Ten years in and fresh from the release of their acclaimed fifth album, Dagger, Ist Ist are firmly cemented amongst Manchester’s most exciting homegrown talents.
On Fri 1 May, the group will return to play their biggest homecoming show to date, headlining the iconic Albert Hall in what promises to be another landmark moment in the group’s career so far.
We caught up with the band to chat about their story so far, the new record, influences, dream collaborations and what comes next.
Let’s start off with an obvious one. Just how special does it feel to be playing a homecoming show at the Albert Hall?
It feels amazing to finally be at the point in our journey to be headlining the Albert Hall. We’ve all been waiting for this one for a long time and the magic of this moment isn’t lost on us. I think with it being a homecoming show it’s going to be really special and we’re just going to treat it almost like any other show, just enjoy the experience and put on a brilliant night for the fans.
When I first discovered you, which must have been about 9/10 years ago now, a lot of the bands I used to watch sadly aren’t about anymore. What are some of the things you think have been key to you guys not just still being around, but seemingly getting stronger with each release?
I think it has a lot to do with timing, when we’ve decided to go for certain things has all been well calculated and forecasted. We all packed in the 9-5 over 2 years ago and that was a big leap, but it’s meant we’ve been able to grow this properly whilst still taking things one step at a time. It also sounds basic, but we just get on. When we get out on the road or when we’re in the rehearsal room or on a zoom call, we have a laugh and have spent a lot of time building a deep relationship with each other. When you spend this amount of time with the same people, you’ve got to be able to laugh and take the pressure off someone. We’re also lucky that we’ve found the right 4 personalities to keep it going and still have fun while doing it.
On that, is there any advice you’d offer to artists just getting started now?
Reinvest everything you earn into the business. Not the band, the business. If you want to build it you’ve got to be able to separate the band side and the business side. Even if it’s making £200 from some CDs on the merch desk, don’t just split it 4 ways and go to the pub. Think of ways you can go from one thing to the next and rehearse rehearse rehearse. None of it means anything if you can’t actually play.
Has the reaction to this latest record caught you off guard at all?
I think we all knew it would do well, we were really confident the fans would love it but you never really know just how much. This one seems to of really grown things more than we expected and we’re so glad people have got behind it.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like there’s a really considered ‘flow’ to Dagger – the songs seem to run so well into one another, almost like a continuous piece of music. Is that an intentional thing?
Yeah it’s definitely intentional, we spend a lot of time working on the flow of the albums. We usually get to a point where we’ve got 5-6 songs written and then we start thinking about what other types of songs this album might need. Either go into the arsenal to find something or write something to help fit the jigsaw puzzle.
Do you have any go-to sources of inspiration when it comes to songwriting, and has that evolved over the years?
I think it’s evolved over the years. We used to just get into a room and hope for the best and try and turn empty silence into something good. Since we’ve all gotten better at recording remotely we can send ideas around and get a song started from home before deciding to learn it and start playing it in the room. From speaking to Adam I know a lot of his lyrical inspiration comes from cinema and he’s got a notebook full of lyrics that he draws from when a song gets written.
Are there any shows in Manchester that you look back on particularly fondly?
I think back to the Academy 2 headline that we did at the end of 2021 I believe. We’d of course been waiting to do a proper tour for a long time after the lockdowns and that one felt very special at the time and felt like we’d arrived somewhere. New Century Hall was a massive show too at the end of 2024 and a venue that we’d wanted to play for a long time. The live show was starting to level up then and set the stage for what we’re doing now on this album tour.
Any other local bands you’re big into at the minute?
We’re big fans of Rude Films who rehearse at our KVR Studios rehearsal space. They came over to Amsterdam to support us at the sold out Paradiso which was really special. Nice to have friends with us when we did our biggest ever headline show. Plus they’re very loud and sounds great.
If you could pick one musical figure to work with, be it an artist or producer, who would it be?
For me it would be Jonny Greenwood. I’d love to hear what he could do if we got him to write some string parts for one of our songs. Real strings on one of our songs is a bucket list thing and Jonny Greenwood is one of my all time favourite musicians and composers.
What’s the next step up for you guys? Is there a map in your head of where you want to be in the next few years?
Oh of course there’s a map, we have lots of plans. Nothing I can discuss with you here of course. The most immediate thing is once tour’s over to start casually looking at some new material, we have some time between festivals so we’re just going to write some stuff just for the fun of it.
Finally, any surprises in store for the homecoming show?
Lights… Camera… Action…
Book tickets to Ist Ist’s Albert Hall homecoming gig below.
- Words:
- Bradley Lengden
- Published on:
- Mon 13 Apr 2026
