Interview: Hannah Peel

Hannah Peel is a musician who very much marches to the beat of her own drum, or rather more fittingly, the beat of her Moog synth. Always diving head first into whichever project or two she has going, always pouring in a sense of discovery and wonderment, creating her own unique blend of sound.

We caught up with Hannah to talk about her recent touring, creating the sound for a musical adaptation of Brighton Rocks, as well as the story behind her upcoming remix album Particles In Space.

“Dipping my toes back into the theatre for Brighton Rocks was brilliant for me as I could express a lot of things. I had a lot of freedom with the director and the creative team to explore what I wanted to. They were really up for pulsing, dark synths.”

But how did she cope with the pressure of the interpretation?

“The most interesting part of that discovery is the book – when you go back and read it from a musical point of view there are hundreds of references to music in there… One of my favourite films is David Lynch’s Blue Velvet – you’ve got this classical kind of you know… ‘Blue Velvet’ (she sings down the phone) underpinning it all. In the show there’s a dancehall theme and they go to the cinema. I wrote three songs which were of a classic kind of ilk.”

Storytelling is something that Hannah does best with her albums, and with her most recent Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia, Peel makes use of a colliery brass band and synths to launch Mary Casio (a wonderful, mad space lady) into outer space.

“On paper it looks like something that wouldn’t work, like it may be twee or something. But actually the power of the brass and synths, using the low end of the sub of the Moog fills that whole sonic palate of waves of the brass band. Live, you just get this overwhelming feeling – it just hits you like a force! It has this effect of making you feel like you’re really small… I would put on my glasses and play Casio keyboards, like the tango and rumba beat. Just as a way to alleviate what Awake But Always Dreaming (Hannah’s album prior to Mary Casio) was. I started taking it a bit further but there’s actually a star constellation called Cassiopeia which is the most insane thing – what if she went to space? What if she’s this mad space lady? I’ve been reading up on physics and in one of the books I’ve been reading it said we have a hundred billion neurons in the brain which are as many stars as there are in the galaxy. Reading that just cemented the idea – she’s going to go to space!”



Awake But Always Dreaming was dedicated to the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s disease on sufferers and their families. Something which Hannah dealt with first hand with her own Grandmother. Mary Casio, however, lives in the world of lost memories.

“At the very, very end of the album my Grandfather sings on the ‘Planet of Passed Souls’ and that’s him from 1927 as a 13-year-old boy. I kind of imagine that she got to this planet, stepped out of her spaceship, and has gone out and seen all the wind and rain, but the planet itself was sort of a place that might filter the rain out of the atmosphere, all the memories and sound and what you might remember. Take them off and put them into the air, swirl them around you… That is the end of the whole thing. After that I couldn’t write anymore anyway as it felt like that was the end. But maybe this was just her waking up in her garden, maybe this somebody passing into the realm of a different life. Maybe she just went there?”

With such a magical story behind the album, what was the thought behind inviting others on board for Particles In Space?

“I wanted to see how other people would interpret synths and brass bands, see what they would do with them…. I’m very honoured a lot of people have done the mix for me. I wanted to call it Particles In Space because of all these new stars that are being born and the atmosphere. All the people on there are UK based and that’s something I really wanted – to be a nod to the radiophonic workshop. I would say about 80% of it is female. Everything has its time, now seems to be the analogue, synth revival – I don’t think I’ll ever change out of it, I like it way too much!”

Huge thanks to Hannah for the chat and answering our questions!

Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia is out now and Hannah Peel is playing at BBC Music Biggest Weekend today in Belfast.

Nicky Lee Delisle
@Nicky___Lee

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Interview: Sink Ya Teeth

Having blown us away with their completely captivating live performance at The Finsbury, Norwich duo Sink Ya Teeth are fast becoming one of our favourite bands. With the addictive, pulsating beats and ‘80s-inspired dance-pop hooks of previous singles ‘If You See Me’ and ‘Glass’, they’ve received acclaim from the likes of BBC 6 Music, Pitchfork and The Guardian, and now they’ve shared a new video for latest funk-fused track ‘Pushin’.

Of the video, Maria Uzor explains: “Pushin’s about kinda losing yourself in something; that feeling of euphoria without questioning fully if it’s actually doing you any good… We wanted to explore that idea of an almost child-like devotion in the video.”

