Introducing Interview: Alice Hubble

Set to release her new album Hexentanzplatz this Friday, innovative London based artist Alice Hubble has previously captivated us with poignant singles such as ‘Power Play‘ and ‘My Dear Friend‘. With her distinctive euphoric, synth-driven energy and glitchy ‘80s-inspired musicality, we’re already huge fans of the soaring, ethereal soundscapes she creates.

Ahead of the release on Friday, we caught up with Alice to find out more about the album, what inspires her and her thoughts on the treatment of women and non-binary people in music at the moment… Have a read!

Hi Alice, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello! Thank you, it’s great to be here! I’m Alice Hubble, an electronic pop musician, based in London, originally from Leeds. I make music with my collection of vintage synthesisers, which combines pastoral instrumentals and budget pop in equal measure. My first LP came out in 2019 and the second is coming out this month via Happy Robots.

What initially inspired you to start creating music?
It’s hard to think what initially inspired me to create music cause it feels like it’s always been there. I was one of those music nerd kids, always singing and playing in music groups. In my 20s and a lot of my 30s I was in various bands, albeit to very limited successes. In mid 2018 I decided to focus on my own solo musical creation and Alice Hubble as we know it was born. I’m very inspired by creating ‘otherly’ worlds in music, recreating my imagined worlds sonically. As a person, I’m always pushing to contradict expectations and I attempt to do this in my music. Writing lyrics can be a form of therapy for me to unpack my lived experiences, but I also write about things that matter to me – particularly a highly inclusive form of feminism.

You’re about to release your new album Hexentanzplatz at the end of this week – are you able to tell us a bit about this? Are there any particular themes running throughout the album? 
The album was recorded in October 2020, with half of the songs written during the lockdown in 2020. Though I chose to stay away from writing about the lockdown, I feel the unease and anxieties of the time are very present in the music. The album is called Hexentanzplatz, named after the German mountain. The mountain is steeped in magic and legend and is famous for its Walpurligsnacht celebrations. The name translates literally to mean Witches’ Dance Floor, which really is too perfect. Recurring themes on the LP are illusion, feminism and protest. Illusion creeps into my songs a lot, whether it’s a projected myth of an unbeknown subject of my affections, the illusions we create on social media or your re-imagination of a place in your head. I’ve always been fascinated about how a real place or moment can exist so differently in two people’s minds. 

And how have you found recording and promoting an album during these strange times? 
It’s definitely been strange, I’ve been lucky that the pandemic gave me more space to focus on my music – I was on furlough with my day job, so I had time to spend writing and recording at home. I got to travel to Germany and visit the Harz mountains and learn about Hexentanzplatz and then to Ramsgate in October to record the LP. I also got to play a gig in May just after things started to lift which was really great. I spent 2019 being so busy that I was burnt out, so spending a lot of 2020 focusing on my mental health and having a quiet time was really good for me. It also gave me the chance to record a collaborative EP with Bradford based musician Andy Abbott (under the name ADRA Hubble) and do things I thought I’d never have the confidence to do like host a Facebook chat show and start my radio show. It was disappointing to have things cancelled, but it wasn’t something I dwelled on too much, there were bigger tragedies of the pandemic. I very much see myself as one of the fortunate ones over the last year and feel grateful for what I achieved in this time.

We love your shimmering, euphoric electro soundscapes, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Thank you! Oh my, it’s hard to narrow down. The bands that have always been with me are the classic synth pop bands – Kraftwerk, OMD, New Order. The Beach Boys have also been such an influence to me. For Alice Hubble, sonically I’ve been inspired by Sally Oldfield, School of Seven Bells, Goldfrapp, Book of Love, Susan Sundfor, to name a few.

