THE BLAME 🇬🇧 ENGLAND — WRITTEN INTERVIEW
Interview prepared by Gordon Lawrence Taylor
Voice In The Void / Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio
There is something particularly interesting about encountering a band while its identity is still developing in real time. The Blame, from Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, are not presenting themselves as a finished musical formula. Instead, their story so far is one of friendship, experimentation, gradual discovery and four musicians learning exactly what The Blame can become.
The band brings together Jonathan “Jonny”, Luke, Alex and James, musicians whose paths had already crossed within their local music scene before The Blame existed. James and Alex were involved with Muzzle, while Jonny and Luke played in Leatherette. Playing the same local venues brought the musicians into one another’s orbit, friendships developed, and from those connections a new project eventually emerged.
That local environment remains an important part of their history. Berwick-upon-Tweed is not a major metropolitan music centre, and the realities of developing a band in a smaller town inevitably shape the opportunities available. Yet The Blame speak positively about a local scene that is beginning to develop again, with new venues, organisers and musicians creating opportunities where previously there may have been relatively few.
The band’s recorded development can already be traced through a succession of releases including “Deserted,” “Modern Limitations,” “American Ways,” “Late Nights” and “Cleaned.” Rather than viewing those early recordings as evidence of a completely settled musical identity, The Blame describe them as part of the process through which they were discovering their sound.
That process seems to reach an important point with “Just A Little Longer.”
For the band, the track represents something closer to the balance they have been searching for: guitar, synthesizer, melody, atmosphere, production and lyrical vulnerability beginning to occupy the same space naturally. It also reveals something fundamental about the relationship between James and Jonny as writers. An instrumental idea can pass from one member to another and acquire an entirely different emotional dimension through melody and language before being reshaped collectively through rehearsal and performance.
The resulting music resists an easy genre description. That ambiguity appears to be increasingly important to The Blame. Rather than forcing themselves into a predetermined category, they seem more interested in identifying what feels recognisably their own. Rock instrumentation, synthesizers, melodic writing, electronic texture and a growing interest in a surreal, Y2K-influenced visual identity coexist without the band appearing particularly concerned about where one genre ends and another begins.
Their approach to production is equally revealing. The recordings are not simply constructed as studio objects disconnected from performance. The band places considerable importance on translating those songs into a live environment and, equally, retaining something of that live energy when recording them. Rehearsal, experimentation and audience reaction can continue changing a song even after its basic form has already been established.
Behind all of this is a band built around friendship.
Throughout their answers, The Blame repeatedly return to the importance of working collectively while allowing individual ideas to enter the process. They speak about experimentation, performing in new places, developing their own visual language and creating music that remains personal rather than allowing algorithms or expectations surrounding social media to dictate what they should become.
That independence is particularly significant at a moment when emerging artists are expected not only to write, record and perform music, but continuously feed an online environment built around visibility, content and recommendation systems. The Blame are clearly aware of those pressures, but their intention remains straightforward: make the music they genuinely want to make and hope that listeners discover a real connection with it.
There are also indications that another stage is already beginning. Rather than simply continuing an isolated sequence of singles, the band are now looking towards an EP, bringing together newer material which they feel more completely represents the sound they have been developing.
That makes this an especially interesting moment to speak with The Blame.
The following interview moves beyond simply discussing individual songs. We talk about the band’s beginnings, Berwick’s grassroots music culture, songwriting and production, lyrics, live performance, visual identity, technology, social media, artificial intelligence, the realities facing independent musicians and what the four members ultimately hope The Blame might become.
Most importantly, the interview gives Jonny, Luke, Alex and James the space to explain that story themselves.
Interview prepared by Gordon Lawrence Taylor
Voice In The Void / Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio
Infectious Unease Radio: Every band develops from a combination of individual histories, musical experiences and personal circumstances. Before The Blame came together, what were Jonathan, Luke, Alex and James each doing musically, and how did those separate paths eventually converge into the formation of the band?
