Unsigned band La Dharma launch single Sirens this weekend

The four-piece - two of whom have their roots in Cannock - have booked a celebratory night at Sunflower Lounge to introduce the world to their latest track Sirens.

They've been here before under different line-ups, but in their current guise it's had to be a quick snap of preparation in order to be ready for the big drop.

"We've not had long in our current line-up, only two or three months," guitarist Daniel Jones tells the Star. "It's our first release as a four-piece and we're really excited."

La Dharma first started in 2016 in a much different guise. Jones, bassist Mick Madera and drummer James Morris were all initially involved, and Chris Leedham later joined on synths having originally just helped out with songwriting duties - the other Cannock link in the group. Vocals were provided by Jake Baker.

"He'd bounced around a few bands and had struggled to get an initial line-up together," Jones adds of Baker. "We eventually got the line-up together after he approached me and Chris but it must have just been a personal thing with him because that didn't work out either."

Five became four, with Leedham doubling up the vocals now alongside his synth duties. And former Kingsmead School in Hednesford pupil Jones feels happiest with how they are now. The songwriting process, he says, is an organic one where everybody is involved.

They already had the material, the new face of La Dharma just had to tweak it to how they wanted it.

"I've really enjoyed it - we've loved it," says the 24-year-old plasterer. "We all have an input. Okay, we have our main songwriters who take a lead on things but it's not just one person deciding everything. We all have a say. It's really nice and the way it should be.

"It's like any relationship," he adds, laughing. "We have our differences of opinion and maybe a small row but we all get on and it's soon forgotten.

"We all like our different music, we like to say we are an amalgamation of genres. I like my indie rock. Chris likes indie pop. We're fans of The 1975 and Blossoms, and one reviewer said we were like the 80s love-child of Catfish And The Bottlemen and Blossoms.

"We're not set in one genre and that is something people will find when the EP comes out."

The outline plan from the band is to release a song every month until the end of the year and double that December release up with the launch of their debut EP.

"When our singer left the songs were all essentially ready to go so we just went straight into the studio. We've been working with Andy Gannon at Silk Mill Studios in Newcastle-under-Lyme [Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith and Skinny Lister have both recorded there]. It's a really nice feel and we enjoyed it.

"We can't plan too much though," Jones adds. "There's loads of different factors and parts going on. For example the mixing engineer. Each song takes a different amount of time to complete and some take longer than others to come back.

"We're always going to try and release them the same day as a big gig. Get as much interest as possible."

That's where Saturday comes in. It's a feast of local music where La Dharma will have four acts providing the support. The Extons, M A R C and Modern Comforts are all on the bill, and the final support slot goes to recent The Ticket Unsigned page stars The Verse.

"Ticket sales have been pretty good," adds Dan. "They're not amazing, we haven't sold out, but they're pretty good. If we can get some more faces through the door that would be brilliant."

So if anyone reading this is considering a night out in one of the Second City's finest small music venues, what can they expect from a La Dharma show?

"They're full of energy, lots of effort and a few jokes. We don't take ourselves too seriously and we are friendly. We want everyone to have a good time, get into it and then come back and see us again."

Looking at the band's social media channels they have a lot planned to build the La Dharma brand moving forward - they're 'pretty booked up into next year'. They are part of the Clause Halloween Show back at Sunflower Lounge on October 31, but it is another yet-to-be-announced gig La Dharma are exclusively sharing with our readers that they are excited about.

"That's on November 17 at the Castle & Falcon in Birmingham," Dan reveals. "It's a big show for a big national promoter so we really need to sell a lot of tickets for that one. Ideally it will be another one of our single launches too but that track is still being mixed so we can't guarantee that.

"Just keep an eye on our social medias for updates and the link to buy tickets when it goes live.

"We just want to play, we just have loads of songs and we want to play them all live for people," Jones adds.

Now they have the chance to, starting at Sunflower Lounge tomorrow.

Tickets to the Sunflower Lounge gig are available for £6 in advance and can be bought by visiting http://thesunflowerlounge.com/event/la-dharma-the-extons/. For updates on the gig at Castle & Falcon, La Dharma can be found under @ladharmaband on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

By Leigh Sanders