We have been particular fans of your recent single ‘Power Play’ – described as the closest thing you’ve written to a protest song, it’s inspired by the #MeToo movement. Are you able to tell us a bit more about this? And, in relation to this, how do you feel the music industry is for women/non-binary people at the moment – do you feel that things have improved over the last few years? 
Thank you! It means a lot to have people respond to the song. ‘Power Play’ is a track that was, on the whole, written in lockdown 1. I feel like a lot of anger and frustration that came out of that time was channeled into the track. At the time I’d looked at Twitter and seen that one of the musicians whose hideous behaviour had been a focus in the #metoo movement was back Tweeting and interacting with fans as normal. And it got me thinking “have things really changed? Do people move on to different things once the moment has passed?” It all started with the menacing synths and, as the track was so angry sonically, I wanted the lyrics to be a call to arms of some sorts. The mass hex of Brock Turner as an act of resistance and resilience (to quote the song) always really intrigued me as a form of activism and I read a lot around this to inform the lyrics. With the subject matter being so triggering, it was a song that needed careful consideration to get just right. It’s definitely getting better for women/non-binary people in the industry but there is still a long way to go. There is better representation generally – I just came back from Green Man where there were so many amazing women/non- binary performers at the festival. There’s also a greater understanding of mental health awareness, and discussions taking place about what behaviours in the industry are not helpful for women/non-binary people. The male ego power-trip that was accepted as the norm for years is now being recognised for what it is, and there are people in the industry trying to make changes. My brother is trans, so naturally trans rights is an issue close to my heart. I have noticed there is more awareness in the general public of trans and non-binary people compared to twenty years ago, which is great. But I feel there is still a long way to go, and a lot of educating still to do, particularly with how polarised society is. I find all the ‘anti-woke’ and TERF rhetoric very disturbing, particularly in the way that they present themselves as reasonable people (when they clearly aren’t!).

How have you been connecting with your audience and other musicians during the pandemic?
I played a few online shows including a Zoom show, the shows went ok but I’m not sure I’d rush to do them again as it’s so hard to connect with an audience that way. I’m also not sure how long people’s attention span is for a Zoom gig these days. It’s great to use digital to connect with audiences in different ways than the typical live performance. I really enjoyed doing the Hubble’s House Party chat show, partly as it felt like such an achievement and we had a great crowd watching. I also did an Instagram DJ set for Divine Schism which was great.

And has there been anything/anyone specific that has been inspiring you, or helping to motivate you, throughout these strange times? 
Hexentanzplatz and music making in general helped give me a purpose during this time. I think 2020 would have been a lot harder for me if I hadn’t had a creative project to throw myself into. I also consumed a lot of TV and books. My partner and I have done a lot of travelling through culture to take us outside of our reality. We got really into watching travel shows like Race Across the World. I also went on a bit of a deep-dive reading about the ’60s hippy trail trekkers after watching The Serpent, and found Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld a bit silly but a welcome break from real life politics.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming artists or bands that you’d recommend we check out?
Sister Wives from Sheffield are awesome!

Finally, in addition to the release of your album, what does the rest of 2021 have in store for you?
Alongside the album there’s a fantastic video which will be out soon, created by illustrator Katherina Rival. I’m going on a mini tour in October which, fingers crossed, will happen as expected. It would be great to see you there!

Massive thanks to Alice for answering our questions!

Hexentanzplatz, the upcoming new album from Alice Hubble, is set for release this Friday 10th September via Happy Robots. Catch Alice on her UK tour:

7th October – Folklore, London
8th October – The Cold Store, Nottingham
15th October – Wharf Chambers, Leeds
23rd October – West Hill Hall, Brighton (supporting Laetitia Sadier)
31st October – The Moon, Cardiff

Photo Credit: Tom Hilverkus

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Track Of The Day: Tape Runs Out – ‘Ode To Barry’

Having previously charmed us live at one of our GIHE nights at The Finsbury, multi-instrumental collective Tape Runs Out have now announced the release of their debut album, due out sometime in 2022. And, to celebrate the news, they have now shared a brand new single, via one of our favourite labels, Trapped Animal Records.