The Blame – collective answer: Before the blame we were all playing music in bands in the local scene for a good few years. James and Alex were/are in a band called Muzzle and Jonny and Luke were in a band called leatherette. Both bands were playing at the same local venues which is how we all became friends and eventually started up our own project.
Infectious Unease Radio: James and Jonathan, your musical relationship predates The Blame and includes earlier collaborative work. Looking back on that period now, what did those experiences teach you about songwriting, performance and working together, and in what ways did they help establish the creative foundations that later developed into The Blame?
Jonny: Ever since James and I started working together, I think the creative process had always been really easy and natural. I think that inspired me personally to work more closely to songs that arrived sooner than expected instead of focusing on a nugget of an idea and hitting a wall over and over again. That can be a really useful process as well but in this case, for the Blame, we’ve both been mutually attracted to songs that flowed from the get go. A big contrast to my previous band where I would mostly write the songs on my lonesome and present them to the rest of the band, sometimes working on songs for months and overthinking. I think this is apparent in our live performances as well.
So anyways, naturally occurring and more fun songs have been a running theme in our songwriting relationship. Not to say that we don’t work hard on them though.
Infectious Unease Radio: The name The Blame is concise, memorable and open to interpretation. How did the name originate, what initially attracted you to it, and has its meaning or relevance changed as the identity of the band has developed?
The Blame – collective answer: I’ll be totally honest with you and this has been asked a few times. The answer is very simple. The Blame was chosen as the name as we all collectively thought that it sounded cool and we could imagine it being taken seriously. Trust me there were a lot of names thrown around and none of them seemed to stick until we landed on The Blame. Somewhere down the line we will come up with an epic origin story for the name. Or maybe we will find out in the future why we are ‘The Blame’ . Nobody knows right now though
Infectious Unease Radio: Berwick-upon-Tweed occupies a distinctive cultural and geographical position within Northumberland, while maintaining close historical and contemporary connections with the Scottish Borders. As musicians working from that environment, how has Berwick influenced your experience of developing The Blame — through its venues, audiences, creative community or simply through the character of the place itself — and how important is that sense of location to the identity of the band?
The Blame – collective answer: Berwick is a smaller place so there isn’t always much opportunity for gigs recently we’ve enjoyed quite a few in some newer venues as Berwick music scene is starting to pick up a bit, but we’d like to continue to branch out to new places we’ve enjoyed playing with other bands in different places too. In terms of identity we don’t really associate the band or the music with a particular place we’d like to think it comes across as relatable or enjoyable no matter the time or place.
Infectious Unease Radio: Your sequence of releases through 2025 — including “Deserted,” “Modern Limitations,” “American Ways,” “Late Nights” and “Cleaned” — documents an important early period in the band’s development. When you listen back to those recordings now, what changes can you identify in your songwriting, musicianship, production methods and overall understanding of what The Blame should sound like?
James: I would say that the first 5 songs that we released was almost us trying to figure out our sound as we went along. I love all of those songs and we’re proud of every one of them. These songs were the first songs we’d ever released that i had written and produced by myself so it was a big step to take but i think its definitely made me a better musician and ‘producer’ today. I think with ‘Just a Little Longer’ we have found the perfect blend for what a blame song should sound like. We’re always learning and im always wanting the next song to be better and more ‘professional’ sounding. I’d love to go back and rerecord every song knowing what i know now even though it’s only been a year but i know that in another year i would want to record them again!
Infectious Unease Radio: Creative processes within bands often develop into their own internal language. When a new song begins — whether from a lyric, chord sequence, guitar figure, rhythm, synthesizer idea or something much less defined — how does that initial fragment develop through collaboration until all four of you recognise it as a finished piece of The Blame’s music?
The Blame – collective answer: Depends on the piece, some songs such as just a little longer come from a collaboration of James’ instrumental composition and Jonnys lyrics and melody which are brought together and refined after rehearsal and practice of the songs before recording. Although some songs come from other methods such as our unreleased song Breathe again, which came from an idea that was put together by James where we all met up together and added parts together to form a coherent song that we think fits our sound.
