rockyourlyricsHow do you usually write the lyrics of your songs?
Sometimes I make it up in the moment as we rehearse the music, sometimes on the tube, in a cafe or in bed.
In your opinion, what is the most important thing in songwriting?
Being fluid – being prepared to let go of things that don’t work out and being open to new bits that just randomly happen in the moment.
Are you ever scared of revealing aspects of your personal life/experience to strangers through your music?
I like to preserve some mystique but I write music and lyrics to express what I feel, what’s on my mind, to bring awareness, and sometimes to tell stories – I would like listeners to be intrigued by the meaning of the songs and lyrics – they are always very personal and truthful – not always about me but rather what I observe in the world.
What is the best lyric that you ever wrote (the most meaningful for you)?
I like the lyrics for ‘Late Night Hang’ on our ‘The Frantic Legion’ album – it was inspired by
2001: A Space Odyssey, the book Sapiens and the films Altered States and Youth Without Youth. A reflection on human behaviour before language or fire.
I also like the lyrics on our new EP – it all came together smoothly.
The lyrics for ‘Broken Morning’ stem from a more realist style of writing for me.
What inspired “Ashes”, part of your latest album ‘Drenched’?
I’d been reading a lot about war as this is a subject that fascinates and horrifies me – books such as Marie Colvin’s On the Front Line, Paul Conroy’s Under The Wire, Romeo Dallaire’s Shaking Hands with the Devil, Anthony Loyd’s My War Gone By, Michael Herr’s Dispatches…I was interested in how humans process all this horror.
And “Bones”?
Bones is a story about intense sexual attraction, obsession and delusion. I just imagined a dark story set at 4am on a foggy London night outside a creepy dive bar.
Do you remember the day you wrote “Bones”?
I remember coming up with the bass and lyrics for Bones sitting on my bed on a quiet night last summer.
Is there a link/a common theme among the songs of the new EP?
The EP drifts towards themes of human savageness and broken spirits, loneliness, love and loss.
What is the best suggestion your producer gave you?
Will and I write and record everything together – we come up with ideas in the studio but I can’t recall anything specific.
My advice would be to turn up knowing exactly what you plan to record and yet be open to changes and spontaneous magic.
What are your plans for 2019?
We are going to shoot a video for ‘Broken Morning’ in March, play live more, write new songs for a second EP that will link up with this one.
Keep on supporting Save the Rhino, Sea Shepherd, Stop the Taiji Dolphin Slaughter, Stop the Faroe Islands Whale Slaughter, Save the Whales from the Japanese, Icelandic and Norwegians, Save the Pangolins, Stop the dog meat farms in South Korea and China, ADI (Save wild animals in circuses),
stop live exports, protect our oceans and trees and so much more.
To conclude the interview a short Q/A session, please answer the first thing that comes to your mind:
- Define in one word your EP “Drenched”: Distinctive.
- The best show you ever played: I’ve enjoyed most of the gigs we’ve played – standout ones would be headlining the Astoria with our previous band Rachel Stamp, and more recently we played a reunion Rachel Stamp gig at the Underworld and supported as She Made Me Do It and it was pretty cool to do a quick change and play both sets.
- The one thing that you must have in your backstage: Music.
- The soundtrack of your childhood: Classical music, Pink Floyd, Simon and Garfunkel, ABBA, Kraftwerk, Madonna.
- Your favorite song lyrically speaking, but not written by you: Second Skin by The Chameleons.
- Last question is “unusual”, we want to know your best relationship advice: Be yourself and learn to be ok with being on your own first.
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