We caught up with Maria and Gemma from Sink Ya Teeth to find out all about the upcoming release of their debut album, their biggest influences, and the importance of playing your best at every gig…

Hi Sink Ya Teeth, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about the band?
We’re a two-piece from Norwich, and we make music you can dance to.

How did you initially get together and start creating music?
We were in another band together and that fell apart when the bassist decided to go travelling. The drummer was pretty busy too with loads of other projects, so Gemma and I decided to get something together with just the two us. We basically formed the band to make band practices less complicated to organise!

We’re loving your new single ‘Pushin’ – can you tell us a bit about it?
Sure! It’s off our debut album, which is coming out June 1st. Gem emailed me this tune she was working on last Summer and I really liked it for its sparseness and how it lifted at the end. I had some lyrics knocking around which seemed to fit perfectly; and ‘Pushin’ was born! It explores blind faith and how we can sometimes surrender to things, for good or for bad.

And we’ve heard talks about a debut album coming out soon… are you able to reveal any details about that?
Yes! We’re so excited! We wrote and recorded the majority of it last summer. We got some funding from Arts Council England to develop our recording and production skills, so we were able to focus on writing and recording. It’s a 10 song self-titled, self-produced, self recorded, self designed (Maria designed the artwork), basically self everything album, which will be available on CD and Vinyl and will be released on June 1st through Hey Buffalo Records!

You’ve been compared to the likes of LCD Soundsystem and ESG, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Maria – I’m influenced by a lot of music and often for different reasons. And my influences can change from week to week. Like if I’m listening to Zimbabwean music, that’s likely to influence the way I layer rhythms or write a bassline. If I’m listening to The Smiths, I might find myself approaching the lyrics in a certain manner. A week of Zapp & Roger and it’s all about the 4/4 chunk and the slickness. There are those artists whom I admire to such a degree that to glean any inspiration from them would produce only a pale imitation and that would just be so awful. I am inspired by their personal truth though, so I guess that’s an influence of sorts; people like Bowie, Grace Jones, Patti Smith, Siouxsie Sioux.
Gemma – It’s hard to pinpoint influences sometimes as often there will be something that comes out in the music that sounds like a song you listened to years ago but were unaware that it was influencing you at the time of writing! ESG has been a long time fave of mine – the bass, the drums, the vibes. But more often than not these days, it’s artists with an electronic element. Currently I’m re-discovering New Order and learning about the bands that influenced them at the time too, like Africa Bambaataa. There’s sooo much more I’ve not discovered yet, so much good stuff outthere, old and new *rubs hands together*.

You’ve previously supported Chk Chk Chk and Mary Epworth on tour, but has there been a particular live show of yours that stands out as a career highlight so far?
Maria – Opening for Chk Chk Chk was such a blast! And we got to play venues like The Electric Ballroom too, which was amazing. Another moment that stood out for me was in February when we opened for Moon Duo at XOYO. When we were forming Sink Ya Teeth, Moon Duo were one of the bands we talked about being inspired by, so to then support them two years later was a beautiful and surreal moment.
Gemma – There’s been loads, and all for different reasons, but I think I’m gonna go with supporting Chk Chk Chk at Leeds Brudenell Social Club. The whole night had such a great vibe, I really liked the venue, the audience were so friendly, and its always a pleasure to watch Chk Chk Chk, so that gig had it all really! Another one I loved was playing with Eton Crop in one of Norwich’s undercrofts last year. It was one of those small, intimate, punk gigs. Brilliant.

And how is your local music scene – do you get out to see live music much?
Maria – God, haven’t been to a gig in months! Too bloody busy! We need a manager!
Gemma – What Maria says! But there are several good venues in Norwich, and a thriving music scene, both for local bands and visiting bands. Norwich Arts Centre is a good place to check out local bands supporting larger national bands. And the Owl Sanctuary. There are also several promoters that help with local acts, so there are plenty of
opportunities to play when you’re just starting out.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
Maria – Birds of Hell is a great Norwich-based artist. He’s got a bit of the Sleaford Mods about him. Loves a good rant but theres a real tenderness there too. I really like what Goat Girl are doing too. Looking forward to their album in April.
Gemma – I can recommend some Norwich bands to check out – GRACELAND (dreamy vocals, post-punk basslines), Birds of Hell (what Maria said), Mega Emotion (synth-guitar pop), Ben C Winn (for fans of Ian Dury), Broads (electronic duo), Peach Club (riot grrrl)…