Infectious Unease Radio: “Just A Little Longer” gives an interesting insight into the creative relationship within The Blame, particularly in the way its musical construction and lyrical perspective work together. How did the song develop from its earliest idea through to the finished recording, and where did the title Just A Little Longer come from? Jonny, as the lyricist, what does that phrase represent to you, and how did the song’s themes of vulnerability, uncertainty, attachment and self-awareness emerge during the writing process? More broadly, how do personal experience, observation, memory and imagination interact in your lyrics, and how important is it to leave enough space for listeners to find their own meaning within the song?
Jonny “Just A Little Longer” was one of many tracks sent to me from James during a period of what i would call an undetermined future for The Blame. We had put out five songs previously mostly just for fun and to explore the new, sort of, musical connections in the band. While a sound was there already, a certain identity was yet to be formed, and so as i was listening to the tracks sent, something must’ve stuck with me with this one in particular.
The song that was simply just an instrumental at the time was already pre-titled “Just A Little Longer” (so you have James to thank/blame for that), so in terms of lyrics, I started writing from the title and throwing ideas around that had vague connections to that. This is in contrast to the way I’d normally work: writing like a page of lyrics that will sit there for weeks until a title falls upon them like when I finish them completely or when they’ve been applied to a song.
I immediately related the title phrase to a relationship which of course is an inherently vulnerable thing if a relationship is gonna be worth anything.
Like you briefly touched upon in your review, (https://infectiousuneaseradio.com/2026/08/31/%f0%9f%87%ac%f0%9f%87%a7-the-blame-just-a-little-longer-united-kingdom-%f0%9f%87%ac%f0%9f%87%a7-desire-hesitation-and-the-psychology-of-holding-on-full-single-review-by-go/)
I think the lyrics are not asking for any kind of reconciliation or like a “let’s be together forever and everything’s fine”. It’s just asking for a moment of dreamlike peace between them, whether or not that’s realistic or even once was possible within that relationship. It doesn’t matter anyways and that’s why I personally like using dreams as a concept because nobody can argue about what a dream is when it’s completely up to the individual. I find that interesting anyways..
It also doesn’t matter in the story how whatever individual responds to the pleas presented in the lyrics. It’s more about “here’s what I think and I don’t really care what YOU think.” Which I think maybe accidentally lends itself to the driving nature of the song.
I don’t really concern myself a lot with how people are going to fit their own meaning into my lyrics but I’ve never been a very specific lyricist anyways and sometimes I don’t even know what is meant by every word, as long as it sounds good. It’s obviously very important for people to be able to do that and I think people are very good at doing it regardless of how specific the concept of the song may be as long as the intent from the writer comes from a relatable/human outlook. Some of the best lyricist’s in the world tell specific stories with an over-arching theme so as long as the theme is clear, it works, in my opinion.
Infectious Unease Radio: James, production involves both construction and restraint. When developing a Blame recording, how do you determine what a composition requires sonically — whether that involves additional instrumentation, electronic texture, vocal layering or changes in arrangement — and how do you recognise the point at which a song has reached its natural completion?
James: A typical blame song composition is often quite a chaotic process, you never really feel like you know exactly what the song needs until you stumble across it. A lot of it is trial and error and a lot of head scratching. Most of the songs will be born through a guitar riff or a synth part as i usually have either a guitar or keyboard in front of me when i boot up the mac. It takes a long time to figure out how much layering is needed in the track as i like to try listen to the song in as many different ways as possible. Listening to it in my car is always the final test before i feel that the track is complete as i feel you can truly hear everything on those speakers. Another test i do is listen to it on my shitty earphones and i’ll turn the volume almost fully down, if i can only hear the main parts of the song that want to be heard then that means that the layering is complimenting the song and not overpowering it.
Infectious Unease Radio: Luke and Alex, when material enters the rehearsal environment, how do your individual approaches to guitar and arrangement help reshape it, and what happens when the interaction between all four members begins taking a song somewhere beyond its original conception?
