Memory of Speke find “Freedom” in the balance between anarchy and evolution

After a night of improvisation around a kitchen table, eight tracks and the band itself was unintentionally birthed. Shepherd's Bush-born lead singer Tegen Williams - now based south of the river - brought her bandmates together after guitarist Luca Mantero and drummer Ned Smith had just left from their last project. Having imagined being in a band as just a toddler, this coincidence was as good as it gets for Williams. With bassist Jess Judge joining after a trial gig in Berlin – and slotting in seamlessly, the six friends were unified as one.

Outside of music-making, Memory of Speke are deep-seated in their creative roots. Williams is a multimedia artist and director, Mantero works with avant-garde publishers Isolarri and Smith fundraises at the Royal Academy. Co-vocalist Arthur Williams is a commercial director and photographer, whilst saxophonist Chingis Guirey is both a trained architect and artist, and Judge works as an illustrator.

Oddball musical influences that range completely across the board have led Williams and her bandmates to claim their uniqueness. The likes of Frank Zappa, Betty Davis and the Red Hot Chili Peppers can be credited in the emergence of their bold and playful energy.

The group have a sixth sense when it comes to working a shy crowd: with a mission to win over each and every audience member, Williams tells me “the shitter the crowd, the more fun it is turning them on.” They take great pleasure playing live, especially when, “energy shifts from the awkward audience member to [being] an engaged participant in a play.” From dressing up as beekeeper attire to costuming as office workers, knowing which version of the group will appear on stage is impossible. In spite of the pressure to flawlessly perform in a live atmosphere, Williams and her crew revel in putting on a show and bringing a crowd around.

The collective’s new track, “Freedom” – their second as a band – is a political commentary, underpinned by the story of a failed relationship. “Freedom” can be interpreted as “a reflection of the state of the world today, with false promises from power,” Williams tells me, whilst ultimately still being “a diss track from a disgruntled girlfriend.”

“Freedom” leads with an alarm, driven by its frustration. The song's evolution wavered too through its many drafts, where an grunginess turned into a ballad, and was even considered by the group as being closer to rap at one point. The end result is, however, a raw and punky track with unrestrained storytelling at the forefront. With the track's array of interpretable meanings and genre fluctuations leading to its final form, the clue is in the name: “Freedom”.

From first playing to a bunch of supportive friends at home, to now gearing up to a headline slot at The Windmill in February, Memory of Speke’s joyful chaos is only growing. What’s next for the six friends? “Glastonbury? A world tour? I think we would be huge in Japan!” jokes Williams.