze and indie rock in equal measure. We sat down with Dan McGrail (vocals), Otto (drums) and Tom Naylor (bass) to find out more.
First things first, tell us a little bit about the band and how it all came together.
Dan: “I’m the frontman and lyric writer. I was the second-to-last to join the band. I met these guys in sixth form. We learned a Front Bottoms song, and that’s what started it all.”
Tom: “We’ve all been at the same school for ages. Me and Otto had been in the same class since year seven. Eventually, we all ran into each other in the practice rooms in sixth form.”
Otto: “There were basically two separate groups trying to start bands, and then we all ended up coming together.”
Otto: “It sounded surprisingly good, and we thought, ‘Oh, there’s something here.'”
Tom: “Then we recruited Dan and Oscar.”
Otto: “Oscar had always been heavily involved, so eventually we thought it didn’t make sense not to have him in the band.”
How would you describe the Tellyeaters sound?
Tom: “I always just say alt-rock.”
Otto: “Somebody once wrote that our music had ‘teeth’, and I quite liked that description.”
Dan: “There’s shoegaze in there, post-punk and lots of different influences. All five of us bring completely different tastes to the table, but there are some bands we all agree on.”
Otto: “Shame are a big one.”
Dan: “Dinosaur Jr as well.”
Otto: “Pavement.”
Tom: “The Wedding Present.”
Dan: “The songs we use on our Instagram posts are probably quite a good representation of what we all listen to.”
You’ve only been playing live for a relatively short amount of time. How have things changed since those early gigs?
Dan: “Our first gig was around Christmas 2024, but we’d been playing together for months before that.”
Tom: “I keep a list of all the gigs we’ve played. I think we’re at 16 at the moment.”
Otto: “They’ve definitely got louder.”
Dan: “We’ve carved out the guitar sound much more. In the beginning, we were still trying to work out what we wanted to be.”
Tom: “I remember turning up with completely different gear from what I play now.”
Otto: “We kept changing everything every gig – pedals, setups, tones.”
Tom: “I think we’ve found where we are now.”
Dan: “At first, I was just figuring out what being a frontman actually meant.”
Otto: “That’s why some people come to see us – to watch Dan jumping around.”
Dan: “I started feeling this frustration on stage, and that’s become part of the songwriting. Seeing people’s reactions just makes me more energetic.”
Your latest material feels like it’s dealing with a lot of change. Was that intentional?
Dan: “With the new EP, it starts out with frustrations about changes around Sheffield, but then it widens out into frustrations about being this age. Your friends move away to different cities and suddenly you feel isolated from people.”
Otto: “It’s our lives, but it’s the lives of a lot of people who come to see us as well.”
Dan: “It’s probably the most turbulent point in your life. You could go in any direction.”
Otto: “There’s a lot of change.”
Dan: “It’s like you’re suddenly not a kid any more, but you’re not really a grown-up either.”
A lot of your friends are moving away. Are you all doing the same?
Dan: “Tom and Jackson are already in Leeds, and I’m moving there later this year.”
Otto: “I’m heading to Manchester.”
So the band carries on?
Otto: “We’ll see how it goes, but I definitely think it’s doable.”
Dan: “Absolutely.”
One of the songs touches specifically on Sheffield. Where did that come from?
Dan: “I wanted to choose something really specific to get worked up about, and I thought the changing landscape of Sheffield was quite amusing.”
Otto: “A lot of people got behind it.”
Dan: “The bins are quite annoying.”
Otto: “I think there’s probably a movement behind it at this point. Dan and I both studied English language, so some of that definitely found its way into the songs.”
Dan: “The final line references dialect levelling theory. We basically turned our revision into lyrics.”
Your latest EP, The Future Is Still 3D, feels like a big step forward sonically.
Dan: “Earlier this year we went to Leeds and recorded five tracks.”
Tom: “The first EP and the newer material feel completely separate.”
Otto: “The first release was very DIY, but this one has a bigger sound to it.”
Dan: “Oscar can play guitar and synths, so that really opened things up.”
Otto: “The sound is much fuller now. It feels more theatrical, which kind of fits with Dan’s performance style.”
Where did the name Tellyeaters come from?
Dan: “We had a list of about 20 names. I came across the title of a song called Sun Eaters and really liked it. Then I looked up and realised I was watching television at the same time.”
Tom: “The two things just clicked together.”
Dan: “I still think there’s some meaning behind it. It’s about consumption.”
Tom: “I always think of it as taking up the time people would otherwise spend watching television.”
Dan: “Then we discovered there was an old clip from The Young Ones where somebody literally eats a television.”
What have you got coming up next?
Dan: “The main thing is Tramlines Fringe.”
Otto: “We’re playing Sidney & Matilda alongside loads of our friends.”
Tom: “Someone from Substandards actually produced our EP, so we’re hoping to catch them as well.”
Otto: “It’s one of our favourite venues.”
Dan: “Beyond that, we’ve already written another song.”
Tom: “We’ve played it a couple of times already.”
Otto: “We’ve not mapped everything out yet, but we’ll definitely keep going.”
Dan: “We’re not stopping.”