Luke & Alex: A lot for happens within the recording of the idea a lot of what is written stems from the guitar pieces which means that isn’t always a lot of change from the conception to the finished piece. That being said some songs parts do change with time through rehearsal especially when playing live, solos and riffs can sometimes evolve and for songs that aren’t yet fully recorded and mixed it can help a lot to find exactly what we want to hear through lots of playing.
Infectious Unease Radio: Studio recording and live performance operate under very different conditions. How does The Blame’s music change when it moves from a controlled recording environment onto a stage, and have audience reactions or repeated live performances ever caused you to hear one of your own songs differently?
The Blame – collective answer: It’s pretty similar for us we like to keep things so that what we hear live can be heard online too it obviously changes a little bit and the dynamics will be more live but we do try to keep the live energy in the recorded songs where possible. Sometimes audiences do influence us a bit while playing causing us to extend songs that they’re really into or changing solos etc but we do try to stay as consistent as possible.
Infectious Unease Radio: Early live performances are often an important stage in the formation of a band’s collective identity. Looking back at The Blame’s first substantial period of performing, what did those shows teach you about yourselves as musicians, and was there a particular performance or period when you became conscious that the four of you had developed a genuine collective identity onstage?
The Blame – collective answer: Our first ever gig using in ear monitors was at the barrels in Berwick which was where we really felt we’d got what we wanted to hear out of ourselves as it allowed us to use synths in our performances which allowed us to experiment much more with our sound and create songs like just a little longer and some songs that will be coming out soon!
Infectious Unease Radio: The Blame have also participated in the developing independent music culture surrounding Berwick, including events such as Berwick Fringe. From your position within that community, how would you characterise the current grassroots music environment in Berwick and the surrounding region, and are there particular venues, organisers, artists or audiences whose contribution deserves wider recognition?
The Blame – collective answer: As of late the Berwick music scene has been going in the right direction with the more venues cropping up and more opportunities for newer bands to get a footing, it’s a small town so gigs can still be few and far between but a bit of recognition should go to Camillo Serafini-Fracassinin who owns the Ice House in Berwick where we played at the Berwick Fringe festival for pouring his time and effort to try create a standalone music venue in Berwick and wanting to give all those newer bands a chance, and also Darren Holleywell for organising things like the Berwick fringe.
Infectious Unease Radio: The band’s music has increasingly travelled beyond its immediate geographical environment through BBC Introducing, independent radio and international airplay. What does that widening audience mean to you at this stage of the band’s development, and how does distant recognition compare with the more immediate relationship created between a band and an audience in a live venue?
The Blame – collective answer: It’s great for us, it’s very humbling to see that people enjoy what we’re making and that people who live no where near us or places where we play live can also enjoy our music even just by chance. I think we are very appreciative of anyone who listens to us on any radios or just through streaming platforms but for us nothing really makes us as happy as preforming live and seeing people actually enjoying the music face to face.
Infectious Unease Radio: Genre terminology can be useful as a form of musical orientation, but it can also become restrictive once an artist begins developing a more individual vocabulary. How do you understand The Blame’s musical identity at this point, and what relationship, if any, do you have with the genre categories that listeners, journalists or streaming platforms may attach to the band?
The Blame – collective answer: We’ve previously struggled to get a hold of our genre especially with our early releases, but through our recent releases and unreleased material we’re really thinking we’ve found the sound we want. We’ve had interviews and people say to us in the past that don’t quite know what our genre is and we’ve taken it as a compliment hopefully it means what they’re hearing is original and new to them which exactly what we’re striving for.
Infectious Unease Radio: Artistic influence rarely comes exclusively from other musicians. Beyond the records and artists that have shaped you, what other forms of culture or experience have entered The Blame’s creative language — literature, cinema, visual art, technology, particular places, relationships, everyday experience or broader social observations?
