Novustory filming with Blackburn’s Tez Illyas
A rock band from East Lancashire who have worked every hour possible to build their own recording studio, tour Europe and produce fresh music have released a video for their new single starring one of the area’s most celebrated comedians.
Blackburn’s Tez Ilyas has appeared in the new video for single Love Me Too by young musicians, Novustory, with singer and front woman, Imogen Storey saying they were honored to work with the comic.
Lancashire Telegraph: Novustory filming with Blackburn’s Tez Illyas
Ms Storey said: “Tez Ilyas is one of Britain’s most celebrated comedy stars. He’s been on Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo and he presented his own show on Channel 4 – The Tez O’Clock Show.
“Working with Tez was fantastic – he’s honestly such a funny guy.
“We became friends after we recorded his audiobook at our studio (if you haven’t had his book it’s definitely worth a read) and obviously we were honored when he agreed to be in the video.
Lancashire Telegraph: Novustory filming with Blackburn’s Tez Illyas
“We had to retake a few scenes because he was making us laugh so much.”
But Tez isn’t the only big name the band have worked with on the new track, as Novustory, who built their own recording studio, Esche Haus Audio in Cathedral Studios in Blackburn back in 2018, worked with Adam Cecil Bartlett (who’s worked with U2, Biffy Clyro, Katie Melua and Nothing But Thieves), and had vocal assistance from Stevie Lange (Led Zeppelin, Robbie Williams, Rita Ora and ACDC).
And after starting out with nothing, grafting away from the ground up, the band feel like they’re finally getting somewhere in the industry.
Lancashire Telegraph: Novustory filming with Blackburn’s Tez Illyas
Ms Storey went on: “The new song is about making our way through the industry and feeling like it’s a game that you’re constantly losing.
“We started out with zero music industry contacts and grafted our way to a record deal and have forged connections with celebrities along the way.
“We’ve also just taken on a young girl at the studio and are opening up doors for her too – she’s 19 and we’re recording songs for her in return for her being a drum tech for us at Novustory gigs.
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“Working with Stevie Lange was incredible, we gave her a lift home in the Land Rover after one of the vocal sessions and we were sat there like, ‘this woman has literally been in the studio whilst ACDC Back In Black was recorded and she’s currently sat in the car we bought for £250’, it was mad.
“She taught me so much about my own voice, things that nobody else had picked up on, she just went straight to and sorted out for me.
“Working with Adam ‘Cecil’ Bartlett was incredible too – he came to the studio we built in Blackburn and spent a couple of days working on it with us, then we went to his studio in London and added extra bits and the entire experience was just hilarious, and exciting and we’re so happy with the finished product.”
Novustory signed a record deal with Regent Street Records last years and new single Love Me Too is out now on Spotify.