A song dedicated to, and inspired by, lead singer and producer Liam Goodrum-Bell’s beloved bearded dragon, ‘Ode To Barry‘ drifts into the ears with its luscious, twinkling folk-strewn hooks and a shimmering effervescent splendour. As a soaring, glistening musicality provides the backdrop for its delicate harmonies, an ethereal dreamscape is created, oozing a beautifully blissful aura as rich, textured layers of eclectic instrumentation (yes, that is a hammered dulcimer you hear) are interwoven seamlessly together. A delightful ode to a much-loved pet, ‘Ode To Barry’ ripples with a sparkling joyous energy as it caresses the senses with a much-needed sense of hope and tranquility as its exquisite melodies flow with a heartfelt emotion.

‘Ode To Barry’ is accompanied by a utterly unique online experience dubbed ‘Barry Quest’ – a choose-your-own-adventure style game featuring the titular lizard, with the video for the new song hidden as one of several different endings to the game. Computer games AND lizards… What more could you possibly want?! Explaining the concept, Liam comments:

“The game came about from my love of puzzles, and my fascination with trying to figure out how Barry’s mind works. As I watch him wander around the house, bumping into doors and licking walls, I often wonder if he feels like he is on an adventure, or if he even thinks at all. Aside from the more dreamlike eventualities, the game represents both the frolics and nonsense of a day in the life of Barry, albeit with added intentions and considerations that he almost certainly does not experience.“

Guide Barry to find the video here! And if you’d just to like to get straight to watching the video, here it is:

‘Ode To Barry’ is out now via Trapped Animal Records.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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LISTEN: LIINES – ‘Keep On Going’

With their last single ‘Sorry‘ reaching over 100,000 streams on Spotify and with acclaim from the likes of Sleaford Mods, Radio X’s John Kennedy and BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, longterm GIHE faves LIINES seem to be consistently going from strength. Now, ahead of a few tour dates coming up this month, the Manchester trio – comprising of Zoe McVeigh, Leila Sullivan and Anna Donigan – have shared a potent new offering.

Propelled by a frenetic sense of urgency as Leila’s emphatic beats set the tone, ‘Keep On Going‘ gradually builds with intricate musical layers as gritty, whirring hooks kick in alongside Donigan’s deep, throbbing bass. Resulting in a sublime, post-punk force of nature, it’s driven by a swirling, frenzied energy, exuding a fierce, unrelenting power as the seething ferocity of Zoe’s distinctive raw vocals soar. A short, sharp two minute sonic explosion that’ll grab you by the ears and instantly awaken your senses with its relentless, impassioned allure. Of the track, Zoe explains:

“‘Keep On Going’ is a call to arms. The song is almost like a mantra – a chant. A reminder to put one foot in front of the other because that’s all you really can do. It’s a two minute blast of energy that signifies the need to just ‘keep on going, keep with me’.“

Watch the new video for ‘Keep On Going’ here:


Produced by Paul Tipler (Elastica, Placebo), ‘Keep On Going’ is out now. Catch LIINES live at The Grace in London this Thursday 9th September with stellar support from GENN and Anna Vincent, and in Manchester on Saturday with the equally awesome Desperate Journalist – details here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: asupremeshot

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INTERVIEW: Bad Waitress

Having just released their debut album, No Taste, Toronto band Bad Waitress have been become firm favourites over the last few months with the riotous, raging power of singles such as ‘Strawberry Milkshake‘ and their playful recent video for album track ‘Rabbit Hole‘. With scuzzy, pulsating hooks and immense, seething vocals, we just can’t get enough of their frenzied, empowering drive and dark, swirling energy.

We spoke to the band to find out more about the new album, what inspires them, and their feelings about how the music scene is for women and non binary people at the moment… Have a read!

Hi Bad Waitress, welcome to Get In Her Ears – thanks so much for joining us! How are you doing today?
We’re doing real good thanks! Thanks for speaking with us. 

How did you all initially meet and start creating music together? 
Kali came down from the big white north and met Moon, they started jamming occasionally and Katelyn dropped some heavy hints that they wanted in on the jams too. Kali messaged Nicole on Facebook a couple years later when they needed a new bassist… And the rest is history!

We big fans of your raging, energy-fuelled sound, but who would you say are your main musical influences? 
Sonic Youth, Idles, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party, Gang of Four! 

