Tim Hughes is given a rare insight into the beautiful, and crazy, world of alternative-rock band Palace, sceptres, orbs, tapirs and all...

In the rolling fields of West Oxfordshire a new village is taking shape.

You won’t have seen it on any maps, or even road signs, but it’s there all the same – and very nice it is too.

It’s called the Soho Farmhouse, is near Great Tew, and its cosy bar, trendy deli and flash restaurant have already been graced by a Who’s Who of high society, Chipping Norton set, the creative industries and assorted beautiful people.

The Camerons, Mark Ronson, Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne, Liv Tyler, Daisy Lowe, Pixie Geldof, Eliza Doolittle, Alexa Chung, Cressida Bonus and her friend Princess Eugenie, have all graced its pristine acres. Oh, and last weekend, a bunch of skinny rockers from London, who call themselves Palace.

“We’re four juvenile rascals based in Tottenham, the home of the greatest football team on earth!” says frontman Leo Wyndham.

The band, as befits their booking at Oxfordshire’s most exclusive rural bolthole, are among the year’s buzz bands, championed by the likes of Jamie T, whom they supported on tour. They have already gone down a storm at Bestival, Blissfields, Kendall Calling, and, closer to home, at Wychwood in Cheltenham, where their set was easily one of the highlights of the weekend.

And we are about to start hearing a lot more of them.

“We didn’t know a lot about Soho Farmhouse, really” says Leo. “We just knew that it’s a farm and a house and there are goats, cows, velociraptors and yaks, apparently.

“We don’t even own green wellies, but we do each own our own capes, sceptres and orbs.”

He goes on: “I suppose you’re kind of meant to reign it in a bit for those kind of gigs, but we just to do our usual stage routine – which involves smearing ourselves with faeces and eating a live tapir onstage. That usually goes down well.”

They’re like that. But while Leo and bandmates Rupert Turner (guitar), Will Dory (bass) and Matt Hodges (drums) may not be taking things too seriously, the industry is taking a lot of interest in them.

“We’re all inbred country folk really, via Dorset and East Sussex,” he goes on. “In London we are countryside simpletons out of our depth.”

Leo describes the band’s sound as “alternative spacey rock” and says: “We’re kind of like a medieval metal band but with more make up.

“No, not really. It’s not dissimilar to people like Jeff Buckley in the general sound, with Wu Lyf and John Martyn sprinkled on top. A lot of people say that our music has a lot of space in it, in a good way.

“For ages I didn’t get what they meant, but now I get it. The music is floaty and ethereal and big and spacey.”

Next Thursday they return to Oxfordshire to play The Bullingdon, in the less rarefied setting of Cowley Road. They come armed with second EP Chase The Light; a melancholic and heartfelt piece of work, featuring lead single Kiloran and the forthcoming Head Above Water. It’s moody, languid and bluesy, with flashes of sublime poetry which hints at an inner fragility behind the knockabout laddish banter.

So what does what does it say about them? “Good question. I guess it says we’re a bunch of cheeseball emo-freaks,” jokes Leo. “No, I guess it says we like big dramatic honest music, weaving guitars and lots of range in our sound. I suppose it also says we like to play darker music. There are not many jolly ‘skipping down the street’ ditties in Palace.”

The EP has earned them comparisons to Jeff Buckley and Kings of Leon and Oxford’s own Foals.

“We’re all huge fans of Jeff Buckley and whenever anyone’s ever said we sound slightly like him then we always take that as a massive compliment. If we could write a song half as good as one of his, then we’d die happy men.

Oxford Mail:

“Foals are also awesome. It’s a big dream of ours to tour with them. Someday, hopefully, we’ll get to do that. Their new song Knife In The Ocean is insanely sick. I saw them at Alexandra Palace last year and the energy onstage was nuts.”

He goes on: “Folk and blues are definitely big influences on the way we play our guitars in Palace. We like that kind of intricate, delicate soulful playing kind of thing.

“We love old folk people like Fairport Convention, John Fahey and Nick Drake. That stuff bleeds into our sound for sure.

“Music that’s got a good feeling and hits you right in the gut. Wu Lyf are pretty cosmic too.”

So how did they get together? “We’ve known each other since we were pre-pubescent nerds, and music has always been something we’ve been addicted to really.

“We’ve always been naturally quite musical and it came to a point where we just thought we need to be doing this together as a band. It felt right and we knew pretty quickly that there was a good chemistry between us as musicians. We had no idea it would work well, though.

“We didn’t project ahead that far. We had no idea we’d get to where we are and have people singing along at our shows. It’s completely nuts.

“Bestival was rad. We still had lots of people there singing along. You can’t beat that feeling. There were some awesome lads at the front going mental. It’s that kind of stuff that makes it for us.”

And while their fans go bonkers, Leo and the band are not far behind them, despite the touch of melancholy in their music.

“We are pretty cheerful,” he says. “Not in a Blue Peter presenter kind of way, but in a generally positive way.

“Most of us have been through that grunge-goth stage already and have come out the other side fairly unscathed.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been emos, that was a dark path we never wanted to go down. That swished black emo hair over one eye look is too much, plus crying is exhausting.”
He smiles. “Someone on soundcloud once just wrote ‘this is sex music’, which we loved.

“I’ve had a few friends who’ve told me they’ve had sex to our music– which is kinda weird.” 


* Win tickets to see Palace play at The Bullingdon. For a chance to win a pair of tickets to next Thursday’s show, tell us the name of the band’s debut EP. Send your answer to tim.hughes@nqo.com. Entries must be in by midday Tuesday, October 13, 2015.

Usual rules apply and the Editor’s decision is final.

Where and when
Palace play the Bullingdon, Cowley Road, Oxford, on Thursday, October 15.
Tickets from ents24.com