The Blame – collective answer: Theres a few great examples of Artistic Influences that bleed into the bands internal and external vision!For the Artwork of songs / Merchandise, we take a good amount of inspiration from the Y2K Era, the image of the future wether true or false really strikes the question of what we will in fact be! Aspects of life can contribute to the vision, every one has a story and those stories have twists and turns that can inspire something as minor a riff or as major as a turning point in direction! We genuinely love finding new things that make us go “Shit, thats cool!” The fact we’re developing more and more is something that we’re always grateful for!
Infectious Unease Radio: The visual presentation surrounding The Blame — photography, artwork, colour, design and the wider presentation of individual releases — suggests that visual identity is considered alongside the music itself. How collaboratively do you approach that aspect of the band, and what do you want the visual world surrounding The Blame to communicate about the music before somebody has actually heard it?
Jonny: Bright pink, sleek, clean and clear design has been a focus for the blame. I think the music deserves a more refined look to it instead of a dark, grungy, muddy look that a lot of rock bands have always seem to go for. We’ve always agreed upon that. But more recently, a surrealistic Y2K future inspired world has seemed to fit the music that we’ve been making recently. James and I have been working on artwork separately but have always been on the same page.
Infectious Unease Radio: Contemporary independent musicians operate within a complex environment in which creative freedom exists alongside streaming economics, social-media visibility, promotion, touring costs, algorithms and the continuing demand for new material. From your experience so far, what opportunities does the present independent music landscape provide, and which aspects of it do you believe create unnecessary obstacles for developing artists?
The Blame – collective answer: I think we’ve been lucky so far to have been among lots of great groups within the local and non local music scene that we’ve managed to get good gigs and play in lots of different locations. But there’s always that looming need for social media presence and appealing to the algorithm which seemingly is what pushes most bands to become big now, we’ve tried to not really let it influence what we want to do too much as we still make the music we want to make not what we think will do well on social media. It’s quite hard to avoid all that when it means so much to actually having a music career now but we’re trying not to see it as an obstacle but rather looking at it in a way that the people who do stream and listen to us listen because they have a genuine connection with the music rather than listening because it’s been hand picked to their feed. We would also like to add that we all collectively hate all AI music.
Infectious Unease Radio: With a growing catalogue already behind you and “Just A Little Longer” marking another stage in the band’s progression, how are you currently thinking about the longer-term development of The Blame? Are you approaching future releases as individual songs, or is a larger body of work — an EP, album or broader creative project — beginning to take shape?
The Blame – collective answer: We don’t want to say too much but we’re currently looking to release our next song as part of an EP with a few of our newer songs we feel encapsulate our newly found sounds
Infectious Unease Radio: Finally, beyond recordings, promotional material, genre descriptions and statistics, a band ultimately consists of people and relationships. If somebody were discovering The Blame for the first time through this interview, what would each of you most want them to understand about Jonathan, Luke, Alex and James, about the relationship that exists between the four of you, and about what you ultimately hope The Blame can become
The Blame – collective answer We’ve became a very tight group of friends since the conception of the band, we truly do work together for everything and we all have our goals we strive for but ultimately we all want the same thing. Our biggest goals are to keep creating music that we think belongs to our sound and continue to keep things personal to us, we’d like to continue to try new things and experiment. Finally we want to keep on our path of preforming in new venues in new places with new people.
🔗 THE BLAME — OFFICIAL LINKS & CONTACT
🇬🇧 The Blame — Berwick-upon-Tweed, England
OFFICIAL BAND LINKS
Official Link Hub — The Blame
https://lnk.bio/TheBlame
Instagram — @TheBlameBand
https://www.instagram.com/TheBlameBand
Facebook — The Blame
https://www.facebook.com/TheBlame/
Bandsintown — The Blame
https://www.bandsintown.com/a/15572135-the-blame
🎧 MUSIC / VIDEO
Spotify — “Just A Little Longer”
https://open.spotify.com/track/6gZ1ZhgkrTQe5pWknrM2pA
YouTube — “Just A Little Longer”
https://youtu.be/LEf9j6W9bzc
YouTube — “Just A Little Longer” — Live at The Dojo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkAfMfKvvKU
📡 PRESS / MANAGEMENT / CONTACT