The Lovely Eggs

The Lovely Eggs

- Hi  Lovely Eggs! Let's start with the name of the band, why did you choose this?

Well I (Holly) was living in Paris and David came to stay with me for the summer and there was an abandoned nest on the bathroom windowsill. It had been there for months. And one day we found a pigeon sat in it and when the pigeon flew off it had laid two eggs in the nest. At the time me and David were just starting to write songs together so when we had to think of a name for the music stuff we were doing we chose The Lovely Eggs cos we were hatching as a band, a bit like those pigeon eggs. We saw the baby pigeons hatch and then we flew back to England and went to New York to play our first ever gig. And that was it.

-Why do you make music and what does it mean for you?

We have both always made music and been in bands. We just can't imagine doing anything else. For us it has come to represent freedom. It is also very exciting sometimes.

-Your song “Food“ it's stunning, pure energy! What’s the story behind it?

Well it's all about sex and loneliness really. The food thing is really just a ruse! I was fascinated by the idea of people who live quite solitary lives and what they do when they need to fuck. There are a lot of single people who just get together to have sex and they don't want anything more than that. I thought the idea of two people getting together to eat a meal together say once a week, just to eat together was an interesting idea. I am quite obsessed with the idea of food actually. You will find it in a lot of our songs. It represents a lot of things.

-Is There a link between your first albums (“If You Were Fruit”, “Cob Dominos”) and your last “Wildlife”?

Well yes! We wrote and recorded all the songs on them. They were recorded at Lancaster Musicians Co-op in Lancaster where we live. That is the link. 

-Many reviewers speak of a sort of “surrealist, working-class aesthetic, absurd” mood characterizing your songs, do you agree?

The Lovely Eggs

Some of our songs are definitely pretty surreal and we do like a lot of pretty absurd/surreal authors and artists so yeah we guess you could say we're coming from that vibe. A lot of our songs are about very normal things though. So we go from the surreal to the mundane. That's where it blurs. We think normal everyday life can be pretty surreal sometimes. Dunno about the working class thing. We both come from pretty working class backgrounds but it's not something we consciously try to get across in our songs or anything. 

-If it was up to you, how would you define your sound?

We would never define our sound because it changes all the time. We have no rules in our band regarding  sound (which is why some songs are 5 seconds long and some are 5 minutes long). But the bare bones are a drum kit, a guitar and a Big Muff.

-Talking about the compositions of your songs: how and where they born? Do you have a favourite one?

We write songs all over the place. Sometimes at home, when we are out and about or in a rehearsal room. Don't really think we have favourites.

-What genres and artists influenced your music the most?

The author Richard Brautigan has had quite a big influence on us. He seems to view the world through different glasses and it is nice to wear those spectacles. We also like David Shrigley. We love his art and he just seems to have the same squint on life that we do.

-You come from Lancaster, England. What do you think about the music coming from your country and how how do you see yourself in relation to them?

I think the UK as a whole has so many bands that you can't just generalise and say bands from over here are great or shit or whatever. There are some bands we absolutely love and  making really exciting music and others we think are just churning out bland generic music industry bullshit. We see ourselves very much apart from other bands though. We have lots of friends in bands we absolutely love but musically we are not similar. We have never really fitted into any scene like that.

-You are a married couple: does it affects the band? And if so, how?

Not really. It just means we get to fuck off on tour together and have fun. It's the best thing in the world to be honest.

-What's your favourite artist and song?

Oh that is an impossible question! We don't have a favourite. Old time classic favourites include The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Grandaddy and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. But we also love new stuff like Hotpants Romance, Cate le Bon, Let's Wrestle. There is no way ever we could pin down our favourite song.

The Lovely Eggs

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays and who are you listening to the most?

Not sure what you mean by relevant but as for bands doing stuff actually now, as we said we are into Hotpants Romance, Cate le Bon, Let's Wrestle, Kurt Vile, Sweet Baboo.

-How much does the live element matter in your music? In many reviews it is said that your concerts are full of epic atmosphere, what do you think about it?

Playing live is really important to us. Our gigs are all about a punk rock party. We don't like people to think they are watching the band but being part of a party. We want to break down those barriers and drink as much Strongbow as we can!

-If you could pick an artist or a band to play with on a stage, who would you choose?

Oh god we dunno. Sonic Youth with all those millions of guitars would be pretty amazing. Either that or something really stripped back like Jonathan Richman.

