Five Questions And A Playlist




Manchester’s Sprinters were born out of initial solo project recordings from Neil Jarvis. Now a fully fledged live band, the four-piece are set to release new album ‘Struck Gold’ later this month. Grand in scale sonically, and marrying jangly pop with heartbreaking subject matter in the way many of the best songwriters do, this will be their most ambitious release to date.

Of its single ‘3’s & 4’s’ Neil says it’s "A sad song about accepting an awful situation, though it catches you off guard because it’s pretty upbeat and poppy. Bittersweet songs have always resonated with me."

Ahead of their release show at Aatma, we caught up with the band to find out more about their early influences and thoughts on the music industry as a whole.

Order ‘Struck Gold’ here.


Who were your favourite bands / artists as a teenager?


Pixies, The Smiths, The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Beck.

When did you realise music could be a career?


I haven’t got to that stage. But I’m in a position where I'm working with small independent labels and getting records out whilst still being able to work for a living, so pretty lucky.

Do you have a job outside of music?


Yes, I work in Mental Health.

How well is live music supported in your hometown / city?


I very recently left Manchester, but the scene is very well supported. Lots of interesting and diverse artists and good promoters. We’re still very much aligned with it. In my hometown there are a couple of good music venues but not much of a ‘scene’ so to speak.

If you could make one change to the music industry what would it be?


Many things, but one of my biggest gripes is the way Facebook treats artists trying to share content. You have to pay if you want your fan base to see what you share, it’s terrible.



sprinters.bandcamp.com/
@sprintersband