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
I’d like to think that if your music is good enough then you will get noticed, but you’ve got to work really really hard with it too. For no money, in all of your spare time. And that’s still no guarantee you’ll get noticed. That’s never been any different though. It’s definitely more difficult to get noticed when you don’t have a label or a team around you. It’s that chicken and egg situation. We got noticed at a gig in Norwich. Someone in the audience (now a good friend!) saw us, loved us, tweeted about us, and he happened to have friends in the industry who checked us out cos of it. So kids, you should always play your best at every gig because you just never know who is watching!

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Sink Ya Teeth?
We have some UK wide spring dates in Bristol, Brighton, London and Birmingham (supporting A Certain Ratio. Legends!), A Manchester all dayer at the O2 Ritz in May with The Membranes, Lovely Eggs and LIINES, album launches in Norwich and London, IndieTracks festival. And the album release, of course, on 1st June! Hopefully we’ll get to write some more songs over the summer in-between rehearsing for a tour in October that we’re currently planning.

Sink Ya Teeth, the eponymous debut album, is out 1st June. Catch Sink Ya Teeth live:

24th March – Fiddlers Club, Bristol
25th March – The Haunt, Brighton
21st April – The Garage, London
5th May – O2 Ritz, Manchester
31st May – Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich
7th June – The Social, London
30th June – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
29th July – Indietracks Festival, Derby

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Interview: Katherine Deal

Having recently rocketed back into the limelight, thanks to an interpolation of their classic ‘I’m Too Sexy’ from none other than Taylor Swift on her recent single ‘Look What You Made Me Do’, Right Said Fred have worked their way firmly back into our hearts.

We caught up with the band’s saxophonist Katherine Deal to find out about her time with ‘The Freds’, and her experience of being a woman in male-dominated industry.

Hi Katherine, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Please introduce yourself.
Hey! Thanks very much. I’m a saxophone player/multi instrumentalist living in London getting to do what I love and travel the world, and of course, the saxophonist for Right Said Fred!

What’s it like being the saxophonist for Right Said Fred?
A lot of fun! The first time I played ‘I’m Too Sexy’ whilst cat-walking around the stage was awesome. The guys are great to work with, really funny and really intelligent, I’ve learnt a lot from them.

The mash up of Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do / I’m Too Sexy’ looked like a lot of fun to perform, can you tell us a bit about the the experience of recording it?
It was. It was great. We were all in a room for the recording and mashed-up the two songs, which is sort of a challenge when you’re so used to playing the original but we had a great time, the guys did a great job. I think we definitely had the ‘Swifty Spirit’.

Who would you say are you main musical influences?
I’m very into soul/pop/gospel. In terms of sax players, my favourites are Kirk Whalum (Whitney Houston), Mike Phillips (Jill Scott) and the legendary Bob Berg. In terms of artists I’ve always been a big fan of the likes of Miles Davis, Destiny’s Child, Run DMC, Lauryn Hill, N Sync.

Have you found that being a woman in a male-dominated industry has affected your experience?
Yep, it can’t not in such a male dominated industry. Most musicians are male; most managers and agents are male. Audience members think they can touch you simply because you’re a woman (It happens a lot!). There’s also this stigma about female musicians, especially at pop gigs, that they’re only there because they look good but can’t actually play well. So, I’m all about smashing that persona and supporting other women doing the same. There are so many incredible female musicians around. I have, however, been very encouraged by a lot of top male musicians around me for how encouraging they’ve been and how they’ve looked at me and treated me as an equal and looked out for me in that respect, making sure nobody is taking advantage of the situation. That’s powerful and what we need more of. Luckily, we are living in a great time thanks to the bravery of key female figures and the awakening of the press, and the tables are slightly turning. Nevertheless, I and a lot of other female musicians have too many stories of harassment and situations that a male would never find themselves in within the industry.

What can fans expect from the RSF live show with the full band?
Vibes! Fun! Lots of jumping, reflective moments, big drums, big synths, just a big sound with a great vibe. Oh, and some epic outfits from Richard.

