The band talk songwriting, dream venues and hitting most (if not all) of their bucket list in Leeds.
Photo: Daniel Brown
Shoegaze and post-punk collective Camera 02 (fka Wedgy) have been through many iterations. Starting as the solo project of Leeds-born Will Wedgewood, the band has grown in size and experience, eventually reaching the five-piece collective that sat across from me at Brudenell Social Club in Hyde Park, Leeds.
Wedgewood initially began the project during his time in Bristol, bringing it along with him for his travels across the world. As a result, key moments of the Camera 02 timeline have been backdropped by a culturally diverse range of settings: songwriting honed and inspirations gathered from various UK cities, production skills learned during time in Brazil, and band members met whilst exploring Japan.
The now five-piece find themselves based once again in Leeds. Comprised of Will, Josh, Ben, Connor and Sam, the band produce shoegaze and post-punk anthems composed of brash guitars, vehement drums and heavy synth sensibilities. However, they joke that the incomprehensible range of genres in the modern day could see them fit better under a ‘post-gaze’ or even ‘shoe-hop’ label. Inspired by iconic acts such as Slowdive, PVA and Title Fight, the group currently have a self-titled EP to their name, with more music on the way, music which is more collaborative in its genesis than the project’s earlier work:
“Now that we’ve graduated from our demos, the songwriting is much more collaborative and exploratory, each of our influences go in the melting pot and our new stuff coming soon is our first proper collaborative effort. It was always the aim for the project to become collaborative.”
Despite not every member being a Leeds local, the five-piece have become fully engrossed in the vibrant music scene that Yorkshire’s biggest city has to offer. Their self-titled EP was produced between nearby recording studio Chapel FM and the workspace of local producer Jesse Cutts, whilst live outings have seen them perform at some of the finest independent venues the city has to offer, such as Brudenell Social Club, Hyde Park Book Club, and soon Belgrave Music Hall.
Speaking of their live performances, their severe walls of sound and brash musicianship caught the attention of fellow rising stars Witch Post, leading to them supporting the up-and-coming two-piece for the Leeds leg of the tour that night at Hyde Park Book Club. Despite getting a massive support slot under their belt, the band still maintain focus on some of their biggest aspirations as a collective.
“The whole aim of the project was to just get to Green Man festival [collective laughs], I would also love to play Hebden Bridge Trades Club,” Will tells me. “We’ve hit most of our bucket list in Leeds but would still love to play the main stage at Brudenell [Social Club] and be in the company of some true greats.”
Camera 02’s hard-hitting tracks make for a fierce listen, and with more live performances and releases under their belt as time goes on, it becomes less a question of if they can reach their lofty goals, but when?
All photos by Daniel Brown.
You can also find this interview in print. Order Issue 2 of The Indie Scene Magazine here. The band have now changed its name from Wedgy to Camera 02.
