MANCHESTER OR LONDON? SAINT CLAIR SPEAK ON MUSIC CULTURE, THEIR DEBUT EP AND WHAT’S TO COME!

INTERVIEW | SAINT CLAIR by Jasmin Savage

London based band Saint Clair have already had a spectacular run so far, even earning themselves a place in the NME 100 Artists of 2026. After releasing their debut EP Something To Be Said back in July, the band have only gone uphill from here. I had a chat with Toby, Lawrence and Adam about all things Saint Clair – touring, northern music culture, and more! Here’s what they had to say…

Your EP came out a month ago now. What’s it been like to have such a positive response to the collection of songs?

Yeah, couldn’t have gone any better really. All of us together as a group sat on these songs; built them through and got them to a place where we wanted to put them out; and now people are receiving them and, you know, we’re playing them live and honestly it can’t be better than it is. We’re just growing out in the open now. Our aim is to keep going, keep releasing more music and people will jump on for the ride. 

What’s each of your favourite songs from the EP?

Toby and Lawrence: Probably ‘Something To Be Said’. You just can’t miss it off man.

Adam: Mines probably ‘Warm’, but honourable mention to ‘Gretchen’. I always liked the song obviously, but as soon as we started playing it live, it was really special.

Which song do you think is the fan favourite?

I think ‘Gretchen’, maybe because it’s a little bit different to the other stuff on the EP. I mean, I guess everything’s quite different. It was amazing for us to see all these people, all these dudes our age singing this like very soft love song at the end of the day on social media channels. It was special. I think there’s something in that song that we perhaps didn’t see as we were doing it, and I think people have now latched onto it. Obviously people are going to love the loud ones but if you can hold them in with the quiet ones then I think it’s great. ‘Too Young To Notice’ is a big fan favourite live too.

Even with such a short collection of songs, you still have quite a diverse range with them. What bands were you inspired by when making the EP?

So many. We’re massive music sponges. Like I’m not quite focusing on “I want this to sound like this”, but we were inspired by so many different things. You’ve got the early Coldplay stuff, to slightly heavier bands, like Radiohead, and we love the simplicity of Elliott Smith’s writing. Whereas like the modern day age of production, you’re gonna be knocking on the doors of Fontaines, Wunderhorse and stuff like that. Obviously it’s very different for each member, so when we come towards writing a song, I think everyone’s got their own spin on things and different tastes, which has worked really well so far. It all stems from Toby and an acoustic guitar, so none of the songs go too far away from that feeling.

The design for the EP cover looks really cool. What was the inspiration behind that?

We were really trying to think, “how can we make an image/visual that looks like how the music sounds?” and we found some things that we really enjoyed. It was the first time where all four of us agreed on something aesthetically, which was great. As soon as we started to get into the process, everything started to sort of find itself. It was a little bit of unfortunate timing that there happened to be a lot of star-shaped things after we’d made the plan to do that, but I think we’re really proud of that cover. 

You’re just about to support Declan McKenna on his upcoming shows. Are you prepared? Are you excited?

Yeah, we’re prepared. We’ve just come off of a run anyway. We’ve had a couple weeks off. We’ve also been very busy, we’ve been finishing… some stuff. We’re really excited, it’s going to be so cool, because not only are we supporting Declan McKenna, but also in venues that are the size that we want to be shooting for in around 6 months to a year’s time. It’s in such interesting places as well, places we would never have been able to play this early on if it wasn’t for this opportunity. It’s going to be wicked to see his fanbase engage with him in smaller rooms. 

Are you excited to potentially take on a new sort of fanbase by supporting him?

Yeah, I think we’re excited to play in front of a new fanbase but I think what we’ve found is a lot of the people that really enjoy this stuff become Saint Clair fans as opposed to becoming fans of X, Y and Z bands that like Saint Clair. Like the people that really hang onto us to some extent. We’re really excited to play in new rooms, and I think I could see someone going to the Declan McKenna concert and really enjoying our set. It’s going to be really exciting to see who comes and sticks around. 

What are some of your tour essentials?

Noise cancelling earphones (haha). We can all get, not sick of each other, but I think it’s about those silent moments. It’s so important to have that, like you’ve gotta do your own thing and can’t rely on the internal energy of the band to keep going. The fire can only burn for so long. You become this little ecosystem just doing your own thing and there’s a nice little hour where we’re all off the headphones having a great time. Games as well, like some sort of board game or cards. Always bring a football as well. For this supporting tour I think we’ve got a van with a little TV so we need to get the FIFA out. 

You’ll be going on your very own tour in October. Which venues are you most excited to play?

Really looking forward to playing Oporto in Leeds and Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham. It makes sense to play The George Tavern, so we’re massively excited for that. It’s been a long time coming. We’re also excited to go back to Liverpool, so the Jacaranda. 

As well as your headline dates, you’ll be playing Neighbourhood Festival. Are you looking forward to taking over the streets of Manchester?

We had the opportunity to play the outdoor festival last year, we’re well up for the way that Manchester just embraces you, and it’s really cool. We’ve not managed to play Manchester since so it’s nice that it is part of our tour in October to play Neighbourhood. I can’t wait to do that, get that experience of the festival lineup. 

Will you be attending the festival before and/or after your set? If so, who are you looking forward to seeing?

You never really know until you’re there. If there’s a chance, we always love to try and catch one or two acts, or even just a bit of people’s sets. I really want to catch a bit of Tooth, and The North as well. We’d also love to catch Florence Road. We still haven’t managed to catch Girl In The Year Above so that’s one we’d like to see too.

It’s widely believed that Manchester has the best music scene culturally. Do you agree, or do you think London is better?

Adam: I think Manchester tops it.

Toby and Lawrence: NAHHHHHH

I just don’t know because obviously we don’t know Manchester too well but I do believe in the ‘soul of the earth’ vibe of Manchester where you’re there to embrace it. Whereas London is a bit more ‘anti-each-other’, you’re there to do your own thing. There is so much in London to get your teeth sunk into, but I’m sure there’s so many opportunities in Manchester.

Being from London, do you enjoy travelling up north to submerge yourself in that sort of cultural difference?

Yeah, any excuse to get out of London is always welcomed. It’s just better up north. It’s fresh air finally. Anytime we’re up north as well, for me, it feels like it’s almost kind of a tour because you’re so far away from what you know and the stresses. We love London, don’t get me wrong, but we normally stay with Adam’s parents in Consett and it’s really beautiful up there. I think we have a love-hate relationship with London. None of us grew up here to the full extent so leaving is quite nice. We just landed here and that’s kind of where the heart of it is, and a lot of our teen years too.

Have you got anything else coming soon?

New merch. If you’re at the Declan McKenna shows, come get some cool merch. Worth spending your pocket money on it. We also have something coming before the end of the year…

Listen to Something To Be Said – the debut EP by Saint Clair: here

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See Saint Clair amongst countless amazing artists at Neighbourhood Festival (tickets here), or catch the band on their very own headline tour in October. TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW.

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