ABSNT MIND: “Us having a voice in the writing process – for boybands, that wasn’t really heard of"

ABSNT MIND is not your everyday boy band.

The five band members range in age from 18 to 20 and hail from cities across England and Northern Ireland. Their sound is by no means the insipid industry standard; the boys' musical interests and influences are incredibly diverse, lending to a sound that blends genres in a way that breaks through the noise of modern pop music.

Conor Marcus, 20, from Belfast: a bundle of energy who gravitates to the piano in the room, whose talent for songwriting shines through ever since his solo ventures.

Alex Benson, 20, from Chester: cool, calm, collected, with big dreams for the band's future.

Freddie Meyer, 18, from Derby: an avid enjoyer of Jeff Buckley, the quietest and youngest of the group.

Ashton Henry-Reid, 20, from London: well-spoken, stylish, a connisseur of R&B and pop.

Oscar Williams, 19, from Yorkshire: undoubtedly talented, proud of his guitars.

The five have been developing their talent for the past three years. After they auditioned and formed the band in 2022, they spent a year of incubation before their first public gig.

Absnt Mind. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Their start in performing saw them go back to school. The band took the stage at around 250 schools across the UK and Ireland, performing at a relentless rate: five shows a day, five days a week, early mornings and late nights. Eventually, they played their own headline shows and a few tours — one at Dublin's The Academy — and most recently wrapped up a tour as support for Olly Murs.

The switch from gymnasiums to stadiums was jarring but exhilarating. The lads left the Murs' tour inspired: Meyer dreams of selling out Madison Square Garden, Henry-Reid hopes for special features on a world tour, Williams longs for a Glastonbury headline.

But for now, they start small. Well, small-ish. They released their latest single 'SIMPATICO' on August 1 and have a couple of upcoming gigs. ABSNT MIND have big dreams, but they know where they are and where they're going. They sat down with Hot Press to discuss just that.

"There's so many amazing, for lack of a better term, boy bands that have existed over the years and obviously, they're the groundworks for what we are," Williams said.

"But I think what we're trying to do is — with all of our individual stuff, because it's so different — we're trying to merge all of that together into one big musical– what's the word for it?"

An interjection from Benson: "Pizza!"

"Musical pizza. Like, we try not to do just a pepperoni pizza, you've got some mushroom in there–"

"Pineapple," from Marcus, to groans from his bandmates.

"Ham, cheese—"

"A bit of chicken, some rocket," Henry-Reid added.

"And then you remove the pineapple," a shout from Meyer.

"Yeah, and that's what you're left with, yeah? That's ABSNT MIND."

Absnt Mind. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

The group still takes some influences from the great boybands of yore. In a recent Instagram post, they sang tracks by One Direction, a band they said fans have begged them to cover. However, their group influences come from more recent bands.

"The 1975 are a big influence, and I feel like their use of musicianship and playing instruments is something we lean on heavily for us, and I think that comes across in our musicality," Henry-Reid said.

Nevertheless, they still stand apart. They are adamantly ABSNT MIND, not The 1975, Five Seconds of Summer, Big Time Rush or what have you. They don't fit into today's pop box, nor do they have any intention of doing so.

"With a lot of the songs we're coming out with soon, we're pushing the boundaries of what it means to be in a boy band and, I guess, the current pop landscape," Henry-Reid said.

Unlike the big names of band history — whether it be One Direction, The 1975 or, a favourite of Williams, U2 — ABSNT MIND takes ownership of their work.

"Us having a voice in the writing process for the songs that we do, for — again, for lack of a better term — boy bands, that wasn't really a thing that was heard of," Marcus said.

"They would take days where they would just go into a studio and listen to a ton of pitch songs, but our songs get to come from our voices which is really, really good."

Benson added that their part in the songwriting process gave them the chance to sew authenticity deep into the fabric of each track.

"It feels really relatable and really real, because each one of us has put our own experiences into it," Benson said.

For their latest single 'SIMPATICO', that experience was joy.

"In terms of what it's about, it's just one of them good days innit," Williams said.

"You wake up feeling happy, feeling content with yourself, you're feeling simpatico. And that's a cool word to go with it, simpatico."

The title comes from Italian and Spanish, meaning a likeable, charming person, which the band said they ended up using by accident.

"When we were like, gibberishing in the session, I think someone said it in the room," Marcus said.

"And I was like, that word, how do you know that word? And they were like, what's that word? We looked it up on Google, and it was like, this makes perfect sense with what we're writing."

In terms of sound, Marcus described it as "if Prince and The 1975 had a kid".

Absnt Mind. AR

ABSNT MIND has released a handful of singles with dozens more in the works. They've never discussed a full-length album publicly, but they said that's entirely intentional.

"A lot of what we're trying to do is really get people to listen to each song and really experience it," Benson said.

"So instead of just releasing an album, having certain songs maybe go by the wayside over others. Do you know what I mean? So as they come out one by one, it's like each is a moment."

"I don't think there's any rush to burn an album," Henry-Reid agreed.

"We're still creating so many new tracks. I mean, we had an order of songs that we thought we were going to release, and then we wrote another one, and it's even better."

"I think the reason that they could all work as an album, as I say, is because, like, they all come from us," Marcus said.

"We write the stuff, and so there is a cohesion with all the tracks. So I think when the day comes that we do drop an album, I think that the stuff we do will ebb and flow."

The concept of an album floats around in the studio, the boys said, but for now, they're staying in the moment. They held a release party for 'SIMPATICO' in London on July 31 with a meet and greet, signed posters and performances in what they called a "party-show" — or what Marcus called a "p-ow".

But in the moment, Marcus said he'll be showing the lads around Dublin, hitting Grafton Street and WOWBURGER.

In parting words, Henry-Reid told readers to keep an eye on ABSNT MIND– soon enough, they'll be a name you won't forget.

"Listen, everything you thought you knew about a boy band?" Henry-Reid said.

"We're about to shake it up. Stay tuned."

• ABSNT MIND's latest single 'SIMPATICO' is out now.