-What do you think about the music industry nowadays? Wanna talk us about your experience with the labels? The radio has a lot of influence in your path, didn'it?

We're very independent of the music industry we think. We don't really operate in that sphere. Saying that we've released stuff on Cherryade Records and Too Pure. Cherryade are very DIY and have the same spirit as us and Too Pure again were just ace to do stuff with. We've definitely sung from the same hymn sheet with the labels we have worked with so far. Radio-wise yeah we're been played quite a lot of radio over here. We have just been very lucky and sent them the records and they played em!

-What is the message that you'd like to express to the people who listen to your music and what would you like to say to your fans?

Mine's a Strongbow!

-And to all the young bands looking for a record deal?

The Lovely Eggs

You don't need to chase a record deal. There are plenty of amazing small labels releasing stuff and you can also release stuff yourself. Don't rely on other people to tell you yer good, believe in yerself and fucking go for it! Don't let your own band's future rely on the music industry. Fuck it and get on with it yourself.

-What is your favourite book and movie?

Can't pick favourites but we really like In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan and film-wise we are massive fans of The Wickerman (the original)

-Wanna talk us about “Haunt me Out” aka the “Twin Peaks single”?

There's not much to say, other than we released a single called Haunt Me OUt for Halloween. The song was inspired by Twin Peaks. Each limited edition CD came with a Laura Palmer half heart necklace and there were 6 different CD designs, each a different favoured Agent Cooper donut. They sold out very quickly and some set on fire in the post. We have been sent a photograph to prove this. Very weird.

-How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

Oh we don't know! Probably in a chip shop in Morecambe.

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Beatles.

The Blank

The Blank

-Who are you?

My name is Henry Ascroft, and I produce music under the name 'The Blank'

- Why did you choose this pseudonym?

There's a not so funny story behind it. Me and a good friend were discussing over a few days what we would call ourselves of we ever released music properly. And I kept saying how my mind was going 'blank.' A few more days later he just started calling me 'blank' as a joke. But it just stuck. That was 2 years ago, an here I still am!

-Why do you make music and what does it mean for you?

I make music, as an escape. I have a very active mind, but as with most people, my day job doesn't really take full advantage of that. Music is... It's a way to fuel my creative energy. 

-Your song “Burn “is pure sex. What’s the story behind it?

Well iv not yet heard it described that way! Haha. But the story goes that this singer Steffaloo, she had to shake some dust or something... Only joking. Basically steff came into contact with my music through her brothers blog and asked whether I wanted to do a song with her. And, as any sane producer would, I accepted. It actually took a while for me to create something I felt was worthy of her amazing vocals but I came up with a track, and it all came together! We've been in contact since and I was lucky enough to collaborate with her on my latest EP plastic dreams.

Plastic Dreams cover

- Talking about your album "Plastic Dreams".

Plastic Dreams... I suppose Plastic Dreams was quite an experimental effort. For a while I was shy of using my voice on tracks, and I would hide behind effects and such. But I decided to go for it, and that's where tracks like 'Falling' came from. I also used my guitar playing (lack of) skills on there quite a lot. But plastic dreams, in a nutshell is just me being me. Something that I hadn't expressed in music since then. And it seems to be well received. It spent a brief time on page one of the bandcamp best selling ambient albums. Up with Thrupence and Sango. Which was a (plastic) dream come true. And it's been pretty high in the charts since. So thanks everyone for the support!

- How would you define your sound?

My sound is quite varied I'd say. The differences between my releases are enormous. 'Burn' and say, 'home', to take 2 tracks, are completely different types of music. My music Is futuristic I'd say.

-What genres and artists influenced your music the most?

Genres id say the entire future music / minimal movement that's going on right now. As for artists, the obvious ones are people like James Blake and mount Kimbie. But I try to draw influences from anyone and everyone. The growing number of bedroom producers out there nowadays means there's just so much to listen to!

-You come from Australia. What do you think about the music coming from your country and how how do you see yourself in relation to them?

See people get this wrong all the time. I'm actually English. I have lived In Perth for about 4 years now. But I'm 100% English. I'm sure some of my Aussie fans are now disappointed haha. But in the Australian scene at the moment, there's such a diversity of brilliant music, coming from every city. I think what's happened is because the popular radio stations are so terrible, people have started moving farther from the mainstream music. And there is a great sense of support, it's an ever growing community. In relation to this, In Australia as a whole, I don't really think I'm one of the more notable artists. But when people mention perth artists, my name comes up now and again. So I'd like to think I'm contributing to Perth's sound as a whole.