Are there any other projects you’re working on at the moment?
I’m just mainly either gigging or in the studio recording for artists.

And what does the rest of 2018 have in store, do you have any live dates coming up?
Yep, we are going to LA, which is going to be amazing! We are also doing this festival in Amsterdam with a 60 piece orchestra and 65,000 audience. Amsterdam is one of my favourite cities in the world, so I can’t wait! It’s going to be a good year.

Right Said Fred‘s I’m Too Sexy EP is available to buy now via their official site, Spotify and all good online outlets.

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Interview: Berries

Having blown us away many a time with the raw passion of their energy-fuelled live shows (including playing for us at The Finsbury and a special acoustic set for us on Hoxton Radio), London trio Berries are fast becoming the next big thing, and have just released another slice of fantastic alt-rock with new single ‘Faults’.

We caught up with Holly from the band to talk influences, plans and spare trousers!

For those who don’t know, could you tell me who Berries are and what you do?
We are a three piece rock band based in London, consisting of Holly on lead vocals and guitar, Lauren on Bass and Lucie on drums!

And how did you all initially get together and start creating music?
Me (Holly) and Lucie had been jamming for a while and then Lauren moved up to London. We grew up together and she is awesome on guitar, so I approached her about joining us on bass. She was really up for it and we went from there! We share quite a few musical influences and we always wanted to play in a band together, so it was great timing!

Your fantastic new single ‘Faults’ is out now, can you tell us a bit about what it’s about and what inspired you to write it?  
Absolutely, it’s pretty sarcastic… I was inspired to write it after watching The Hours which is an amazing film! The whole idea of being ‘perfect’ and ‘faultless’, and how people always place far too much importance on that when really it makes no difference what so ever!

And how would you say it differs from your previous releases?
It’s definitely slower in tempo and more reflective than our other releases. We tried some reverse guitars and a lot more harmonies, so we just played around with more effects on this track.  

 

You’ve been compared to the likes of The Breeders, but who would you say are you main musical influences?
Good question! As a band, we like to think we are channelling some Sleater Kinney, with a kick of Subways and a splash of Biffy Clyro,

And over the last couple of years, you’ve received lots of praise from the likes of John Kennedy and Tom Robinson, which must have been super exciting! But what challenges have you faced as a new band trying to be heard and gain attention from the industry?
Yeah we absolutely love their support! We have been pretty lucky with opportunities, but as with every band we just put everything we have into our live shows and write music that we are excited about as a band and hope everyone else likes it! It’s such a great scene in London at the moment so we are excited to be part of it, constantly surrounded by amazing bands and musicians!!

You’ve wowed us many times with your energy-fuelled live shows, but are there any particular gigs that stand out as a highlight for you?
Thanks! Well, we absolutely loved playing your night supporting Rews at The Finsbury, and also Camden Rocks Festival which was pretty special, but overall I think it has to be when we sold out The Black Heart in Camden… That was a really amazing night for us as a band!

And having travelled up and down the country for many gigs, do you have any tour survival tips?
Always carry spares of everything!!! In our case, drum kick pedals and trousers! We were playing Head For The Hills Festival last July and Lucie’s kick pedal broke, she continued on without it and we made it to the end of the track but then when she ran to try and find a spare, she flew backwards on her arse and grass stained her trousers and her glasses flew off! This was mid-set with a tent full of people wondering what the hell was going on! It was amazing, we still burst into laughter now about it!

As we’re a new music-focused site, are there any other upcoming bands or artists that you’d recommend we check out?
Definitely check out Nina Fine she is an incredible singer/songwriter, and also we’re getting really into Bloom Twins.

And, finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Berries?
We’re constantly writing new music and recording so definitely some new releases! We head out on a tour with Scruff Of The Neck in March and we will be visiting Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester and  London where we will be playing a headline show at The Camden Assembly and then we have some festival appearances lined up, and we are currently in the middle of planning an Autumn UK Tour, so nice and busy!!

Huge thanks to Berries for answering our questions!

‘Faults’, the new track from Berries, is out now. And you can catch them live next month:

2nd March – Liverpool, Sound
3rd March – Manchester, Aatma
16th March – London, Camden Assembly
23rd March – Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar

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