This is Lennon Gallagher and this is his Stand Out Story, son of Liam Gallagher, musician and his own band, Lennon talks us through his life and career so far.

What music did you listen to growing up? Any stand out bands or genres that provided the soundtrack to your growing up?

My dad showed me the likes of The Beatles, Happy Mondays, and The Stone Roses. All that kind of stuff. I like a lot of different things, different genres. They can be polar opposites, too: either super heavy, abrasive music, or more chilled-out music. Anything goes.

You said a while back that you didn’t have much interest in making music. Was there a specific moment you can think of that changed your mind?

I didn’t think about it too much. I mean, I play guitar. I didn’t really think about taking it to another level. You know, joining a band. I was just bored and thought ‘f*ck it’. I like music, it can be fun, and there’s nothing else going on. So why not?

The new EP, ‘In Motion’, dropped a few months ago. Talk us through it – are there any major themes in the mix?

As a band, we talked about growing up in a super tech-oriented age and how that’s such a huge part of our lives. We’re all online, we have no real privacy. It’s kind of paranoia inducing. It’s a bit much at times. For me as a 21-year-old it gets noisy; all your friends are posting, there’s so much content to digest, so much information. I don’t like that. I don’t feel the need to show everyone what I’m doing all the time.

Does that inform how you guys operate as a band?

Yeah, I like to keep a level of mystery about the whole thing, you know? I don’t want to give away too much. I want to keep my cards close to my chest. The focus should be on the band as a collective rather than the individuals within it. It’s about the music. I don’t like the idea of the celebrity focus that special media tends to push. I certainly don’t want to go down that route.

Are there any specific influences that informed the sound of the new EP?

Certain bands like Slint, King Crimson, Balck Midi, Fat White Family, they’ve all influenced us. As we’re progressing as musicians, we’re learning new techniques and new ways to make music better. Things we didn’t think about before. So we’re progressing in ways that we didn’t even see coming. Our music will be different in a year’s time. We hope to be constantly evolving.

Shoegaze, dream pop, brit pop, prog rock, math rock – Automation seems like a mix of overlapping genres. How would you define Automotion’s style in your own words?

I define it as a cacophony. Just loud and harsh with definite rock elements. It’s experimental; we like to push the boundaries as much as we can. Like I said, we want to always be progressing.

You have a very distinctive vocal style on the EP – almost like spoken word poetry. Is that something you’re into?
As a kid, I always read. I loved poetry. I’d read a lot of Charles Bukowski and William Burroughs. Some of my lyrics find their influence in them, and the spoken word element of my singing most likely comes from them too. I think it’s just the natural way of expressing myself. It’s expressive without being too showy. I’m going to keep doing it. People kind of hate it. Well, they don’t hate it, but they’d rather I sang. I tell them ‘no, I can’t be arsed.’

How did you get into modelling in the first place? Is it something you always wanted to try out or did you just fall into it? How has the experience been so far?

I was walking in Brick Lane when I was like 16 and I’d just picked up this army jacket. I was walking away from the store and this woman pulled me to one side, gave me her card and told me I should be a model. ‘We have a shoot in Africa,’ she says. ‘You should get involved.’ I didn’t, because it sounded sketchy. But it did spark my interest in modelling and got the ball rolling.

Are there any unexpected challenges that come along with modelling?

It’s always really difficult going to castings and putting yourself out there. There are hundreds of people who look like you, even more than look different to you. Your instant way of thinking is ‘there’s no way I’m getting this gig’. You do get insecure, I can’t lie.

To be clear, though: If you’re on a shoot and there’s something you don’t like you can always call up your agent and they’re always willing to help you out. They’ll help you out to the best of their ability. You’re not alone. That’s something people really need to understand. You have a team behind you. It can be intimidating going into a studio with 20 people you’ve only just met. You should never feel like you’re being pushed into doing something that you don’t want to do.

Do you have any style icons you look up to?

I mean, musicians like Lou Reed, Cobain, The Beatles when they were wearing suits. They’re all style icons of mine. Subcultures have been pretty influential, too. The Mods, the Rockers. I just take a little something from everything, really. Mix n’ match, you know?

What does style mean to you? How would you define your own style?

Style is super personal. You’re showing the world how you want to be seen. That’s how I see it. My personal style typically depends on what mood I’m in that morning, I guess. Do I go loud or keep things quiet? Do I stand out or hide in the shadows?

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