-What's your favourite artist and song?

My favourite artist. Wow that's a hard one. I have no real favourite. But as for someone who has always inspired me, is have to say Burial. I think the fact that he remained anonymous for so long is brilliant. And his music is so pure because of that. And the same goes for favourite song. No real favourite. There are a few contenders. But if I was to choose I would lean towards Jamie xx's remix of Reconsider by the XX.

Suburban Dreamer cover

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays and who are you listening to the most?

I'd say people like the XX, Jamie Woon, Frank Ocean. The XX and Jamie Woon because they have taken a unique sound and have made more people aware of it, they have done a lot for the whole post-dubstep/future beat/minimal scene. And Frank Ocean because he has pretty much single handedly kept proper RnB alive. Obviously I'm not downplaying people like the Weeknd, Drake and even Miguel. But Frank Ocean has kept very true to his style I mean nostalgia/ultra and Channel Orange could be put together into one album. He reminds me why popular music used to be so good.

-How much does the live element matter in your music?

In times passed, not a lot. But more recently I have been trying to develop my music into something that could be played live. That's why iv started using my guitar, vocals etc... And reduced the role of synths and layering. It's a lot more stripped back and minimal, and I hope that soon ill be at the point where I can show people that live element in some way.

-If you could pick an artist or a band to play with on a stage, who would you choose?

Probably Ed Sheeran. I know that seems 

like a very I obvious choice considering the artists iv just mentioned. But I think Ed has a very pure element to his music. If you watch the set e did for the iTunes festival, it is literally just him and his guitar. And I think for someone that popular to do a love show that is so basic is something to be admired.

Twenty Eleven Dreaming cover

-What do you think about the music industry nowadays?

I think that the music industry has done almost a full circle, not long ago people had all but given up on it. But now the vinyl is back on the rise and there's so many small independent labels starting out.

-What is the message that you'd like to express to the people who listen to your music?

I like to express a message of self reflection. The music I make is influenced by my life. And so is like to think people can find something in it for them.

-What is your favourite book and movie?

I'm not much of a reader. And not much of a favourite chooser so I couldn't even come close to answering that question.

-How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

Hopefully still alive! Haha. But honestly I don't care too much as long as I'm happy. I'd hope to have released a vinyl by then. That's always been a dream of mine. 

-Pc or Mac?

Mac

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?

The rolling Beatles. Am I allowed that?

TYING TIFFANY

Tying Tiffany

-Why do you make Music and what does it mean for you?
The answer is simple... I love doing it!!Make music is the pill that make me feel better day by day, is a way to break away from everything around me. I feel good when making it..


 -Where and when did you start learn to play ?
I played bass in various bands and was singin’ in other projects, but I could hardly bring on projects that weren’t totally mine therefore so, I then took after a solo career ..wasn’t easy at the beginning to put something serious together and doesn’t help the fact that... I’m damn lazy…The first experiments sounded like concrete music, I was definitely inspired by the German electronic, fascinated me because it was impalpable, cosmic....ancestral.

-What's your favourite artist and song?

There are many but I don't like lists, I can tell you who I'm listenening at the moment; Daughn Gibson, Ulterior, Chromatics, Swans

-What genres and artists did influence your music?
My sound is born from what I’ve been listening through my early influences, electronic music, post punk, industrial, wave and deathrock, maybe is still rooted and lives inside my music but when I work on a new record, I usually separate myself from what I’ve listened to create something new that I feel and I would like to buy.

-How much the live element matters in your Music?
It’s something I really enjoy, it gives me a chance to share my ideas with a lot of people, of course this is an important part in my music.

When I'm touring live, I'm performing in front of an audience that's giving me constant feedback. The vibe is huge cause of the energy between me and the audience. This gives me something unique to bring to the studio, because of all that accumulated inspiration I get from the audience.

-What do you think about Music industry nowdays?
The rules of music industry sucks! I believe just in the music not in the system.

-What is the message that you'd like to express at the people Who listen to your Music?

There are several message, everyone can find a close meaning in my music, but this is not essential for me, It is above all a question of harmony, instead of message. My music is made to be connect with the body, to converse with it and generate a powerful wall of sound.

