First off, give us a bit of background about you guys - when did you
form, who does what?
The band was formed by brothers Hugh and Benny Carter, their cousin Francis
Bevan and great mate Tom Heaven. They kicked around various musical ideas in a
barn in Somerset, but it wasn’t until a chance encounter with Felix in a bar that we
fully formed and got going. We booked a gig in Canterbury and spent a week writing
solidly, and presented a brand new hour of music to the crowd. That was a great
show. In the band, Felix sings and plays the bass, Hugh plays rhythm guitar, Franco
plays lead, Tom plays keys and Benny drums.
Tell us about your single 'Leave Me'
“Leave Me” was written by Felix and chronicles a rather eventful and pivotal
evening in his life – The night he forsook booze. It was indeed a howling night in
September, and the setting was suitably dramatic to warrant a song. It’s one of our
favourite songs to play, as it displays our musical approach and “style” very well. We
hope you like it.
I love your music video for your last single 'The Cowardly Soldier's
Lament', how was coming up with the theme/filming? Is it what you had in
your head when you wrote the song?
The song was actually originally written for Felix’s debut musical, “The Reckoning”.
It is sung by the character of Private Will Scupper, wracked with grief and despair
after leaving his father on the battlefield. However, we felt that it lent itself rather
well to our show, so now we finish our set with it. It’s lovely because people can
sing along with the chorus instantly. The video was a collaboration between the
band and our good friend Tommy Clarke, a fashion photographer and director who
has also done our video for “Leave Me”. Luckily we were able to avail ourselves of
the wonderful Lily Lindh who did our gruesome battle make-up, and we spent a
weekend running around in a field snarling and waving our weapons. It was great
fun. The only bit that was a let-down was the segment of Felix on the horse, which
had to be cut due to being too ridiculous.
You're all classically trained musicians, what are your thoughts on
bands who are self-taught? Do you think more bands need the proper training in order to make truly unique music?
Absolutely not. Pop music is not about adhering to established musical forms, it
is about separating oneself from formality and engendering something primal
and raw. A big influence on our writing are bands who reject traditional musical
forms and are bound by imagination alone. To that end, bands work best when they
shape music to their own ends, not the other way round. That’s not to say that good
musicianship isn’t vital. In most cases it is, but knowing your appoggiaturas from
your acciaccaturas is perhaps a little less important in the world of rock and roll.
You released 'Troubadours' in March - how has that been received by
your fans?
It’s one of our signature tunes. Our fans know it off by heart and it’s a really special
moment in every show where they sing along. Also, it has that wonderful trumpet
solo from Tom which sends people crazy when they hear it.
Is using your songs as a way to tell stories important to you? What
worlds do you create that you love to write about the most?
Felix sets a lot of the songs in a sort of parodic, allegorical steampunk world of
heroes and villains. He takes ordinary, everyday events and sets them in this fantasy
world to both enhance and deride their humanity (songs such as “Troubadours”
and “O, Jolly Roger”). Other times, we attempt to lyrically capture that peculiarly
British trait of suppressing emotion and dwelling in a self-created greyscale that we
find so powerful. Felix is particularly interested in the tiny worlds that people create
for themselves, and reflects them lyrically in songs like “Cupid”, our next single. The
desire to tell stories is a central tenet of our music, and is arguably the point of all
we do.
What are some good local bands we should keep an eye out for?
In London, we are very fond of Look, Stranger (dreamy, synthy, harmonic dance-
rock), Tankus The Henge (pseudo-Victorian vaudeville spectacular), Sam Brookes
(The best singer in London) and Third Cortez (Wonderful intricate ROCK!).
Elsewhere in the UK, we like Ed Feery The Spoony Bard (beautiful slices of northern
English sentiment), and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Louis Barabbas & The Bedlam Six (trust us, you won’t regret it).
How is work going on the new album? What can you tell us about it?
We are all writing away like mad, coming up with brand new things to put on the
album. We go into the studio in mid-October. The album will be a mixture of live
favourites and brand new songs, and will be produced by Ville Leppanen of The
Animal Farm, who also produced our last two singles. No title yet, but we’re leaving
that until it’s all written. We’ll keep you posted throughout the recording process,
and stick up little snippets as they come. Aside from that, it’s a secret!
Who are your biggest influences and how does it show in your music?
Felix is massively influenced by artists such as Nick Cave, Amanda Palmer and The
Decemberists. It was them that first showed us that you can write about ANYTHING,
which is a pretty mind-blowing realization when you first start writing. Their music
is so wonderfully eclectic and their performances so visceral. Aside from that we
like to include masses of different styles and genres in our work, and we delight in
spearing off in unexpected directions. For instance in Leave Me, we thought what
better way to go after the second chorus than a Bossa Nova rap? Felix is also very
influenced by Musical Theatre, and that is reflected in the stories we tell and the use
of characters and narrative in our songs.
Who would you want to work with out of any band in the world?
Amanda Palmer, Louis Barabbas and David Bowie. Preferably all at once.
What's next for you guys?
Well, we’re going to be shut away doing the album for the next couple of months,
then we’re going to be touring it around the UK and Europe. We’re unbelievably
excited and we can’t wait to share our new songs with you at one of our shows.
Come along.