You’ve just released your debut album No Taste, which is super exciting! Are you able to tell us a bit about the album? Are there any particular themes or inspirations running throughout it? And how does the writing process normally work within the band?
A lot of the stuff discussed in the songs is reflective of turbulent childhoods, political unrest, complicated relationships and uncomfortable expectations being forced on you. The band is definitely a place to air out our frustrations and make sense of the world around us. Sometimes Kali will bring lyrics and a structure and the rest of us will work off of that, other times we just start jamming and latch on to a certain riff or beat and it turns into a song somehow. It’s very much a collaborative process – each of us brings something unique to the mix.

How have you found recording and promoting an album during these strange times? Have you had to adjust the way that you’d normally do things? 
We actually recorded this album in the summer of 2019 – it was originally going to be released in 2020, but we decided to hold on to it until we figured out what the heck was going on with the world. We’ve definitely had to work on our online presence more; we did some weird variety show type stuff on our Instagram live, we did a Twitch stream, we’ve done a couple livestream shows. It’s been a lot more internet based stuff, but it seems like live-in-the-flesh type situations are on the horizon, so maybe we won’t have to figure out how to get big on tiktok just yet. 

We love your latest vibrant Mad Hatters-esque video for album track ‘Rabbit Hole’ – are you able to tell us a bit about the inspiration behind this song and its magnificent visuals? 
We just really like having fun with the videos we make. We’re all into weird horror movies, Kali and Katelyn especially, so we draw from that a lot. It’s a chance for us to live out whatever crazy fantasies we dream up that day. ‘Rabbit Hole’ is a pretty dark song about being trapped in the comfort of depression – we didn’t want to have a drab depressing video for it though, so we went the complete opposite direction visually. 

You’ve previously described the main premise of forming the band as being that you “…just wanted to get together and play music with people who weren’t old men” (which sounds like a great reason to me!). How do you feel the music scene is generally for women and non binary folk at the moment? Do you feel that much has changed or improved over the last few years? 
We love seeing how many more bands there are nowadays made up of women, trans people and non binary people. Honestly though, there’s still a long way to go. We still get backhanded compliments, or weird micro aggressions about how impressed people are that we can actually play our instruments, or people assuming we’re finding some success because we’re not men, or people telling us what we should do with our music or stage presence, as though they know better. There’s also a lot of misgendering (Moon and Katelyn are non binary, Kali and Nicole are women) and that’s exhausting. But there’s also a beautifully supportive community that we’re a part of, full of people that are constantly learning and lifting each other up. There’s lots of work still to do, but there’s also lots of people willing to put in that work and make the scene a better place for everyone. 

The last year has obviously been difficult for everyone in different ways, but has there been anything or anyone specific that has been inspiring you, or helping to motivate you, recently?
Our local music scene is really inspiring. There’s been so many cool things coming out of the pandemic. Houndstooth is a bar that’s been hosting shows safely, with a band playing inside behind windows and people can watch from the street. Our friend Danny Alexander made a short film about local musicians and how they were dealing with quarantine. Ultra is a Toronto-based zine that creatives can contribute anything to – poetry, music, photography, interviews. Lootbag Records put out a few compilation albums, and there’s been a bunch of bands releasing new music. Everything our friends have been making inspires us to keep creating!

And it’s obviously quite difficult organising anything right now, but – in addition to the release of the new album – what else does the rest of 2021 have in store for Bad Waitress?
We’ve got a tour coming up with Kills Birds in December, which we’re really stoked about! We can’t wait to tear it up on stage again; that’s where we’re really at home. Hopefully 2022 is the time for music to really be able to come back full force. 

Finally, as we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
The Effens, Wine Lips, Your Grandad, Burner, Piper Maru, Animatist, Kali Horse, Hot Garbage, Mother Tongues… Just to name a few!

Massive thanks to Bad Waitress for answering our questions! Watch their latest video for ‘Manners’ here:


No Taste, the debut album from Bad Waitress, is out now via Royal Mountain Records.

Photo Credit: Kate Dockeray 

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