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowdays?
Unfortunately, we never hear about some of the best musicians nowdays.

Most of the people pay attention just for those that are pushed by hipster music magazines/ webzine. There is a real mess between who is a really good artist and who is just a poser.

-Let's talk about the new album?
My last album “Dark Days White Nights” talk about of decadence, alienation, sense of inadequacy, that are addressed in this album with light melancholy, I was inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni and Monica Vitti in the cinema classic "Red Desert" that had been able to describe with great sensitivity the alienation of a modernity devoid of real meaning.

-How would you define your sound?

Hard to say, maybe a weird mixture of wave post-punk and electronic music

-What is your favourite book and movie?
just say what I'm gonna read right now “A visit from the goon squad” by Jennifer Egan and a movie that I really enjoyed recently was “Brotherhood” by Nicolo Donato

Many compare you to style and movements to Alice Glass of Crystal Castles.
What do you think?
I don't ever draw conclusions in a superficial way, as people often do, but someone know I started playing many years ago, she probably was a child, I always had this stupid haircut since I was 5 and I play music since 14yo. To my knowledge CC come with an album in 2008 from Canada with one of the most huge publishing company in the world and many promotional investment that I can't even dream. Can anyone call them indie? I released my first single in 2004 printed by my own from Italy and I've certainly no one who gives me any help. This market is a bit like an election campaign, who has the most loud voice get more visibility. What would happen if in the future an economic giant like NME or Pitchfork made a new website called Indiesway.com? This is the point.

-How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?
I don't know...everywhere

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?
Rolling Stones!!! Cause' I like only one song of the Beatles”Helter Skelter”

Killerball

Killerball

Who are you?

Killerball. The Swedish band that play anywhere, anytime, and always make the most of it! We play rock clubs, arenas, livingrooms, parties, streets, squares, fountains, towers, mountains. You name it! :)

Why do you make Music and what does it mean for you?

It's a way to put down your creativity on paper. To create some kind of discussion, interaction, feelings and emotions for the listener. But sometimes (most of the times) you write something that you, in the end, only keep to yourself, or throw in the garbage bin. And some songs you want to share with others, and then you record those songs and play them live. Sometimes songwriting actually feels like a strange kind of compulsive behavior too...

It's fun to write songs. It's like when you painted pictures when you were a child. It felt like you did something meaningful and good, and you could use your imagination and create what ever you wanted. It's kind of the same thing.

What's your favourite artist and song?

Wow. That's too hard to answer! We'll get back to you in 50 years. But for now, let's say: Eros Ramazzotti - Quanto Amore Sei

What genres and artists did influence your music?

Bluegrass/Folk/Americana/Blues/Rock'n'Roll/Grunge/Indie/Pop/Garage/Funk/Hardrock/Pop. A big mashup of every genre that contains good songs (which probably is every genre in the world. Except Eurodisco! Haha)

We've seen that you often play acoustic version of your songs (such as "I can't find it"). Can we talk of two different souls of killerball? An electric one and an acoustic one?

Killerball on Spotify

Yes that's true! We played rock clubs for many years, we are very influented by the 90s rock scene, and it is so much fun to headbang and ROCK OUT in the rehearsal studio, but after we'd recorded our first EP, we wanted to go on a tour through Europe. We were very late on booking gigs, and all the venues in Europe were full booked, so we decided to take our acoustic guitars, and a box for the poor drummer. And taught ourselves how to sing in harmonies. Then we packed our car and did a European tour without any booked concert, but only on the streets. We sold out on all of our CDs and could pay for the whole trip only by playing! Yeah!

Talking about "i can't find it", we've seen on youtube an awesome video taken in Salinas, Spain in which you play that song for an Old couple: do you remember that episode?

Yes that was at the last destination of our EU-tour, and we lived in a house with some friends from Sweden who were visiting. One of them is a good journalist and photographer, and he talked us in to do a "random-spontaneous-surprise-walk-straigh-into-unknown-peoples-house-music-video" and so we did, and that video is the result of that. We had never met the old couple before, so it was as amazing to us as it is for the people who watches the clip!

How much the live element matters in your Music?

Very much. We record everything live. We want everything to sound like it's actually played. No Macbooks and overproduced effects. Just good and true. If it sounds good on the street or in our livingroom, it's gonna sound good everywhere! 

