ASBO MEETS: The Howl & The Hum

Contributing Music Editor – ASBO Magazine

‘Indie Mand’ – Creator/Editor – The Best New Indie

Images: Stewart Baxter

1. For someone that is yet to discover you/your band , how would you describe your music?

Most recent Tiktok comment is ‘John Denver on meth’ so let’s go with that

2. What inspires you as an artist?

My friends. I have so many talented friends who are such brilliant writers, and I can see how brilliant they are because I’ve seen the situations they’re writing about as they go through them, and how they turn that into music is very inspiring.

3. What is your process for preparing to perform live? Do you have any Diva demands?

I watch a video of a band called Pere Ubu playing their song Waiting For Mary on a TV show in the 80s.

4. Where do you feel you fit into the music landscape?

Apparently very very far from all of the gold

5: What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?

All music has its merits. My favourite at the moment is older folk music: Joan Baez, Fairport Convention, and Richard Dawson who’s doing a sort of post-modern equivalent.
6. Is there a story behind the name of the band?

Loads! I’ve forgotten the real one.

7. What would you say is your greatest strength as an Artist?

I used to think slithering between different shapes and not settling on one genre was indecisive, and now I realise it’s probably just individualism.

8. What would you say is your greatest weakness as an Artist?

Probably fear and anxiety, anything that holds me back from having fun and letting go.

9. What can fans expect from your new or current single Dirt

Indie pop banger about the hangovers of relationships and how no-one is a good person

10. What music artist would you say have influenced your work?

Bob Dylan is my numero uno.

11. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?

I love Blake Mills’ music, guitar playing, songwriting and production.

12. What was your worst performance?

Oh god which one. We played in Ramsgate Music Hall last year – no shade on the venue, the guys that run it rock, but I think we were basically done as a band then, and it felt like the death rattle of the first incarnation of the band.

13: What was the most difficult obstacle you have ever faced and how did you overcome it?

The breakdown of my band wasn’t the easiest hurdle, but it turns out it was probably the right thing to happen in the long run. I started running everything, and did a huge amount of research into the music industry and band management and music law. So now I’m well-read and more miserable!

14: What is your creative process when making music. Do you work with others or is there just you?

I tend to start out on my own: voice memos, notes, the simple skeleton of the song, and then sometimes approach others for collaborative ideas, especially for arrangement and production.

15 Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?

Wembley or Dead