What do you think about Music industry nowdays?

It's very different from a couple of years ago when people actually bought CDs in the record stores. Now the possibilities are million times bigger to reach many people, but the competition from other bands is also a million times bigger!

You have to find a smart way to reach out to people. And to reach out to the music business. 

Jonathan, our drummer, started for instance studying music business to learn how the music business really works from the inside. And to get a good network. That has really helped Killerball to slowly get the big wheels to start turning in the pursuit of a ROCK STAR LIFE! ;)

Also the street shows are very appreciated and helps Killerball to grow a steady fan base.

What is the message that you'd like to express at the people Who listen to your Music?

Killerball web-site

If a song is good, it will be good in every clothing. We have chosen to un-mask the music and play it / perform it in a simple way. But with a lot of heart and soulful vibe. 

Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowdays? We've seen you covered some artists such as Mumford &Sons and The Black Keys..

We love Mumford and Sons and The Black Keys. They seem to do music that they like themselves. And they write very good songs without focusing on being too over inventive, and weird. Just keeping it pretty simple and down to earth. We like that. But still: they are DAMN GOOD musicians. But as we said earlier: we like A LOT of bands! From all genres. And from all times.

What is your favourite book and movie?

The only things we read are the subtitles on the only movies we watch - "Rockumentaries".

How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

Still hanging out, and writing as good music as we can! And hopefully we have some people that like what we do and pay to listen to it, so we can pay our rents from that.

Beatles or Rolling Stones?

The Rolling Beatles. Of course!

Embassy

Embassy

-Who are you?

 I’m Edward Lyons, a postgrad law/business student, football fanatic, eclectic music listener and the producer behind Embassy.

-Let's talk about the "Embassy" project?

Embassy was started out of my frustration with an inability to compose original material on my strongest instruments of guitar/bass. I decided to try something new and got into synths and sampling. There’s also a degree of control over your vision you gain as a producer. You are the band; the drummer, the guitarist, the bass player, the keys. Shaping the sound of each of these elements is a real step up from playing only one.

-Are you working for a future releases?

Yes, I’m working towards the release of a mixtape featuring a number of guests due out in April/May and following that, a debut EP.

-Why do you make music and what does it mean for you?

The first reason was to have some tracks I could put on my own iPod. After a few friends listened and said how much they enjoyed them I was motivated to work on them more. Making music is a sort of infinite challenge. You can always improve. Write better lyrics. Construct a better beat. Build a better bassline. But at the same time it was never about that. Musical quality is so subjective and impossible to define. The aim for me then is to be able to create a collection of sounds that others can find meaning in, hopefully in the way I have been influenced and touched by the music I listen to.

-Where and when did you start learn to play?

 I started learning guitar when I was 7. Clarinet when I was 8. Bass when I was 10. Poorly self-taught on everything else.

Embassy Music

-What's your favourite artist and song?

Music means too much to have a favourite artist or song. It all depends on the situation; how you feel, who you’re with, what your girlfriend said to you yesterday, how many dollars in your pocket, how many uni assignments you have due or how many weeks of holidays ahead.

My favourite artists are those that push boundaries but still connect with a huge audience. That to me is purpose of art and music. Influencing the Embassy sound most are Burial, Oddisee, J Dilla, Bonobo, DJ Shadow and The Streets.

-What genres did influence your music?

Jazz, soul and hip-hop are the fundamental basis of almost everything I write. The media I express these ideas with ranges from the traditional acoustic instruments through to more electronic and sampled sounds

-How would you describe your sound?

 Embassy is a project that attempts to blend influences of instrumental hip hip, downtempo electronica with jazz harmony and improvisation. It aims to be equal parts ambient and moving. Most importantly the purpose is to (hopefully) make you feel.

@Embassy

-How much the live element matters in your Music?

For me, how you perform live defines who you are as a musician. Without a captivating live show you are a composer or a DJ not a musician. Engaging the audience is a critical part of your role. Having people walking away from your gig with a buzz is something I consider a priority. I choose to perform my tracks with 3 other musicians playing the sounds on real instruments rather than set off an endless array of loops or perform with a backing track.

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays?

 As above, the artists most relevant (and deserving of the most recognition) are those that can traverse new ground yet still connect with their listeners.

-How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

 Ideally, having as much fun as I am now.